"watching what a user does tells me whether i match up with their expectation" True I get this bit, "Where do you start?" I guess what I'm trying to get at is

"watching what a user does tells me whether i match up with their expectation" True I get this bit, "Where do you start?" I guess what I'm trying to get at is "How do you choose which area a user should look at and why?". Sometimes it's good to let testers work undirected to see what problems they have & what they use most often, first. Other times you might want specific areas of code or functionality tested. "... thanks for the links! ..." The Joel 12 step is a classic to read & apply. It's based on reality and works as a quick Yes/No tool to see how good a process is (good old paratrooper Joel). It either works or it's defective & needs to be fixed.