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September 6, 2005
Remote Paper Prototyping Presentation
My IA Summit poster:
Description:
This presentation illustrates a method of information-gathering employed in December 2004 to gather initial design feedback for a website redesign. This approach was utilized to gather high level input from 10 users of a commercial website. The content for this approach comes from a large-scale web survey completed in November of 2004. Results from this work were turned into tangible designs that were formally usability-tested in January 2005 with excellent results.
Specifically, this approach combined the interactivity of a paper prototyping session with the ease of administration and data collection of a web-based survey. In this approach, a series of images representing potential screen designs and content were placed into a commercially-available web survey site. Questions scattered through the survey gather immediate user feedback. Appointments were set with the participants, and during these appointments, a researcher called them and, using a predefined script, walked with them through the web survey. Using this hybrid approach, the researcher was able to gather immediate thoughts and reactions to the information viewed in the survey, answer questions, and ensure that the participant understood the task.
One unique approach attempted in this task was the assignment of content to screen locations as outlined by a grid superimposed on a screenshot of the site. Use of this method provided a feeling for the relative importance and location of content in the final design. When it was compared to results of eyegaze studies, those items that rated most highly in this survey were placed in "important" locations on the screen as determined by eyegaze studies.
What happened next:
The results of this study allowed me to produce initial screen designs for the testing that followed in the lab a month later. By knowing where to place content, and how it should interact, the prototypes for the in-lab testing were very well received and the testing was highly successful. In fact, the designs were verified during the first day in the lab, leaving the second day to test other areas.
The presentation from the IA Summit
The script I used
