The crew invites three greenhouse workers to try the paper prototype of Beacon's alert screen.
Mae works the night shift in dim light. She leans close. "The alert text is very small," she says.
Tomas looks at the two colored dots beside each plant. "Which dot means trouble? Red and green look alike to me."
Comet blinks. "I thought everyone could tell them apart."
Wren writes it down. "That was our assumption. Our users just tested it for us."
Nova projects a new version with larger text and a word beside each dot. "Shall we test again?" she asks.
Collaboration that includes diverse perspectives helps avoid bias in the development of computing innovations.
Talking and listening to users are important parts of developing computing innovations.
One kind of bias is an incorrect assumption developers make about their users, like Comet's guess about colors.
Testing and refinement is a deliberate, repeating process. It includes debugging and comparing actual outcomes with intended outcomes.
Developers can also check their work against professionally accepted accessibility standards.
| Week review | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Good test inputs sit at or just beyond the minimum and maximum. | ? |
| A run-time error happens while the program is running. | ? |
| Comments change how a program runs. | ? |
| Testing with diverse users can reveal developers' wrong assumptions. | ? |
| Once one test passes, testing is finished. | ? |
Excellent week, developer. Tomorrow's Mission Quest turns your family into a test team.