I'm here at UserWorks with a bunch of co-workers and consultants to test an early prototype of a web site. A mock-up of the prototype, minus graphics and content, is being presented one-on-one to a carefully screened group of users by a facilitator in a controlled environment (pic 2). The test participant clicks through the site while "thinking aloud" or speaking his thoughts as they come to mind. Video from the computer screen is combined with a view of the participant's facial reactions and digitized to a hard drive (pic 4) for later review. A technician (pic 3) is logging notes to a spreadsheet that is synchronized to the video's time code. Some of us are viewing the activity in a conference down the hall (pic 1), and a few of us are seeing the session directly from behind a one-way mirror (pic 3). This is the third day of testing a total of 12 participants and we've gotten some excellent feedback on the prototype design. Most significantly, we are hearing that we are largely on the right track with the current design.

- mike lee - silver springs, md