Methods
Pluralistic Usability Walkthrough
Facts:
- Also called: Walkthrough, Storyboarding, Table-Topping, Group Walkthrough
- Lifecycle stages: Planning, Design, Pre-Release
A usability test method employed to generate early design evaluation by assigning a group of users a series of paper-based tasks that represent the proposed product interface and including participation from developers of that interface.
- Basic Description
- How To
- Special Considerations
A systematic group evaluation of a design in which usability practitioners serving as walkthrough administrators guide users through tasks simulated on hard-copy panels and facilitate feedback about those tasks while developers and other members of the product team address concerns or questions about the interface.
Outcomes and Deliverables
- A list of potential usability problems.
- Suggested improvements to UI designs
Benefits, Advantages and Disadvantages
Benefits
Reduces test-redesign-retest cycle by generating immediate feedback and discussion of design problems and possible solutions while users are present. Can provide early performance and satisfaction data before costly design strategies have been implemented. The group atmosphere encourages collaborative, constructive comments from users, developers, and other members of the product team.
Advantages
Generates valuable quantitative and qualitative data on users’ actions by way of written responses. Product developers present during the session gain appreciation for common user frustrations or concerns about design.
Disadvantages
A fixed sequence of hard-copy panels limits the simulations that users can perform (no browsing or exploring). Alternative paths for the same task are not explored. Product developers might not feel comfortable hearing criticism about their designs. Because the walkthrough is dependent on all users finishing each task before discussion can begin, the session can feel laborious.
Cost-Effectiveness (ROI)
- Cuts down test-redesign-retest time by allowing developers to hear feedback before the interface has moved beyond the paper stage.
- Can be performed early in the product development cycle.
- Can gather data from multiple users in one session.
Read More About It
Authoritative References
Bias, R.G. (1994) Pluralistic usability walkthrough: coordinated empathies. In J. Nielsen & R.L. Mack (Eds.), Usability Inspection Methods (pp. 63-76). New York, NY: Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Bias, R.G. (1991) Walkthroughs: efficient collaborative testing. IEEE Software, 8(5), 94-95.
Related Subjects
- Traditional Usability Walkthrough: The pluralistic usability walkthrough is a modification of the traditional usability walkthrough in that it incorporates representative users, product developers, members of the product team, and usability experts in the proceedings.
- On-line Prototyping: The pluralistic usability walkthrough can be used in parallel with on-line prototyping, as the prototype can be projected at the front of the room, along with the hard-copy screen-shot packets, to illustrate aspects of the user interface difficult or expensive to capture on paper, like color and cursor movement.
- Cognitive Walkthrough: Cognitive walkthroughs are also performed early on in the design cycle to determine how well an interface supports the tasks users might carry out, but developers and usability professionals —not users — perform that evaluation. Also, the cognitive walkthrough was intended as a method to test learnability.
- Participatory Heuristic Evaluation: Similarly involves several representative users, usability practitioners, and product team members who review a product against a set of general principles.