

From Print to iPad: Designing a Reading Experience - harrybr
http://www.90percentofeverything.com/2012/04/20/from-print-to-ipad-designing-a-reading-experience/

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adrianhoward
Classic line

 _Suddenly I realised that usability testing is only fun when it rips apart
someone else’s work!_

Been there oh so many times.

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harrybr
Article author here. This raises the question of whether we should be
facilitating usability testing sessions on our own designs. Generally it's
something I try to avoid unless the situation demands it. It takes a lot of
discipline to facilitate a session objectively when your own design work is
performing poorly and the client is watching it happen live!

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adrianhoward
Yup. It does take discipline... but it's one worth acquiring I think :-)

People need to switch from thinking "dumb user" (very bad) or "I suck at
design" (bad) to "yay - I learned something". Adding more people into the
testing loop is possibly good for objectivity - but really bad for lengthening
the feedback loop and making it much less communicative.

It fits in with your general point that we don't talk enough about failure
enough. Failure is _normal_ in the design process. I expect the first few
iterations to be complete f __k ups in one way or another. That's just the way
life is. People are complicated.

Be open about it. Test early and often. Learn and improve.

