Usability testing

[Carol Lerche]

Your reference  argues not to start with usability tests before doing a
design.  This is not what I suggested, since sugar as a design is largely
complete at this point.  The article also. dismisses usability testing as
worthless (despite backing and filling a bit toward the end).  I don't
agree.  However, I assume from the supplied reference that you are stating
that there hasn't been usability testing of sugar.  This is unfortunate.  I
think it has real problems, some of which could be fixed through careful
observation of its use by its target community in the context in which it is
intended, namely classrooms with relatively low adult-student ratios.  This
is a matter of improving the affordances of the design.  Simply asserting
that any problems can be overcome by learning how doesn't seem responsive.

A good example is the rococco color picking widget.  According to my
observation this is very difficult for small children to use, and to learn.
Swatches would be much simpler, with some way to invoke a fully general
picker for the more advanced user.  This is the type of issue that would be
readily seen (and with an open mind, corrected) through usability testing.

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 4:31 AM, Marco Pesenti Gritti <mpgritti at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 2008/4/11 Carol Lerche <cafl at msbit.com>:
> > Thank you for sharing this discussion.  Upon reading it I had two
> questions.
> >
> > Sugar.   I have seen offers on this list from a class ofuniversity
> graduate
> > students to do usability testing.  Maybe someone responded to them
> > privately.  (That would have been perfectly appropriate.)  But in
> reading
> > the portion of the planning discussion about APIs and sugar, I was
> struck by
> > the unstated assumption that the sugar interface is unquestionably a
> good
> > thing.  Where is the usability testing with children of the age groups
> OLPC
> > targets that proves that this is so, in comparison with a more
> conventional
> > desktop model?  In watching 5-6 year olds use the interface for a week,
> I
> > was struck by sugar's complexity in pursuit of simplicity.  It was a
> > difficult interface for the children to learn.  Too many steps,
> including
> > going among different screens.  Perhaps I am wrong.  But I would like to
> see
> > the same care in usability testing for younger kids that has been given
> to
> > ensuring that all the underlying components are written in Python and
> thus
> > potentially modifiable by the oldest target audience.  Please point me
> to
> > the usability studies I have missed.
>
> http://www.gnome.org/~seth/blog/onusabilitytesting<http://www.gnome.org/%7Eseth/blog/onusabilitytesting>
>
> Marco
>



-- 
"Always do right," said Mark Twain. "This will gratify some people and
astonish the rest."
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