Test moderation checklist
WELCOMING THE PARTICIPANT
- Set expectations. Review purpose of test, roles of
moderator, note taker and participant, estimated
duration.
- Reassure the participant. Not a test of the
participant, want to learn the strengths and
weaknesses of the design, moderator is not the
designer.
- Develop friendly rapport. Be welcoming and
helpful to the participant without being too
empathic if participant is negative/positive
toward a design.
STARTING A NEW TASK
- Check for understanding. Ask the participant to
repeat the task in his or her own words.
DURING THE TASK
- Remind the participant to think-aloud. “Keep
talking”. “What’s going through your head at the
moment?” “Talk to me about what you’re doing”.
- Let the participant talk. Pause to let them finish a
thought — don’t talk over them.
- Don’t fill the silence. If you feel the urge to talk,
say, “What are you thinking right now?”
- React to body language. Pick up on participant
body language of frustration or annoyance and
adjust interaction accordingly.
- Provide neutral encouragement. Treat positive
and negative comments the same way. “This is
very helpful. You’re doing just what we need you to do”.
- Repeat what the participant said. Reiterate
comments verbatim to encourage elaboration.
“You just said ‘I’m looking for a better way to search’.
Help me to understand what you mean by that.”
- Check your interpretation of the participant’s
behaviour. Rephrase the participant’s statement
in your own words to ensure accuracy. “I am
hearing you say…”
- Avoid defending or explaining the design. Act as
a neutral party outside of the design team – you
are there for research, not to defend designs.
- Avoid asking participants to re-design the
interface. Bad: “What would be the best way to design
this?” Good: “In your experience, what other web sites do
this well?”
- Avoid assigning blame. Bad: “Why did you do that?”
Good: “I noticed you did X. Talk me through your thought
process.”
- Answer a question with a question. If the
participant asks, “How do I get back to the home
page?”, reply with, “How do you think you would get
back to the home page?”
- Don’t assist the participant unless you are
absolutely certain they have reached a dead-end.
If the participant asks for help, say, “Do what you
would do if I wasn’t here”.
ASKING QUESTIONS
- Avoid leading questions. Bad: “How did you like
that form?” Good: “What did you think about that
form?”
- Avoid closed questions. Bad: “Does this make sense?”
Good: “What are your impressions of this?”
- Avoid biased questions. Bad: “Is this feature helpful
to you?” Good: “Is this feature helpful or unhelpful?
Why?”
- Clarify terms and concepts. “What do you mean by
‘service’?” “What do you call those buttons?”
WRAPPING UP
- Ask the participant to complete an end-of-test
survey and use the participant’s answers to
structure your post-test interview.
- Ask for an overall assessment. “Can you summarise
your experience with the prototype today?” or “Tell me
two things that worked well and two things that could be
improved.”
- Request comments regarding topics not raised
during the session. “What comments do you have on
topics we didn’t cover today?”, “What else should I have
asked?” or “What other feedback should I give to the
design team?”