6.2 Be a new user
When you work on a software long enough, you tend to become blind for its errors and interaction issues (Johansson, 2005). You need to practice putting yourself in the mindset of an unexperienced user who just discovered your software. Repeatedly set up a new installation or register a new account and go through the setup and first steps through the eyes of someone who never used the software before. Prepare a scenario: It is useful to have a series of tasks so that the program is used as it normally would. This does not need to be too elaborate, just a few logical steps that cover what you want to test. For the first test of Shotwell, I went with:
- Get photos from camera
- Select the best
- Edit when needed
- Categorize
- Upload to web service You can always refine it for the next tests, the important thing is to get started! It is then best to follow up with actual user tests using the refined tasks to see how actual new users handle it. See 6.10 Watch people use the software.