Upstream, you will have written the test scenarios (upcoming article: How to write an effective scenario for your user tests) and recruited your users.

These qualitative tests allow you to observe your target users in real conditions of use of the product. This makes it possible to detect blocking points and improve your product.

Users test severally your application.

Here are the steps for an effective test:

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1. Welcome your users

• Welcome your user with a smile and make him feel at ease, offer him a drink. “Hello, thanks for coming? “.
• Once installed, Introduce yourself quickly and explain your role in the project.

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2. Introduction to the test

Quickly explain how the test went:

• Specify how long the test will take.
• The test will start with a few general questions and then you will test the prototype.
• Explain that it is a prototype and that everything may not work properly, but that you will guide him through the test.
• Ask the user to comment on everything they do out loud. What he is thinking about, what he wants to do, what he does not understand etc., as this will help you detect the blocking points and therefore improve the application.
• Reassure him by saying there is no wrong answer and that you have to be as honest as possible.

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3. Start with general, contextual questions about the user

The first part of the test always starts with a few introductory questions.

Define a maximum of 5 questions to better understand your user's profile, product use, habits, and needs. This mini User Research will be useful to you throughout the construction of your user experience.

A few examples:

• Do you have a professional activity? If yes, which one?
• Are you part of an association? of a sports club?... Which ones?
• Do you use social networks? Which ones?
• Do you have a smartphone? What types of applications do you use?
• What do you like to do in your free time?
• Do you like to travel? On average, how many times do you travel in a year? What destinations (France/abroad)?
• What do you like to do when you travel?
• How do you meet new people in your daily life and when you travel, if necessary?

4. Have the prototype tested

There are two schools, that of letting the user freely browse the application and that of giving him a path to follow. Personally, and to avoid being biased, I prefer to define a path to follow and list tasks. Tasks are user needs that need to be contextualized:

Be careful not to define tasks like “Press the blue button”, but rather questions like:

• Now what would you do to get to the next stage?
• You want to access a list of your conversations. What are you doing?
• Imagine that you want to change your profile image because you have had yours for 1 year. What would you do?

For each task, ask questions to the user to force them to comment:

• What do you think of that? What do you like/dislike?
• What do you understand here?
• Did you expect that?
• Would you have done otherwise, why? etc.

If you need to get more information about a key feature of your product without biasing your user, rephrase the sentences in question: If they say “I don't find that clear.” ask “Why don't you find that clear?”.

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5. DEBRIEF with your users to capture their overall thoughts and impressions

At the end of the test, don't let the user leave right away. Summarize the highlights together with a few questions like:

• What do you like/dislike about this prototype?
• Why?
• If you had 3 wishes to improve this product, anything you want, what would you do? - This last question may seem odd, but it allows you to broaden the prospects for improving the product.

You can also ask questions to measure the product market fit, know if the user is in the target or if the product is really missing something:

• Would you like to use this product?
• Super excited to use it - it can be nice - neither hot nor cold

You can also ask questions with notes if you want to measure the evolution of your product:

• On a score of 0 to 5, do you find the application pretty?
• On a score of 0 to 5, is the application complete in view of your needs?
• On a score of 0 to 5, is the application easy to use?
• On a score of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the app to a friend or colleague? (0 = “not at all likely”, 10 = “very likely”).” (NPS = Net Promoter Score)

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6. Sort out the information

Throughout the test phase, it is imperative to take notes, even if you record the sessions. Ideally, be 2 people. One to take notes and one to guide the user during the test.

Note the current task and user feedback, both positive and negative.

If your test is being shown in another room, ask colleagues to take notes. An effective technique is to draw a chart on the wall (if you have whiteboards) with one column per user, and one row per section of the prototype. Your colleagues will write each user comment (with a red marker the negative comments, in green the positive ones) from the user and stick the post-its on the board at the end of the session. Group duplicate post-its together. This will allow you to identify similar user comments very quickly.

If you are alone, take notes on your notebook and group your notes in the same way in an Excel spreadsheet.

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7. CONCLUDE

No matter what results you get, there's no wrong conclusion.

• Or your tests highlight that the errors to be corrected are minor. In that case, great. Your iteration work will be quick and you will be able to get to the next step quickly.
• Or your tests have identified important errors that absolutely need to be corrected and tested again before moving on to the next step. That doesn't mean you designed your product poorly. On the contrary, it shows that you were able to anticipate these mistakes before it was too late to correct them. You are not in the users' heads and that is why testing is the only solution to move forward.

On the go, listen to the recordings again and write your test report - you will better convince your customer with this kind of document: summarize the main comments by task/section of the prototype and specify how many users had this comment, include the video recordings, the script and all your notes by users in appendices.

It's up to you to play!

To complete this article, you can read: How to write an effective scenario for your user tests (article coming soon) and How to organize your user tests.