Notetaking workshop
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This document provides guidance on effective note-taking practices for usability testing and user research. It discusses that note-taking is an important but often overlooked part of the research process. The type of notes taken and how they are structured determines what data is available for analysis and how quickly results can be reported. Different note-taking methods are presented, including narrative notes, structured notes organized by task or participant, and using tools like spreadsheets or customized forms. The key is to select a method that works for the goals of the research and allows important insights to be easily identified later. Planning the note-taking approach in advance helps ensure the right data is captured to answer the research questions.
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Notetaking workshop
- 1. WQusability.com Whitney Quesenbery whitneyq@wqusability.co Note-taking Like a Pro A deep dive into a common practice Whitney Quesenbery University of Baltimore September 2013
- 3. 3 In describing a usability test, no one talks much about how to take notes Activities in a usability test 1. Determine basics 2. Plan process 3. Create test situation 4. Conduct test 5. Interpret data Jeff Rubin Handbook of Usability Testing (1st Ed.)
- 4. 4 Or about how the setting (and goals) for user research can change the process
- 5. 5 But note-taking is part of the research process What you take notes on and How you take notes determine What data you have for analysis and How fast you can report robust results
- 6. 6 Inspiration from theatre “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Timothy Sullivan Center for Contemporary Opera, 1987 Directed by Stephen Jarrett, Scenery by Robert Edmonds, Lighting by Whitney Quesenbery. With Suzan Hanson
- 7. 7 Backed up by the ability to take great notes in real time
- 8. 8 Asking the right question makes it easier to get a useful answer.
- 9. 9 Identifying the questions is the first step in planning note-taking How is this new audience the same or different from our current audience? What do they already know about our products? What questions do they have about our products? Can they find answers to their questions on the current web site? If you are working on expanding a product offering to a new audience, you might want to know...
- 10. 10 What kinds of questions have you asked in a usability project recently?
- 11. 11 Three broad goals Understand users Learn people's background, motivation or decision-making Uncover requirements for functionality or usability Uncover patterns of use Discover how people approach an activity Observe how they use the product for their own goals Find aspects of the interface or interaction that are confusing Measure performance or success Learn how well the product supports users in completing tasks Learn how accurately or efficiently they use the product
- 12. 12 What information do we need for each of these goals? Understanding users Understanding patterns of use Measuring success Brainstorm questions and what types of data you might collect or observations to take notes on. Write them on stickies and group them by goals. ?? Something else ??
- 13. 13 There are many ways to take notes: What story are you trying to tell?
- 14. 14 Note-taking practices cover a broad range of techniques and approaches Narrative Structured Session notes (written or typed) Notes form organized by type of data Logging tools (task markers, time-stamps, integrated in video) Lightly structured spreadsheet
- 15. 15 Session Notes Spreadsheets Logging Tools Custom Form Unstructured narrative Blend of structured data and freeform notes Time-stamped Consistent format for all notes Notes organized by topic Captures flow of session Capture flow with some topic/metadata Capture context/metadata by instrumentation & video Captures notes for specific research questions Can often focus on talk Hard to pick out details from the flow Metadata and formatting can be limited Individual notes do not have much context, except the connection to video Can lose narrative context of the session They all have strengths and weaknesses
- 16. 16 Ways to structure notes Narrative Capture the flow of the session and help you recall details Focus on each participant's perspective and story By task or activity, wihtin participants Capture process and what participants do (in what order) Note pages or task steps and success Across participants Compile comparisons as you capture the data Note differences or catagorization on the fly
- 17. 17How have you taken notes? What kinds of structure do they have? Narrative Task or activity focused Structured data form Look at your own note-taking. What has it focused on? ???
- 18. 18 Freeform: Typical hand-written notes Order of notes matches the order in which information is heard. Act of writing helps put the information in memory. Thank you, Tiffany Aiken!
- 19. 19 Minimal: Freeform notes, typed up, with headings to identify tasks or activities
- 20. 20 Minimal structure: separating observations, quotes, and inferences
- 21. 21 Taking notes in the session guide
- 22. 22 Session guide as notes sheets
- 23. 23Notes sheet loosely matching the session plan and questions to be covered
- 24. 24 Loosely structured notes sheets xx
- 25. 25 Using a spreadsheet to insert standard codes easily
- 27. 27 Involving observers to invite them into the process Photo: Before It's News
- 28. 28 Give them a clue about what to look for
- 29. 29 Minimal: Top three problems
- 30. 30 Notes pages with tasks and screens
- 32. 32 Visible: The big wall of notes
- 33. 33 Sharing information.. when a team works together If the team works together on projects: Each team member can focus on a different aspect of the participants’ experience. This gives the project a richer mix of notes than if everyone took the same notes. If team members work on different projects Having different aspects of the observations separated makes it easier to share insights on specific aspects of user behavior or product usability If the team works over a long period of time It’s easier to track trends on use of functionality, attitudes or other usability issues
- 34. 34 Let's design a way to take notes 1. What questions are you trying to answer 2. What data do you want to collect? 3. What else do you want to be able to easily take notes on Think about a project you are working on (or have worked on recently) 4. Design the note-taking form
- 35. 35 Putting it together: Notes are the first step in analysis
- 37. 37 Path analysis
- 38. 38 "Personas"
- 39. 39 Notes and problems by location in site
- 40. 40 Notes and problems by location in site
- 41. 41 Storytelling for User Experience with Kevin Brooks Global UX with Daniel Szuc A Web for Everyone with Sarah Horton A Web for Everyone
Editor's Notes
- and all the different goals
- 15 minutes for exercise.. back into their groups and look at their own note-taking practices. Which do they fit into. Goal: think about what we are trying to learn, not just about staging the session.Debrief. Any additional goals? Patterns? What have we learned.
- EXAMPLE 2-Notes Pages By TaskThis makes it possible to jump around in small tasks. These boxes are pretty small because I wanted the observers watching, not looking down to take notes.The whole thing was two pages (front and back of one paper)The official note-taker typed.boxes expand as neededCan format text- better than a spreadsheet because it's easy to do free form typing, and see what you are typing. Also spell check
- A form of data reduction. Saves the view of the person, even as you aggregate
- his identified both the page where each note occurred, but also the number of participants who had a similar note.We also captured successes or positive comments with the stars.