This week we finally got to put our tasks into action, and begin to make sense of the data we had been collecting. As someone with an appreciation for metrics, I really looked forward to working on this assignment. I was lucky enough to find five participants, however one could not be considered due to technical difficulties with Validately- their submission never went through. I expected more technical issues than I ended up getting based off my first experience with Validately, and I am grateful for that.
I did learn one important lesson with this assignment. One individual I recruited, a friend of mine, thought he was evaluating a design of my own. His feedback was very flattering as a result, and the fault is my own for not being more careful while preparing him. He still provided very valuable feedback (even some unsolicited recommendations) but it seemed that his Likert responses were affected. In the future I will be more clear with participants, and encourage them to give honest and even critical (if applicable) feedback.
I continue to be fascinated with what a fresh pair of eyes can uncover, as each of my participants had their own unique observations, most of which discussing things I had not noticed myself. Using different methodologies to conduct user testing is a skill that requires a lot of time and practice to develop. I look forward to having that opportunity as we continue with our coursework.
ralphux 