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BEP 322 – Project Management 7: Debriefing User Testing

Business English, IT and Tech, Project Management / April 7, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for project management and debriefing user testing during a software project.

Ask anyone in the tech world and they’ll tell you that user testing is the key to good software development. In fact, that’s not quite true, because the key is actually good user testing. Users don’t always give you exactly the information you need. Or they may not give you all the information you need. For these reasons, you need to be able to do an excellent job of debriefing a user test with the users.

Debriefing basically means talking about an experience. Debriefing helps us understand a user’s thoughts and feelings during their experience with the software. And in software development, that means we can make the necessary changes to improve that experience.

Debriefing a user test effectively might require you to do several things. For one, it’s a good idea to start by setting the focus for the debrief. And later, you might have to bring the user back to that focus area. To get a general sense of the experience, you might ask for overall impressions. And to get more detail, you might ask the user to talk about the process of using the software. It’s also a good idea to acknowledge important issues when they come up.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a software developer named Jill debriefing a user test with Carla, an office worker. Jill’s company, OptiTech, has been developing new software for a logistics company where Carla works.

Listening Questions

1. What does Jill say she wants to focus on in the debrief?
2. How does Jill respond to Carla’s suggestion about being able to update a driver’s status?
3. How does Jill respond when Carla mentions that the routes are changing color too soon?

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BEP 321 – Project Management 6: Launching User Testing

Business English, IT and Tech, Presentations in English, Project Management / March 24, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for project management and launching user testing for a software project.

At the heart of every software project is the user. If the user finds the software confusing, or if it doesn’t do what the user needs it to do, what’s the point? For this reason, user testing is an essential part of the development process.

User testing can involve a range of activities. You might watch how users interact with the software. You might track or monitor how they use it. And you might ask them for their opinions. In this way, you collect information and feedback that helps you create the best user experience possible. And just as the software itself needs to be user friendly, so does user testing. If people don’t have a clear idea of what they’re supposed to do during testing, you’ll be wasting an opportunity.

So when you launch testing, it’s important to outline what you’re going to be doing, and what kind of feedback you’re interested in. Because the software is new to the test users, you’ll need to give them clear instructions on how to use it and give them an overview of the main features. You might also find yourself emphasizing key points along the way. After all, it’s much easier to make sure everyone understands upfront than to deal with confused users during testing.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Jill, a developer with a software company called OptiTech. They’ve been developing software for a logistics company, and now they are ready to launch the first round of user testing. We’ll also hear Liam, the IT manager for the client, and Carla, one of the test users.

Listening Questions

1. What does Jill say will be the final step in this test?
2. What three aspects of the software does this test focus on?
3. What does Jill emphasize is absolutely necessary for the drivers to do?

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925 English Lesson 18 – Using Superlatives

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video / March 10, 2018

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to talk about extremes using superlatives such as “best” and “worst.”

Business is a competition. And in competition we are always talking about who or what is at the top, or the bottom. Usually this means comparing with adjectives. I mean we’re talking about how small something is or how successful someone is.

925 English is a course of video English lessons for beginners. With 925 English lessons you can learn business English phrases and expressions to use in work and business.

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BEP 320 – English Idioms for Expressing Degrees of Certainty (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms / March 3, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for expressing degrees of certainty.

There’s an old saying in English that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The idea behind that expression is that we can’t really be sure of anything. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about what might happen or will probably happen or what is unlikely to happen.

This kind of discussion is all about degrees of certainty. In other words: how sure you are about something. It’s important to know, or at least to guess, how certain something is. How else can you plan? How else can you decide the right course of action? And just like other common topics of discussion, English has many idioms for expressing certainty. In today’s lesson, we’re going to look at some of these expressions.

We’ll hear a conversation between Maria, Tom, and Gavin, who work for a company that makes mobile apps for children. The three colleagues are talking about several new ideas being considered in the company. More specifically, they’re discussing how certain they are about the potential for each app.

Listening Questions

1. What does Maria think about the app called Waffle Bunnies?
2. Which app does Maria think they can successfully market and sell?
3. What expression does Tom use to show how certain he is that the music-making app will be a success?

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