Article

Observer Guidelines for Usability Research

Nielsen Norman Group Free Beginner

If a cofounder or teammate is going to sit in on the session, this is the two-minute brief you send them beforehand. It spells out exactly what an observer should never do (comment, correct, answer questions, react visibly), which is often where a supposedly neutral test quietly gets ruined by the person who isn't even running it.

  • Observers should not talk to or correct the participant, ever.
  • Unplanned comments from the room can leak clues just as easily as the moderator's.
  • Brief every observer on the rules before the session, not during it.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I show a prototype to users without biasing their reaction?

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