Karel,
I have found it quite useful to view what we sometimes call testing in a different way, as conversation. In my 1997 essay on
*Theory for practice: Principles of practical information design* I talk about these conversations under the heading of *Politeness*
> 4 Politeness
> Information design is for us a polite craft, a considerate craft, one devoted to helping people and providing them with information they can use.
> The conversations we have with people in doing this craft are an expression of that politeness. Politeness is a profound respect and valuing of others. It is within this respect and valuing that the aesthetic and moral dimension of information design finds its expression. Good manners and good design go together.
> As part of this respect and valuing, it makes polite sense to consult users of information and find out what they want to use the information for and what difficulties they might have in using it, before proceeding to give them the information. It also makes polite sense to go back to information users to check whether the solution we have created for them will enable them to use the information appropriately.
> Equally the material form of a design, the manifest evidence of fine craft and skill, the attention to detail, and the creation of visual delight and pleasure for others, is all part of valuing and respecting others.
> It is also important to observe that such things are a matter of specific social context: they cannot be prescribed in advance by some universal rules—a lingua franca, a scientific methodology, or a formal protocol. They are necessarily the product of mutual interaction and sensitivity—an appropriately polite dynamic of interaction.
http://communication.org.au/product/theory-for-practice/
David
--
blog: http://communication.org.au/blog/
web: http://communication.org.au
Professor David Sless BA MSc FRSA
CEO • Communication Research Institute •
• helping people communicate with people •
Mobile: +61 (0)412 356 795
Phone: +61 (0)3 9005 5903
Skype: davidsless
60 Park Street • Fitzroy North • Melbourne • Australia • 3068
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|