While I was in graduate school at San Diego State University I studied Web usability, a critical part of Web Development. During that time I wrote a brief (with references) on a particular method of usability testing called Think Aloud.
"Our mind is not like a brilliantly lit and perfectly ordered room; it is much more like an encumbered garret inhabited by moths born and grown up in half lights: our thoughts; the moment we open the door to see them better the drab little butterflies vanish." (Dimnet, 1928)
"The Think Aloud Method consists of asking people to think aloud while solving a problem and analyzing the resulting verbal protocols." (Someren, 1994)
The Think Aloud Method is simply a way of getting people to tell you what they think while they test a product, in this case a Website. The Think Aloud Method is specifically good for flushing out a user's mental model which gives the researcher a window into the user's thought process when they use the site.
Key Points
- Subject thinks aloud (talking) while performing a simple and clearly defined task.
- Subject does not analyze thoughts, just verbalizes them.
- Talk is continuous.
- Researcher bites tongue and takes notes or video tapes session and/or screen.
- Research only prompts with neutral phrases like "keep talking." Not, "what do you think of that?", which will force the user to make up an answer.
The Key Attributes
When to use
- To find major usability problems with a few subjects
- Finding the "why" of problems
- With subject matter experts
- Alpha and beta testing for mid-project design changes
When not to use
- Tasks that involve heavy cognitive loads that would interfere with talking out loud
- For long tests
- For opinions
- With very young kids
Pros
- Reveals mental models
- Reveals cognitive processes
- Flexible for location, equipment, recording
Cons
- Unnatural for some users and kids
- Data can be hard to analyze
- Users can rationalize and distort data
Prompts
- Good: "Keep talking"
- Bad: "Why did you do that?"
- Neutral, only to prevent users from creating fictional answers
Recording and Reporting Results - Observer notes
- Or video/audio tape and notes
- Video/audio can be coded for study.
References
- Someren, W. M., Barnard, F. Y., & Sandberg, A. C. J. (1994). The think aloud method. A practical guide to modeling cognitive process. London: Harcourt Brace & Company.
- Dimnet, E. (1928). The art of thinking. New York, Simon and Shuster Inc.
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