Pluralistic walkthrough

The pluralistic walkthrough (also called a participatory design review, user-centered walkthrough, storyboarding, table-topping, or group walkthrough) is a usability inspection method used to identify usability issues in a piece of software or website in an effort to create a maximally usable human-computer interface. The method centers on recruiting a group of users, developers and usability professionals to step through a task scenario, discussing usability issues associated with dialog elements involved in the scenario steps. The group of experts used is asked to assume the role of typical users in the testing.

The method is prized for its ability to be utilized at the earliest design stages, enabling the resolution of usability issues quickly and early in the design process. The method also allows for the detection of a greater number of usability problems to be found at one time due to the interaction of multiple types of participants.

This type of usability inspection method has the additional objective of increasing developers’ sensitivity to users’ concerns about the product design.^{[citation needed]}

A walk-through team must be assembled prior to the pluralistic walk-through. Three types of participants are included in the walk-through:

The following materials are needed to conduct a pluralistic walkthrough:

Participants are given written instructions and rules at the beginning of the walkthrough session. The rules indicate to all participants (users, designers, usability engineers) to:

Pluralistic walkthroughs are group activities that require the following steps be followed:

Throughout this process, usability problems are identified and classified for future action. The presence of the various types of participants in the group allows for a potential synergy to develop that often leads to creative and collaborative solutions. This allows for a focus on user-centered perspective while also considering the engineering constraints of practical system design.