ReseaRch MethoD · synthesis / analysis techniqUe · ReseaRch DeliveRable 34 evaluative research Evaluative research involves the testing of prototypes, products, or interfaces by real potential users of a system in design development. evaluative or evaluation research attempts to gauge human expectations against the designed artifact in question, determining whether something is useful, usable, and desirable. This is the most established form of research in design, stemming from a long history of product and interface test- ing in human factors, commonly known as "user testing." To avoid connotations that the partici- pants themselves are being tested, the term "product testing" is preferred. Furthermore, whereas testing in the past focused primarily on performance measures to gauge variables such as speed and accuracy in task completion, the emphasis in design evaluation is now more comprehensive, collecting feedback on preference measures as well, including the aesthetic and emotional response from users. evaluation research therefore encompasses methods that gauge human factors and ergonomics, usability, aesthetic response, and emotional resonance. evaluation research is ideally iterative, based on feedback from potential users in cyclical rounds of concept and prototype development to refine product and interface details. evaluation should never be reserved only for final product release, when design changes are potentially complicated and expensive. However, evaluation research of existing products may be useful in early stage design research, to inform new product development, for competing products or variations, or for comple- mentary products within a system. 1. See for example: Kittur, Aniket, ed H. Chi, and Bongwon Suh. "Crowdsourcing for Usability: Using Micro-Task Markets for rapid, remote, and low-Cost User Measurements." proceedings of chi, 2008. See also: Amazon Mechanical Turk: www.mturk.com fivesecondtest: www.fivesecondtest.com navflow: www.navflow.com clicktest: www.theclicktest.com Further Reading Barnum, Carol. usability testing essentials: ready, Set . . . test! San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2010. Hackos, JoAnn, and Janice redish. user and