[IxDA Discuss] Eye tracking, how valuable is it?

[Jared M. Spool]

At 07:00 AM 7/7/2006, Christopher Fahey wrote:
>Because eyetracking test results are "dumb" and, as Peter said, do not 
>provide insight into the user's motivations, non-design-saavy decision 
>makers are more likely to dramatically *misinterpret* the results. Some 
>people think that eyetracking, like chicken soup, can't hurt... but I 
>wouldn't be so sure of that.

Eyetrackers don't kill people. Misinterpreted results kill people.

I think I saw that on a bumper sticker the other day.

I don't think misinterpreted results are limited to "non-design-savvy 
decision makers" -- in fact, I'm quite sure of it. Drawing poor inferences 
from available data is at epidemic proportions in our field. ( 
http://www.uie.com/articles/recommendation/ ) We need to do much more about 
this problem, whether an eyetracker is involved or not.

>Instead of paying for an eyetracking test, hire a good UI designer.

Care to outline exactly how one goes about hiring a *good* UI designer? ;-)

Jared


Jared M. Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike Street, Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
978 327-5561   jspool at uie.com  http://www.uie.com
Blog: http://www.uie.com/brainsparks