This is just a quick pointer to my latest UXmatters column, which is a follow-on to my article from September about the perils and pitfalls of testing your own designs.
In this follow-on, I revisited some of my more bombastic points about testing one’s own designs. Thanks to some excellent comments by several colleagues (and colleague-slash-wife), I modified and built upon my original recommendations and provide some modified guidelines. Here’s the summary guidelines. To understand the reasoning behind them, go read the whole article.
Guideline 1—When testing your own designs, don’t think of it as a test to pass or fail, think of it as part of your design process.
Guideline 1a—Test early, test as often as possible, and test lo-fi prototypes rather than making usability testing a make-or-break event in your design lifecycle.
Guideline 2—When testing your own designs, you should seek disconfirming evidence, but be alert for joys and delighters, too.
Guideline 3—When you’re trying to solve a design problem, usability testing serves design. It’s a tool. Use it to improve your design, not to justify your actions.
Comments about these guidelines? Email me via UsabilityBlog, or comment at UXmatters.
Testing Your Own Designs Redux ::? Paul Sherman via UXmatters
