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A Peek Inside Google’s Gmail Usability Lab

TechCrunch has some photos of a usability lab used by the Gmail team at Google. Some of the photos include earlier iterations of Google Chat that were being tested in the lab.

I only see shots of the observers' room in the photos, but there's some description of their testing room as well.

It’s a small room with a large flat screen monitor, along with a desk and computer. It also has a number of discrete cameras (and a microphone) that keep an eye on the user herself as well as the screen.

Around the corner is a second room where Google employees can watch people interact with the software real time. The room has a couch and a chair along with two screens and speakers to monitor the lab. See the image to the right.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/22/a-peak-inside-googles-usability-lab/

Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Boxes and Arrows has a very detailed tutorial by Alexa Andrzejewski, interaction designer at Adaptive Path, on creating prototypes in Flash.

To tackle the classic “how to prototype rich interactions” problem, I developed a process for translating static screen designs (from wireframes to visual comps) into interactive experiences using Flash. Requiring some fairly basic ActionScript knowledge, these prototypes proved to be a quick yet powerful way to bring interaction designs to life.

It's nice to see this kind of practical knowledge sharing happening on B&A. This is a nicely illustrated tutorial covering a very practical method you can start using today.

http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/quick-and-easy-flash