Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Observer Effects in Usability Testing (30 Nov 2004) What other influences of the remote testing environment appear valuable, aside from the absence of the observer? Tullis and group found they got greater diversity of user types in task experiences, computer experiences, and individual characteristics. They also got more hardware variety, such as screen resolution. And they were pleasantly surprised by the completeness and insights of the typed responses. But the lab offered value, too. For example, the remote test revealed usage of 1024 screen resolution among nearly all subjects and revealed a problem with small fonts. The lab setting forced usage of 800 resolution and resulted in detection of excessive scroll requirements. The lab revealed that certain navigation options were overlooked, although the remote results showed most subjects found the options anyway over time. Tullis and group recommend a combination of both remote and lab testing to cover the range of issues. Article URL: http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/nov04.asp Read 36 more articles from Human Factors International sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Soapbox: On Girls and Video Games     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy