HCI Practicals: Resources for TA Test

You will need to organise certain resources for the thinking aloud test.

1 Test Users

You will need to organise 5 test users (1 for the pilot test and 4 for the real test) among your friends, relations, and colleagues.

Test users should meet the following criteria:

• At least 18 years of age.

• Native or proficient speaker of German (if you are running your tests in German) or English (if you are running your tests in English).

• Experienced in using both computers and the web.

• Not serving as a test user for another HCI group this semester.

• Not currently taking HCI this semester.

As far as possible, test users should match the target population of the web site you are testing. However, since no remuneration is available for the test users in the practicals, you may have to compromise.

2 Test Room and Computer

You will need to organise a quiet room with a computer connected to the internet. The tests should be done in a realistic setting, so a PC or laptop at home and a standard internet connection are fine.

Past experience has shown that it is much more convenient in terms of scheduling for you, your test users, and us, if you can arrange your own room.

3 External Video Recording

You will need to organise some video recording equipment:

• Digital Video camera. A camcorder which records onto either internal memory or a memory card. The camera should be able to record at 720p (1280×720) or FullHD (1920×1080).
• Tripod.
• Microphone. The best is a directional table microphone. A clip-on lapel microphone is OK. A headset microphone is OK. A singer's (karaoke) microphone is no good, because it must be held right next to the mouth.
• Mirror. Next to the screen to capture the users' facial expressions.

Four sets of video recording equipment (usability kits) including a digital camcorder, tripod, and microphone (but not including a mirror) are available for you to borrow if necessary.

Again, it much more convenient in terms of scheduling for you, your test users, and us, if you can arrange your own equipment.

Note: For the thinking aloud test, video recording with an external video camera is in addition to session capture on the device itself.