The UIE Podcast

The UIE articles archive isn't the only place to get the latest and greatest UIE research. Our growing audio library includes a podcast containing interviews and presentations on topics such as tagging, home page design, and user behavior. You can listen to a show ala carte or subscribe to the full podcast feed to hear the great information that Jared Spool, Joshua Porter, and Christine Perfetti deliver.

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New Release:

Usability Tools Podcast: Moderating Usability Tests, Part 1  

Usability Tools Podcast: Moderating Usability Tests, Part 1
Recorded: July 3rd, 2008.
Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer
Duration: 33m | File size: 19 MB
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[ Show Notes ]

In this episode of Usability Tools, Brian Christiansen and I talk about how to moderate a usability test. Turns out, the episode got so long that we decided to break it into two parts. This week’s show focuses upon the different roles a single moderator needs to take on during the session.

The usability test moderator has a lot of influence on the success of the test. Moderating isn’t rocket science, but you’ll need to understand the basics before you sit down with your users.

In this week’s show, I talk about the three roles a moderator needs to play during the test.

First is the scientist. The scientist makes sure your tasks get done, notes get taken, and keeps the show on track.

Then we have the sportscaster. The sportscaster gives play-by-play so the design team members don’t miss anything the user does.

Lastly, there’s the role of the flight attendant. This is the most important role. Keeping your test participant happy and comfortable is your number one job.

Tune in to learn the specifics of each role and how they affect one another.

If you have questions about the role of the moderator, feel free to ask them in the comments. We’ll try to answer them and may even work them into a future show. Stay tuned for the second part of the Moderating show next week.

[This show is the first in a series we're going to do on the fundamentals of usability testing. In future shows, we'll cover the entire gamut of testing, from initial planning, through task design, to data analysis and beyond. We want to create a complete resource that you'll share with your entire team.]

Archived Podcast

SpoolCast: Followup Q&A from The Scent of Information  

Brian Christiansen and I recorded a special episode comprised entirely of questions from our customers. Last week, we held the UIE Virtual Seminar: The Scent of Information: Getting Users to Their Content. During the seminar, we received far more questions than time would allow answering. As is tradition, we put together this follow-up podcast to answer even more of your excellent questions.

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This week, our good friend Peter Merholz joins us for the show. Peter is president of the noted experience strategy and design consultancy Adaptive Path.

In our discussion, I asked Peter about mapping out a product’s evolution. Launching a product is no simple task. Every new product falls on the spectrum somewhere between feature-complete, perfect execution and actually shipping with a pile of features on the cutting room floor. Realistically, most sway towards the latter. But that doesn’t mean your products needs to feel unfinished.

Archived Podcast

SpoolCast: Usability Guerilla Techniques with Dana Chisnell  

This week, I had the great honor of speaking with Dana Chisnell, noted usability expert and principal at Usability Works, a consultancy based in San Fransisco. Dana is also the co-author of the recently-released second edition of the Handbook of Usability Testing, a book so fine, I agreed to write the foreword.

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SpoolCast: Ajax Then and Now with Jeremy Keith  

This week, Ajax design expert Jeremy Keith joins us from Brighton, England. Jeremy is the technical lead at Clearleft, a leading design consultancy in the UK. We talked about the evolution and best use of the techniques we call Ajax.

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SpoolCast: What Makes a Great IA with Donna (Maurer) Spencer  

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Donna (Maurer) Spencer, a world-renowned information architect and owner of the freelance agency MaadMob, based in Canberra, Australia.

In this episode I asked Donna, “What separates good Information Architects from great Information Architects?”

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