BACK: Create a user story

3.2 Plan a trial

Writing a plan for your trial will help test if your tool can do what the user wants.

Read the tips below and write your plan at the bottom of the page.

1. Describe how long you will take to trial each tool.

2. Choose your test users

Try it with the people you hope will use it. If you only try it yourself, you won’t learn as much about what your users really want.

Pick a range of different types of people to ensure that you get a representative picture.

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I need to change this answer.

3. Get a basic version of the tool to test

Look for free versions of a tool that you can try out, or ask a tool provider for a ‘demo’ version.

Alternatively, you can show users a ‘beta’ version of the tool with the same basic features you want to test.

Include ‘dummy’ data or content that is similar to the real-life data in the finished tool. The tool provider may be able to provide this ‘dummy’ data.

4. Write open-ended questions to find out:

General impressions:

How do you find using it?
How does it look?
Could you imagine using a tool like this?

Ease of use

Which parts are easy to use?
What was frustrating?

Reliability

How did everything work?
What would they change?
Are there any unnecessary features or are some features missing?

5. Host a training or introduction to the trial.

Explain to the test users (in person or a written test plan) how much time you expect them to contribute (‘expect to spend 30 mins on this’).
Explain that the tool will have problems (or ‘bugs’) and that this is normal.
State clearly how you want to receive feedback - for example, in an online form or through notes you will make on a conversation.

Write your plan below:

Next, trial your tools and record the feedback. You will summarise it on the next page.

example

A simple social media tool could be trialled in two hours if only one person in your organisation is using it. A system to collect complaints submitted online and by telephone in three regions will take much longer because there is more to test.

research

When trialling did not help the organisation, it was often because they only tried it with people who were not like their intended target user.

case study

"It would have been good to have tested the platform with users before launch. This would have pointed out many of the flaws [early]. [Later on, we realised] the site was far too complex with far too many functions and choices for users to make... and we realised that the platform was not very mobile-friendly, which constrained growth.” -- A participant in our research.

example

We will trial two tools with 20 users, all of whom are people that use publicly provided water services in the area that our project focuses on.

We will aim to include people from a range of backgrounds.
We will use a free ‘demo’ version of each tool with short questions like the ones we hope to use in the full project.

Then, we will sit with each user for 1 hour as they use each tool, and ask them to describe what they are thinking as they use the tools. We will ask them open questions about: how they might use the tool; where and when they might use it; whether anything is unclear or difficult to use; what would make them more likely to use it; if they would change anything; and what they thought of the tool overall.

resources

Keep in mind your intended user when planning a trial. Use Aptivate's guidelines for identifying key user groups.

Alidade

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

CONGRATULATIONS

3.2 Plan a trial

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