IMO, the most successful presentations are "infotainment." I'd start with "what point do you want to make" and then think about an entertaining way to make it. A user conference should be fun.
I think using Morae a conference would work very well if you projected it onto a screen so the audience could see the keystrokes and face. It would be dramatic and keep their attention if you make the test quick and interesting. Unless there is some reason that you need to present a "real" test, I think I'd explore something fun. The goal is to let people know how usability testing works and what it is but not really to educate them in depth, My inclination would be to keep it very short. Just long enough to get the users involved but stop the test before they get bored which can easily happen. It might be fun to come up with two screens that do the same thing. One would be well-designed and really easy to use, the other should be graphically very slick but with serious usability problems. Select three volunteers from the audience and remove them from the room. Have someone entertain them until it is their turn. First show the screens briefly and ask the audience to vote on which they think is the better screen. The you would call in the three participants and perform a brief A-B usability test. Give them no more than three simple tasks so the audience gets the idea but doesn't get lost. Of course you have to have confidence that the test will work. But it's not hard to come up with non-obvious errors that make the screen really hard to use but with graphic design that looks slick. You can use the end of the session for a Q & A session where you lead a discussion with the about the test and the design. Of course, throughout you would make the link that what you were doing is how the company you work for ensures its products are as useful as possible. Explain a bit of IxD as well if you can. Hope some of this was helpful. Charlie ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
