QUESTION: To appreciate the different merits of observation in the field and observation in a controlled environment, read the scenarios below and answer the questions that follow. Scenario 1.A usability consultant joins a group of tourists who have been given a wearable navigation device that fits onto a wrist strap to test on a visit to Stockholm. After sightseeing for the day, they use the device to find a list of restaurants within a two-kilometer radius of their current position. Several are listed and they find the telephone numbers of a couple, call them to ask about their menus, select one, make a booking, and head off to the restaurant. The usability consultant observes some difficulty operating the device, especially on the move. Discussion with the group supports the evaluator's impression that there are problems with the interface, but on balance the device is useful and the group is pleased to get a table at a good restaurant nearby. Scenario 2.A usability consultant observes how participants perform a pre-planned task using the wearable navigation device in a usability laboratory. The task requires the participants to find the telephone number of a restaurant called Matisse. It takes them several minutes to do this and they appear to have problems. The video recording and interaction log suggest that the interface is very fiddly and the audio interaction is of poor quality, and this is supported by participants’ answers on a user satisfaction questionnaire. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of observation? When might each type of observation be useful?
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION
QUESTION:
To appreciate the different merits of observation in the field and observation in a controlled environment, read the scenarios below and answer the questions that follow.
Scenario 1.A usability consultant joins a group of tourists who have been given a wearable navigation device that fits onto a wrist strap to test on a visit to Stockholm. After sightseeing for the day, they use the device to find a list of restaurants within a two-kilometer radius of their current position. Several are listed and they find the telephone numbers of a couple, call them to ask about their menus, select one, make a booking, and head off to the restaurant. The usability consultant observes some difficulty operating the device, especially on the move. Discussion with the group supports the evaluator's impression that there are problems with the interface, but on balance the device is useful and the group is pleased to get a table at a good restaurant nearby.
Scenario 2.A usability consultant observes how participants perform a pre-planned task using the wearable navigation device in a usability laboratory. The task requires the participants to find the telephone number of a restaurant called Matisse. It takes them several minutes to do this and they appear to have problems. The video recording and interaction log suggest that the interface is very fiddly and the audio interaction is of poor quality, and this is supported by participants’ answers on a user satisfaction questionnaire.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of observation?
- When might each type of observation be useful?
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