A Handy User Experience Testing Checklist for Fast Paced Designers

With usability testing software on the rise, there is no reason why a designer can not run user tests quickly and effectively when needed. With the introduction of our own ux testing software, we’re on a mission to create the resources you need to run user testing sessions which help you validate ideas, including this user experience testing checklist.

This user experience testing checklist is a brief run down of the steps you need to take when preparing for and running usability testing sessions. We’ve broken the process down into 8 simple steps. It’s just a little something to carry with you and tick through as you go and ultimately help you prepare, carry out and even analyse your user tests.

The User Experience Testing Checklist

Set Goals

You have your prototype ready, what is it that you want the end user to achieve? Define the goal clearly, this will help you measure success and analyse results in the long run.

Choose your Method

There are plenty of user testing methodologies to choose from that’ll serve your unique needs. Whether you want to save cost and resources with unmoderated user testing, or are striving to get the most qualitative and quantitative results with moderated testing. Explore the methodologies that make sense to you.

• Moderated
• Unmoderated
• Remote
• Guerrilla

Define User Personas

You’ve probably done this already, they might be sitting with your marketing or product team. If not, don’t panic - quickly break down the following information for the end-user you’re targeting:

• Demographics
• Goals
• Motivations
• Pain Points

Recruit

There’s a theory you only need five participants, but you call the shots. Pick the number of participants you need and then choose a tool or make use of your research team to source participants. There are speedy participant recruitment tool like TestingTime or even Craigslist.

Create Scenarios

You know what it is you want your users to achieve in the test, but you can’t tell them the play by play - they need to get there on their own. So, create scenarios which will give your user the task you need.

• Create closed-ended tasks around specific features
• Create open-ended tasks to help you test app/website impact, like satisfaction

Rehearse

Before you dive into any user test, ensure you run through it internally with a colleague. Some things you’ll need to prepare:

• Script
• Open Questions
• Closed Questions

Record

Make sure you’ve set up a method to record your observations, if you’re using usability testing software it might already do this for you. Otherwise, you may have to do it manually.

Analyse

As you’ve set clear goals, you’ll know exactly how to measure success, be sure to analyse goal completion, responses and your visual observations in their body language to give you a rounded and strong data set.

Remember this is just a handy user experience testing checklist to cross off as you go.

If you’re looking for more detailed descriptions on carrying out usability testing check out our blog for more.

Want to hear more about UX testing and the benefits of user research? Sign up to our dedicated user testing newsletter and receive articles, ebooks and webinar invitations on the topic.

Further reading:

• How To Test UX Design Early On In Your Process
• User Testing for Designers
• How to run remote usability tests using Marvel + Zoom or Google Hangouts