Handbook of Usability Testing, 2nd ed.


From Dana:

Hi!

I’m tingling, I’m so excited. I like to think that this is a special event in the user experience world. But every book author probably thinks that.

Handbook of Usability Testing, Second Edition by Jeff Rubin and Dana Chisnell ships on Monday, April 28.

This is not your mother’s HUT. Well, of course not. The first edition was published in 1994. Technology isn’t special anymore, it’s everywhere. (There were DOS examples, for heaven’s sake!) For HUT 2.0, Jeff and I

  • Simplified the organization of the main sections
  • Reordered many chapters to more closely reflect the flow of planning and conducting a test
  • Updated dozens and dozens of examples, samples, and stories
  • Expanded and updated discussions about recruiting participants, whether you need a lab, working with observers, analyzing testing data, and (we think) the best way to make recommendations
  • Added a chapter on variations on the basic method
  • Populated www.wiley.com/go/usabilitytesting with
    • electronic versions of many of the deliverables used as examples used in the book
    • updated references
    • a (we hope) comprehensive list of other resources such as conferences and seminars, other books, blogs, and podcasts.

The drawings and diagrams are have been freshened and improved. The layout and format promise to be less nerdy and more accessible, too.

Oh, and we benefited from sage reviews from Janice James, founder of the Usability Professionals’ Association as our technical editor (brava!), and a foreword by Jared Spool. […]

Hope your experience with HUT 2.0 is good.

Dana

P.S. Here’s the official cite:

Rubin and Chisnell, Handbook of Usability Testing, Second Edition: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests (Wiley, 0470185481, 450 pages, April 28, 2008).

Dana’s blog: usabilitytestinghowto.blogspot.com

human reason

Image of Computer power and human reason
According to Joe Weizenbaum, the single most important paragraph of his book Computer Power and Human Reason is the following on page 276:

It is a widely held but a grievously mistaken belief that civil courage finds exercise only in the context of world-shaking events. To the contrary, its most arduous exercise is often in those small contexts in which the challenge is to overcome the fears induced by petty concerns over career, over our relationships to those who appear to have power over us, over whatever may disturb the tranquility of our mundane existence.

I met Joe at MEDICHI in Klagenfurt last year. A great moment where he touched me.