About
Our Testers
Our
goal is to create a credible simulation of how products are used in real-world
settings. To that end, our testers are typically people who use technology to
get their jobs done. It could be a novice user or an expert using a PC, a cell
phone, an e-commerce site, or custom database application for completing the
task at hand. Therefore, finding the right mixture of testers for a product
evaluation is a lot like selecting a jury; and LULABS staff takes the process
just as seriously. The first step is to produce a profile of the most
representative testers for each product. We use data from our research division,
user surveys, vendor surveys and staff with proven expertise in the product's
category. The resulting profile describes the tester's profession, experience
level with the product and other relative characteristics.
Next,
we recruit testers through our extensive tester database. Each potential tester
fills in a detailed questionnaire and completes an in-person interview. The
questionnaire helps to establish a prospective tester's credentials. For
example: "What products do you use? What is your company's primary
business? What is the nature of your job?"
In-person
interviews help eliminate bias by weeding-out candidates who either feel loyalty
or negativity towards a product or company. Experienced users typically have
strong opinions about their likes and dislikes. One crucial goal in the
recruiting process is to make our lab a level-playing field for every product.
