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A review of
The Moderator’s Survival Guide: Handling Common, Tricky and Sticky Situations in User Research
By Donna Tedesco and Fiona Tranquada
Morgan Kauffman

Whether you are an experienced moderator or just starting out, The Moderator’s Survival Guide will be a great addition to your UX book collection. “Handling common, tricky, and sticky situations in user research,” is a great summation of the well-organized and carefully presented content in this resourceful book.

For beginners, the book provides an overview of the dos and don’ts of moderation. Among other things, it describes the role and responsibilities of the moderator during user research activities. It emphasizes the importance of the moderator for ensuring the comfort and well being of participants, maintaining control throughout the activity, and taking responsibility when issues arise.

Experienced moderators will find advice on handling common situations, such as participants arriving late or asking for assistance with tasks, and dealing with dreaded but predictable technical issues (eek). Readers will benefit from learning how the authors dealt with each situation and read their recommendations. You are also likely to discover situations you have not experienced or imagined. For example, in my case, I learned how to deal with natural disasters, participants bringing children or pets to sessions, and addressing participants who are hitting on you.

The book is well organized by topic, which makes it easy to navigate and great for reference. Each section begins with the description of a “sticky situation,” and notes with which method(s) the situation is most likely to occur and with what frequency. Recommended actions, or “moderation patterns,” are defined early in the book and noted for each situation. These are followed by tips on what to do and say, as well as what not to do and say. Suggestions for how to avoid each situation entirely are included as well.

Another thing I really like about this book is the sprinkling of real life—relevant moderating stories provided by fellow practitioners. These “Survival Stories” provide additional guidance on how to resolve common problems in research sessions. The authors have also compiled a series of videos, accessible from their website, to accompany many of the issues they discuss. This is especially helpful for people like me who learn best from seeing something in context.

The book concludes with recommendations for improving your moderating skills, which again, makes for great content for both beginners and experienced moderators.  For the latter, you’re bound to learn something new—if nothing else, different approaches or perspectives.

I enjoyed this book as a cover-to-cover read and will most certainly use it in the future for reference. I highly recommend it.

Sticky Situations Shown in Video Scenarios

The book website has seven videos that illustrate some of the problems moderators might encounter, and show positive, effective ways to handle them.

If you’ve ever dealt with the “Self-Blaming Participant,” this video shows a way to reassure them without biasing the session. It demonstrates three patterns: Take Responsibility, Engage the Participant, and Reassure the Participant.

To learn more about how to use the videos, start with the video introduction page on the site.

如果您要开展用户研究，可以从本文学习如何处理“常见的复杂而棘手的情况”。这本书强调了主持人在任务中的重要性，例如确保参与者感到舒适、安心，在整个活动期间保持控制以及在发生问题时担负起责任。无论是刚刚起步还是已经拥有丰富的经验的可用性专业人员都可以从中学到一些新东西，即使没有新东西，也可以了解不同的方法或观点。

文章全文为英文版

[:KO]

당신이 사용자 리서치를 수행할 때, “평범하고, 까다롭고, 지긋지긋한 상황”을 다루는 법을 배우면 도움이 될 수 있습니다. 이 책은 참여자들의 편안함과 안녕을 보장하고, 활동 전반을 통제하며, 문제가 생겼을 때 나서서 해결하는 등 실무에서 진행자의 중요성을 강조합니다. 초기 및 숙련 사용성 모두 무언가 새로운 것을 배우게 되어 있습니다. 적어도 다른 접근법과 관점을 배우게 됩니다.

전체 기사는 영어로만 제공됩니다.

[:pt]

Se você realiza pesquisas com usuários, poderá se beneficiar com o aprendizado sobre como tratar “situações comuns, complicadas e complexas”. Este livro destaca a importância do moderador em tarefas como garantir o conforto e bem-estar dos participantes, manter o controle durante toda a atividade e assumir responsabilidades quando surgem problemas. Tanto os profissionais de  usabilidade  iniciantes quanto os experientes aprenderão algo novo, no mínimo, diferentes abordagens ou perspectivas.

O artigo completo está disponível somente em inglês.

[:ja]

ユーザー調査の実施にあたっては、「よくある微妙で厄介な状況」に対処する方法を学ぶことが役に立つ。本書は、参加者が快適で安心できる状態を確保する、調査活動中は常に状況をコントロールする、問題発生時には責任を取る、といったタスクにおけるモデレータの重要性を強調している。ユーザビリティのビギナーも経験者も、新しい発見、あるいは異なるアプローチや視点について、必ずや学ぶことになるであろう。

原文は英語だけになります

[:es]

Si lleva a cabo una investigación del usuario, puede beneficiarse de aprender cómo manejar “situaciones comunes, complicadas y delicadas”. Este libro destaca la importancia del moderador en tareas como garantizar la comodidad y el bienestar de los participantes, mantener el control durante toda la actividad y responsabilizarse cuando surgen problemas. Tanto los equipos de usabilidad principiantes como los experimentados aprenderán algo nuevo, aunque no sea más que enfoques y perspectivas diferentes.

La versión completa de este artículo está sólo disponible en inglés

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Topics: User Research, Usability Testing, Careers, UX Methods
Published in: February, 2015 in [:en]Open Topics[:zh]开放式主题 [:KO]논의 주제 [:pt]Temas livres [:ja] オープン・トピック [:es]Temas abiertos

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