Blog of Much Holding

I run a LOT of usability tests. Just looking at my calendar for the past few months I would say that I run new designs (in varying degrees of fidelity) by users about every six months. I am truly thankful that I work for a company that appreciates the value of usability testing as much as I do, because I have never had less than 100% support for this effort. It also helps that we now have a proven track record of demonstrating that usability testing make good designs better, and smooths the last rough edges off of great designs. And, compared to developing designs we DON’T test, it’s cheap – VERY cheap.

I love my job. And, after hundreds of hours of facilitating users, I think I’m pretty good at it.

The thing that struck me recently about what I do when I walk new users through a design concept was, even though I have formal training in facilitation and usability testing that I took in college, I had actually been doing similar work for a LONG time.

Since I was 12, to be precise.

That was when I picked up a $15 boxed starter kit of Dungeons and Dragons, which opened my mind to the idea of being a “God” – creating situations, characters… heck, even a world of my own that I can walk my friends through. By talking.

Thus began my facilitation training.

Being a “Dungeon Master” that narratively described the experiences my friends’ characters would “see” as we played through both packaged adventures and new ones that I wrote myself gave me early – and affective – communication skills that I would not have developed otherwise. It also gave me some confidence that a nerdy little 12 year old would probably not have developed otherwise.

(Of course, my sister thought that it also meant I was worshipping Satan – a believe I didn’t try TOO hard to disprove, because she in turn stopped bothering me so much.)

Finally, it gave me a richer appreciation of the power of storytelling, and how important that is. In the end, isn’t all we do is telling stories with our designs? Or supporting other people and letting them live their “story” better?

So, looking at a way you can sharpen your facilitation skills? Try out D&D, old-school style. The thinking on your feet that you will have to do is perfect practice to facilitate usability tests or even a typical business meeting.

Just don’t try and cast Magic Missle if things get boring – “right place, right time.”