Observation.
WHY WATCHING BEATS ASKING
People cannot accurately report what they did or why.
HOW TO DO IT
Give them a realistic task Ask them to think aloud Watch without helping
THE NOT HELPING PART
The hardest and most important.
Every intervention destroys the evidence.
WHAT TO SAY WHEN THEY STRUGGLE
"What are you thinking?" or "What would you try next?"
Not the answer.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Where they pause What they click first Where they go wrong What they say aloud Where they give up
WHAT TO RECORD
Where each person succeeded or failed, and where.
HOW MANY PEOPLE
Five reveals most problems.
WHAT TO DO AFTERWARDS
List the problems by how many people hit them.
Fix the common ones first.
WHAT NOT TO CONCLUDE
That a person who failed is unrepresentative.
They are evidence.
