8 small user testing tips you may not be aware of
User testing is not a new topic anymore. I believe there are a lot of companies running it already. No matter on a big or small scale: guerrilla testing, formal on-site testing or remote testing. There are a lot of books, articles and medium posts preparing you to run your own.
In this post I want to focus on slightly different aspect of the testing, which many times goes unnoticed. Below you will find small tips and hacks that you might not be aware of. But if you are still interested in more general knowledge regarding the detailed preparation of testing script, objectives setting and prototyping tools, you can refer to the links I attached at end of the article.
At foodora we run regular user testing every month. Every designer in our team has already been the facilitator once in the last year. What I want to share now are some small tips for the last minute preparation that might not be covered by other articles. They are reflection of my observation as well as from my own experience as a moderator. So here we go.
1. You should be the one who sits closest to the door
It is better for you to sit closest to the door, there are two reasons behind this:
- In case there are a lot of people walking by the room, your body blocks the distraction from the user’s sight.
- In case someone comes in the room suddenly, you are the one who get noticed first rather than the user.
2. Ask “personalised” questions
After going through the introduction and recording permission, it’s always a good idea to ask questions before testing so that you can encourage the user to speak up and get used to the environment.
I suggest asking questions related to “experience” and “memories”. Not the same questions you send out during user recruiting process. Taking foodora sessions as an example: asking the participant about the frequency of ordering food through our service doesn’t help to understand the user much. He/she might also think that we ask something we already know.
Asking questions like “What is your favorite cuisine?” “Tell me about the most impressive online shopping experience you have?” will help the user speaking up with a warmth atmosphere linked to a positive memory. It also breaks the wall between you and him. By then you will know a bit more about the user’s personality, whether he is a quiet one or someone who likes sharing.
3. Prepare refreshments and glasses
There is a list of materials you need to prepare in the testing room. Soft drinks and snacks are a must have item but don’t forget to get some glasses. There was a user in our testing who asked for a glass which surprised us. Facilitator went to the pantry and brought a glass in. In that experience we wasted a few minutes again and the testing couldn’t start at the right time as we scheduled. If we are attentive enough we might save some time.
4. User may have running nose, tissue box makes him less embarrassed
Participant can also catch a flu just before the testing. It happened through our sessions as well. We can easily spot when the user keeps sneezing for the whole hour he / she definitely doesn’t feel comfortable. This is also influencing user’s way of speaking. Now in our sessions we cover having tissue box — it saves a time for us and embarrassing moments for the user.
In another case when tissues come handy is when the drinks get spilled, worse scenario — on the laptops and devices, you have napkins to dry it up immediately.
5. Observe user’s behaviour directly from them, not from the mirroring
During the time when I was the moderator I was mirroring the prototype on my laptop so I could stream it to the observer room. Sometimes I didn’t realise that I looked at the prototype being mirrored on the laptop instead of directly on the user. However, remind yourself (the facilitator) to look at the device at the user’s hand directly because you can observe exactly what he/she is doing. Some tapping and clicking behaviours cannot be reflected in the mirroring — you, as a moderator, are responsible to look closely what gestures user is doing.
6. Clean up the test data after every user
You should have prepared every user a test account. When each user finish the session, clean up the saved data from the browser or your app. Mind information like saved passwords, saved addresses in the session, saved payment options and delete the cookies. Don’t forget also logging out from the account. You can also prepare testing account for each user — then your job is easier as you don’t need to delete specific account information each time. Deleting cookies and logging out will do the thing.
7. Restart computers after every session is over
There are a lot of technical setup methods for testing. We have to be able to mirror from the mobile device, live stream to observer room and record at once. This setup is heavy for the computer’s memory which will slow down its speed for the rest of the day.
Restart all the computers in both, testing and observer room will help the computers to run smoothly.
8. Ask the users if they like the testing session, so they can help spread the word for next time
When wrapping up the session with giving out the vouchers or souvenirs, you can ask if the participants like the session. If they do, feel free to ask them to help spreading the message about the testing. In this way you will save some time and resources for recruiting users for the next session (I assume testing is not a one-time thing at your company). They have already experienced what user testing is, the words from their mouths are more persuasive and reliable.
The above tips might not be the most important things in the checklist, but they will definitely help your testing. I hope your users will have a great experience in your session. Enjoy!
