It does help, Scott - sounds like I should segment the testing process with a 
cycle, running through the test, observe, discuss, note cycle for each group of 
functionalities. Not unlike PM methodology.

Because I am looking to perfect and grow a single app over many years, I should 
be able to reliably group the functional areas for testing.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 7, 2017, at 5:56 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> 
> It sounds like a little bit of direct, intensive observation is worth a lot 
> of testing a a distance.
> 
> Thanks Jeff
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jul 7, 2017, at 5:31 PM, Jeff Reynolds via use-livecode 
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
>> Jonathan,
>> 
>> I second bill's approach of watching folks use the app. Years of educational 
>> software creation taught me this. I would always make friends with a local 
>> teacher that was into tech and they usually were happy to get a period to 
>> try something on the kids if it only took one period to do in the lab and 
>> was something they thought good first. Things were so self evident on what 
>> just worked and what crashed and burned. I really found that the designs 
>> that were forced (usually by marketing) always crashed and burned, but the 
>> just good ideas that came out of what was it we were really trying to do 
>> somehow avoided most all the little design eddies that folks would get a 
>> little hung up by. But watching you could quickly see those eddies w.o 
>> having to do hard core testing. Sadly this is hard to do for free in a 
>> school anymore but hiring some kids or adults will do.
>> 
>> It's funny as I've found the same thing with exhibit design. I would always 
>> spend a few hours just watching folks after we finished an exhibit. I found 
>> it really invaluable to find the little issues and the big ones and you 
>> could see so easily what folks were getting and what they were not, what 
>> they were looking and and not looking at and how they felt about the exhibit 
>> in the whole. Many of these exhibits got very expensive summative 
>> evaluations and I found that my just watching observations were right in 
>> line with heavy testing and many times a bit more complete and useful for 
>> potentially fixing things and learning for the future.
>> 
>> Cheers
>> 
>> Jeff
>> 
>>> On Jul 7, 2017, at 1:53 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>> 
>>> Jonathon,
>>> I feel your pain. In my case, I was initiated by my students and very 
>>> quickly learned how to ask the questions a newbie would ask. I also paid 
>>> small amounts to graduate students to get their feedback.
>>> 
>>> One of my very effective testers is my grandson, my wife, any of my 
>>> colleagues who might be enticed to use the app. Looking over the shoulder 
>>> while these folks use the app can be very illuminating. 
>>> 
>>> In summary:
>>> 1. Ask friends and relatives first.
>>> 2. Perhaps there would be volunteers from the live ode users group.
>>> 3. Hire high school students who might have a tech interest. Look over 
>>> their shoulders as they use the app and dialog to themselves. Actually 
>>> watching users is invaluable.
>>> 
>>> Good luck,
>>> Bill P
>> 
>> 
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