Moderating Usability Tests

4.3 Rule 8: Be unbiased 43

4.3 RULE 8: BE UNBIASED

One of the most critical aspects of successful moderating is to avoid

biasing the participants. You can unintentionally bias participants in

a number of ways:

■ through a biased test script

■ through biased questions

■ through biased answers

■ through nonverbal cues

If you bias participants, the data could be compromised. If the data

is compromised, it could call into question all of the results of the

study and possibly even undermine your credibility with the develop-

ment team.

4.3.1 Use an unbiased test script

Because this book is about interacting with test participants, we’re

not going to ...