In the field of human–computer interaction, a Wizard of Oz experiment is a research experiment in which subjects interact with a computer system that subjects believe to be autonomous, but which is actually being operated or partially operated by an unseen human being.
Concept
The phrase Wizard of Oz (originally OZ Paradigm) has come into common usage in the fields of experimental psychology, human factors, ergonomics, linguistics, and usability engineering to describe a testing or iterative design methodology wherein an experimenter (the "wizard"), in a laboratory setting, simulates the behavior of a theoretical intelligent computer application (often by going into another room and intercepting all communications between participant and system). Sometimes this is done with the participant's prior knowledge and sometimes it is a low-level deceit employed to manage the participant's expectations and encourage natural behaviors.
For example, a test participant may think they are communicating with a computer using a speech interface, when the participant's words are actually being covertly entered into the computer...
Timothy Wolodzko
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.