ABSTRACT
Much usability evaluation is done under artificial conditions in a usability lab. Evaluation of technology in the field, with real users doing their own tasks in the real context of use, provides a very different kind of information. It is especially helpful for identifying not only what makes a product or software easy to use, but also what will make it useful and beneficial to users. In this tutorial, we contrast Field Evaluation with other user experience methods, and explain what is needed to plan a successful field usability study. Examples are drawn from consumer and enterprise projects. A particular focus is on the special advantages and challenges of longitudinal field studies, where the usage experience is tracked over time.

GOALS FOR THE SESSION
Attendees at this session will learn about:
 •  The advantages of field usability evaluation for studying usability and usefulness at the same time
 •  How to plan a field evaluation study
 •  The specific advantages of longitudinal field evaluation, such as the ability to study the processes of learning and technology
adoption in context
 •  The main difficulties of doing longitudinal field evaluation, and ways to deal with them
 •  How field evaluation fits into the stages of the product development process

INTENDED AUDIENCE
This tutorial is intended for people who already have some experience doing usability testing, or for people who are involved with planning and design of products, devices, software, or websites of any type. The tutorial is useful for people who have attended “Learning About Users through Fieldwork” but it is not required to take that first.

INSTRUCTORS’ BACKGROUND
The two presenters are very experienced user-centered design consultants. They specialize in field research and have done many projects for clients such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, Intel, eBay, and many others. These studies have had very important impacts on products, ranging from changing the basic product concept to influencing the details of user interaction design. They have taught usability professionals about field research methods at professional conferences around the world, and have written many articles and book chapters on this and other usability topics.