A primary aim in moderating a usability study is to guide participants through the session, ensuring that the research team gathers the necessary data to achieve their objectives. However, mastering this role involves managing several polarities—contradictory conditions that must be balanced to ensure an effective and productive study session. In essence, moderating a usability study is akin to walking a tightrope. It’s a balancing act of managing these polarities to ensure the success of the study. This blog will detail some moderating polarities to consider to navigate the tightrope:
1. Take Your Time but Don’t Go Too Slow
One of the first polarities a moderator must navigate is the balance between taking enough time to gather comprehensive data and maintaining a pace that keeps the participant engaged.
- Take Your Time: When moderating, rushing through tasks can lead to incomplete data and missed insights. It’s essential to give participants ample time to think, explore, and express their thoughts. Effectively communicating scenario prompts and conditions can ensure participants are comfortable taking the time they need in a realistic use scenario.
- Don’t Go Too Slow: On the other hand, dragging out the session can cause fatigue and frustration for participants. This can skew the results. Moderators need to keep an eye on the clock and maintain a pace that ensures all tasks are covered within the allotted time. They should prioritize questions that need to be answered, and ensure conversation stays focused and on topic.
2. Keep Quiet but Ask Questions
Another critical polarity is the need to balance silence with inquiry.
- Keep Quiet: Allowing participants to work through tasks without interruption is crucial. Silence gives participants the space to navigate the interface independently, revealing their natural thought processes and potential pain points. Moderators should do their best to ‘blend in’ during realistic use scenarios, to avoid unintended distractions and test artifacts.
- Ask Questions: However, a moderator’s silence shouldn’t come at the cost of clarity and additional insight. During debrief and planned discussion periods, strategic questioning is necessary to probe deeper into the participant’s thoughts and behaviors. Asking open-ended questions like, “Why did you choose that option?” can provide valuable insights without leading the participant. It’s important to choose thoughtful questions and time them appropriately.
3. Be Friendly but Stay Serious
Establishing the right tone is essential for creating a conducive environment for the study.
- Be Friendly: Building rapport with participants helps them feel comfortable and relaxed, which can lead to more genuine interactions with the interface being tested. A friendly demeanor can encourage openness and honesty, resulting in richer data.
- Stay Serious: Despite the need for friendliness, it’s important to maintain a level of seriousness to emphasize the importance of the study. Participants should understand that their feedback is valuable and that the session is a professional research activity. Keeping a professional tone is also integral to ensuring the participant stays on topic and focused during the session. Entertaining casual conversation can be helpful in building rapport, but should be limited as necessary to ensure session time is spent collecting the needed data.
Conclusion
Balancing these polarities requires skill, experience, and intuition. Successful moderating means recognizing the nuances of each session and adapting accordingly, ensuring that the research objectives are met without compromising the participant’s experience.
By mastering these contradictions, moderators can facilitate effective usability studies that yield insightful, actionable data, ultimately leading to better user experiences and more successful products.
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