Thanks for agreeing to participate! First off, we want you
to know that anything that you say or do here will be strictly confidential.
Neither your name nor any personally identifying information will appear in any
of our reports or presentations. If we discuss the evaluations in detail, we
will only identify you by an ID or a label, like “traveler A.”
[Have the individual read and sign the Informed Consent
Form.]
Purpose: Usability evaluations in general seek to determine if the people who use a tool can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their own tasks. What we're testing here is the interface, not you. Evaluations are designed to solicit feedback from participants, in order to hopefully resolve problems in the interface and the work process, and to note areas where the design is successful. Any problems or successes you have in using it will help us to make the system better.
We are developing a web interface to assist in building customized travel guides. Today we're evaluating an interactive prototype of the interface. We'll be asking you to complete a series of tasks, all of which have to do with building a customized travel guide. We’re also going to ask you to “think out loud” as you go through the steps to complete each task, telling us why you’re doing what you’re doing. (We’ll demonstrate what we mean by “thinking aloud” in a minute.)
I'll be working with you as the facilitator during the evaluation. In addition, [___] and [___] will be taking notes, to help us collect the results of the evaluation.
[caveats about limited functionality, limited content. We have content for only California & Nevada (specifically Las Vegas, San Francisco). We currently only have information in Accommodations, Restaurants and Entertainment.]
This is a very informal evaluation of the interface, we're interested in finding out what works and what doesn't. Try to talk aloud, let us know what you think about the interface, what works and what doesn't. Feel free to ask me questions as you work with the interface (although we’re going to try very hard not to influence you or to give you “hints” on how to use the tool.).
The tasks should take about 45 minutes. We’ll then have a
chance for you to tell us about your experience and give us any feedback you
may have.
Do you have any questions?
explain