Kristi Olson — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:25:09 GMT

I’ve seen other practitioners be a little looser than time than I am, so I appreciate seeing you make note of being careful of participants’ time and not running over. Because of the “brand experience” they have by participating in studies, I strive to treat participants just a notch higher than clients, which helps assure I don’t miss a detail. In our introductions in the lobby, I always ask participants how their travel was getting to our facility, and how well the instructions worked for them. This serves a two-fold benefit: get usability feedback on our facility directions, and warm them up to providing candid feedback. I also ask, “When do you need to be back at the office?” or “When do you need to be to your next appointment?” so I can assure them before we get started that I’m closely timing our session and can be trusted to get them out on time. When I do this, I RARELY see anyone concerned about the time, thus freeing their mind to be fully involved in the study.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Kristi Olson