Appendix A: The Budget Research Lab

Overview

A user research lab doesn't have to be extensive. Its primary goal is to provide a consistent, quiet, comfortable space to do research. Beyond that, investment in a lab is a game of diminishing returns. Million-dollar labs do little more on a day-to-day basis than can be done with a conference room. Nevertheless, it's highly advantageous to have a usability research lab. On a practical level, it allows for a consistent equipment setup, which greatly reduces the hassle of having to worry about audio and video quality in documentation.

Figure A.1 shows the physical layout of a usability testing lab, as described in Chapter 10 (focus group layouts are described in Chapter 9).

Figure A.1: A typical usability testing lab.

Here is the list of equipment for a budget setup, including closed-circuit observation equipment (which can be used in place of or in addition to a two-way mirror) and picture-in-picture imaging of what the participant sees.