nina eleanor alter — oldsite ≤ 2009

Usability Testing
For 5 weeks I worked in tandem with Palm's usability researcher, conducting weekly micro usability tests.
On each testing day 3-4 users would step through pairing a Palm Treo that we provided, with the Foleo device.
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Because the OOBE left-open so many cognitive black-holes for users as evidenced in our first session,
the product manager agreed with our recommendation to work in quick, iterative rounds revolving around
user feedback and subsequent findings/brainstorming sessions involving myself, the PM, the UER, and a
technical writer.
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For each testing session I created a script to test scenarios that probed specific problem areas and potential
solutions, as agreed to by the team as priorities for the upcoming round of testing. I built a Flash prototype
which began at the point the user pressed the device's "On" button, and was fully interactive throughout all of
the scenarios being tested- and roughed-out into areas where it was doubtful users would (but they always
somehow did!) end up.
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Quickie product photos of smartphones were taken with a point-and-shoot camera in the Palm office, for use in
the Wizard, and a complete audit (none yet existed) of all possible form-factor/operating-system combinations
was conducted, and the results folded into the prototype. 1 session was also conducted with a Canadian carrier's
phone, so that the interface of the smartphone was guaranteed to be completely new for all test participants.
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Between IxD, IA, copywriting, and visual design (rough: enough to prompt users with key discoverability and
product identificaiton cues, aesthetically on-brand, and without resorting to fugly), the weekly updates were a
lot of work in a very short window of time. Each week the prototype was modified for the following round of
testing, and in pre-session debriefs each observing member of the team was presented with worksheets that
outlined the scripted scenarios & included screenshots for note-taking.

Foleo </end>
September 2nd I was in Prague, 2 days into my first ever trip abroad where I'd planned to work remotely for
6 weeks. I awoke to a voicemail- "Nina, don't do anymore work- just send us an invoice asap, and read today's
New York Times."
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We were just putting the finishing touches on the OOBE, when Palm decided to pull the Foleo from release.
Despite the disappointment that everyone's work was being flushed down the writeoff drain, the RITE-paced
series of studies & subsequent findings and iteration rounds, was an incredible experience.