salvage your usability session! practical tips for moderators
DESCRIPTION
How do you take a usability session that’s gone bananas and – to mix metaphors – turn it into lemonade? This talk moves beyond the basics of “how to” facilitate a usability study and in to practical “what to do when” territory, focusing on those situations that challenge every aspect of your moderating skills. Whether it’s dealing with a very angry participant or a participant whose actions make you uncomfortable, we can use the stories and experiences of others to let us “practice” our responses in a safe space. This practicum will focus on stories – embarrassing and hopefully inspiring – from the presenters’ many years of running usability studies and the experiences that audience members will share. Audience members will be able to “vote” for which stories to focus on for the rest of the talk. Their choices will feed into live interactive examples (complete with a “moderator” and “participant” assistant with improv experience) that highlight potential approaches for the challenges presented. Throughout the demonstrations, we’ll discuss: What made sense about how the moderator handled this? What might have been done differently? Why? Different words? Different tone? Different body language? How can we make sure we don’t make things worse? Whether you’ve only moderated a few usability sessions or you have hundreds under your belt, this talk will let you share your experiences and learn from what others have done. The demonstrations will bring best practices to life, showing how to apply what you may have read to real life. Attendees will leave with practical tips for salvaging the next challenging situation they encounter while moderating as well as a renewed inspiration for meeting those challenges head-on.TRANSCRIPT
Salvage Your Usability Session!Practical Tips for Moderators
Fiona Tranquada & Scott Williams | UXPA Boston | May 15, 2014
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Agenda
“Salvage”
I’m Listening
Interactive Demonstration
Takeaways
Questions?
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salvage (verb)To save or rescue
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I’m Listening
What kind of challenges have you encountered while moderating?
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What should we demonstrate?
Photo by Flickr user theresasthompsonhttps://flic.kr/p/5z2jST
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Interactive Demonstrations
Pay attention to…. What is said How it’s said (tone) Body language
What factors might affect how the moderator should respond?
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What’s in your toolbox?
Photo by Flickr user skistzhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/skistz/398429879/in/photostream/
Get the participant back on track
Refocus; Encourage
Adjust the session focus or skip tasks
Alleviate; Assist; Accommodate
Provide some space
Take a break
End early
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Key Takeaways
Take a moment!
Participant comfort and safety first
Be genuine and empathetic
Project confidence
Forgive yourself for mistakes, but learn from them
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Questions?
Thank you!
Fiona Tranquada
www.modsurvivalguide.org
@fionified
Scott Williams