Designing with Sound

Chapter 11. User Testing

When we launched the first Jambox at Jawbone, we thought we were so smart in proactively telling people when the battery was low. That was all good, but when real people started using it, they didn’t turn it off at night and so we’d get reports of this booming, scary voice at 3 a.m., which some people thought was an intruder. Test your product. Test with real people. Test in real settings and contexts.

—KAREN KAUSHANSKY, JAWBONE

USER TESTING IS IMPORTANT.

It is helpful to inform your design by looking at actual user behavior instead of solely gathering decontextualized feedback. Proponents of the Lean Startup method, for example, are skeptical of the utility of asking people to predict their own behavior, and prefers to give people real options and see what they actually do. Some market research and survey responses can be unavoidable in development, but keep in mind that nothing quite replaces observation of real-world use.

The user testing process for sound design is a way to iteratively test soundscapes and design choices at various product stages. It’s faster and less expensive to test sounds before they’re put into the finished device to make sure the sound fits the interaction. Stakeholder listening sessions, web feedback sessions and small focus groups allow for initial decisions to be validated or tossed out. Giving stakeholders a condensed summary of feedback can help provide an external perspective and inform design direction from beyond the ...