[IxDA Discuss] Do you change who you are for participants?

[Timothy Yeo]

Hi Margaret.

I've been doing user research in South East Asia, and I've  
experienced exactly what you've described.

Some users feel more comfortable and free to express their honest  
opinions in cases where we tell them we did not design the prototype.

But it isn't true for all users. Some users are blunt and say how  
they really feel no matter what. Others deliberate and construct  
their responses in a coherent manner. There are those who "sing  
praises" of an interface, but they speak of how "other people would  
love using this", not themselves. Then there are those who withhold  
their negative comments or, worse, say what they don't mean just to  
avoid hurting our feelings (because they know we designed it).

I think culture plays a part, but it varies from individual to  
individual too.

At times, the knowledge that "we are the designers" isn't always the  
cause. I believe, for some people, the research activity itself  
evokes this kind of "eager to please" behaviour as well (e.g. if  
we're doing a usability "test", some users tend to give positive  
responses so that they would "pass" the test).

Personally, I take the honest approach. If I designed it, that's what  
I tell them. I think it all boils down to how well we manage to:
- put users at ease and make them feel safe
- make them feel that their honest feedback is wanted and appreciated
- inform them of how their honest feedback would impact the design
- thank them for their honest feedback
- probe further if we sense what they're saying is not what they  
really mean

To summarise: I think who you are and how you're related to the  
prototype shouldn't matter if you are able to put users at ease and  
illicit honest responses from them. Lying or being deliberately vague  
would work in some cases, but might backfire in the end.

Thanks.

Tim..