How to Present an Experience Lab
The Trace Center Experience Lab may be replicated it its entirety, or a few of the activities and elements may be used in more constrained settings or situations. This page provides an overview of how the full lab is conducted at the Trace Center, with links to additional details and materials.
If you have questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are also interested in hearing about the efforts and experiences of others related to this type of training.
Overview of Experience Lab
Introduction (5 min.)
Rotation through 8 pairs of activity stations. (25-30 min. for 15-16 participants)
At each station, participants are given some type of functional limitation and then asked to perform a simple task using an everyday device or non-technology item. In the first station of the pair, the task is difficult or impossible to complete. In the second station, the limitation and task are the same, but something about the design of the item or device is different. In the second activity, the participant should be able to succeed. A design lesson is provided to explain what was different and why that mattered. Each station takes 1.5 - 2 min.to complete.
Lecture and group activities (25-30 min.)
- Disability as a Function of Age (presentation with activity to show the increased prevalence of disability as a population ages)
- Screen Reader demonstration (slides with audio)
- Unfair Hearing Test (activity using audio)
- Keyboard Landmarks Activity (activity using slides, flip books)
- TV Control Exercise (handout)
- Design Lessons Q&A (handout)
Links to More Information and Materials
- List of Activities: Trace Center Experience Lab
- Design Lessons From the Trace Center Experience Lab
- Trace Usability Screening Kit (TUSK) - contains many of the materials needed