…So why am I testing in a cave? I’ve spent the last week conducting user testing on a top secret product ::: shhhhh! ::: from one of the tech majors down in Silicon Valley, and as a result have spent a lot of time indoors. Actually, so much in fact that I totally missed last Thursday’s glorious weather, only to emerge at 6pm with rings around my eyes, sallow skin, and a distinct fear of sunlight.

Joking aside, it did get me thinking about how we test participants with products. Ideally we’re trying to recreate a lab environment for focused testing. The theory goes that a dark, windowless room will help people focus (or keep them from being distracted, which are totally different things), or that it accurately approximates an existing work environment. But everyone knows (here, here, and here) that the windowless, cubicle-warren approach doesn’t do anything for worker productivity, creativity, and ultimately, happiness.

And yet Ux labs the world over have to adhere to the lowest common denominator, because let’s be honest, Ux labs that look like this are a long way off. So if we agree that we should be moving toward a more open work environment, and it’s something we’re striving for in our day to day work, how does this translate (if at all) into product testing? And if we do agree to push the open workspace revolution, is the Ux lab as we know, love, and hate it: dim, confined, and with that cool two-way glass, on the way out?