The Wizard of Oz Method in UX

Summary: The Wizard of Oz is a type of user-research method that involves interaction with a mock interface controlled by a human. It is used to test costly concepts inexpensively and to narrow down the problem space.

What Is the Wizard of Oz Method?

The name of this method makes reference to the 20th century American children’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by Frank Baum, in which the characters meet a giant head that appears to be a powerful wizard, only to learn that it’s just an ordinary man pulling levers behind a screen.

Appropriately, in this research method, a human interacts with an interface that is controlled by a human “behind the curtain.”

Definition: The Wizard of Oz method is a moderated research method in which a user interacts with an interface manned by a human who controls the system responses.