Silverback Previews : 8th May 2008
Silverback is a new app which lets you run your own usability tests really easily. It looks set to be a great new tool for designers who want to analyze how users interact with their site. After a recent request for beta testers, a few interesting details are emerging:
- Read Kyle Meyer’s initial impressions
- Quicktime movies are created which show the user’s interaction with the site
- A video and audio recording is also taken of the user, showing their expressions and remarks
- It can also be used for testing desktop applications
- It’s Mac only for now, likely due to the standard hardware features of Apple laptops
It’s certainly an application which could bring the idea of usability testing to a large market. There’s no substitute to actually watching someone using your website when testing it. Keep your eyes peeled for a release and give it a try for yourself.
Comments and Discussion
It certainly seems like a good idea. Not sure if it will be useful to the casual designer - might be more suited to web apps?
I'm wondering how well this would work if you're looking for a certain level of experience from the users. Say for example a financial app for insurance salesman. Obviously they are going to understand some of the nuances of a web app that caters to their industry than my mum. Looks terrifically promising so I'll take note of it. Thanks for pointing it out!
