Resumen
The article focuses on usability testing that has now become a well-known method in product development for examining new products before they are put in hands of users. In practice, usability testing is often seen as a way to obtain objective data on the use of products for Research & Development (R&D) departments. Due to this conception of objectivity it has been a widespread belief that usability testing must be carried out by "neutral" usability specialists, that the user must think aloud in undisturbed solitude in the laboratory and that R&D experts should be kept at a distance so as not to intimidate the user and color results. In this article are outlined four examples to show how authors of this article have turned the conventional usability testing format into a dialogue between users and designers. The article discusses in great detail the usability testing at Danfoss, Denmark's largest manufacturing company. Based upon the experiences at Danfoss, the article concludes that three important problems can be overcome by turning usability testing into a dialogue with users. First, dialogue facilitates the disclosure of user priorities and practices that may otherwise remain concealed. Second, the problem of anchoring insights gained in the test setting in the R&D departments is easier to overcome if designers themselves engage in dialogue with users. And third, engaging the users in dialogue sessions enables people to move beyond product critique to a more innovative engagement in new design possibilities. INSETS: Case Study: Can Everyone Become a Test Facilitator?; Case Study: Observer or Participant?; Case Study: Preparing Users for a Design Dialogue.