Report Template: Usability Test [Short/ Informal]

Date of Report: [Month Day, Year]

Date of Test: [Month Day, Year]
Location of Test: [City, State]

Prepared for: [Name]

Phone Number: [XXX-XXX-XXXX]
Email: [[email protected]]

Prepared by: [Name]

Phone Number: [XXX-XXX-XXXX]
Email: [[email protected]]

Executive Summary

NOTE: This section describes the main goal and rationale of the study. Briefly describe the
scenarios that participants completed, how the sessions were conducted, and how many
participants took part in the study. This section should also discuss overall trends, such as
whether or not participants were able to complete all the tasks. Data should be reported as both
a number of completed scenarios as well as a percentage. Is there is a reason why tasks were
completed or not? Be sure to give an overall impression (theme) about what the reader will
encounter in the report.

Methodology
Who we tested
[Eight] participants, having the following characteristics, evaluated [product name].

NOTE: Add or delete main categories as needed. Refer to screener for main demographic
information.

Audience Type Computer Usage

User Profile 1 2 0 to 10 hrs. wk. 2

User Profile 2 4 11 to 25 hrs. wk. 4
User Profile 3 2 26+ hrs. wk. 2
TOTAL (participants) 8 TOTAL (participants) 8

Age Gender

18-25 2 Women 4
26-39 2 Men 4
40-59 2 TOTAL (participants) 8
60-74 2
TOTAL (participants) 8

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 What participants did
NOTE: State about how long participants met with the study facilitator and how many tasks they
completed. Describe anything else that participants did, such as filling out questionnaires.

What data we collected

NOTE: Describe the data collected, including paths selected, task completion rates, and verbal
feedback. Describe any other data that were collected, such as time on task or satisfaction
ratings.

Major findings and recommendations

 List major issues – Use the bullet format to enable quick scanning.

 Identify solutions – Spot issues and trends via user testing and then make recommendations.

NOTE: Readers should be able to use this section to get a good grasp of what the issues are
and what possible solutions exist. It is not a list of every single problem, but an overview of the
major stumbling blocks identified during testing.

Detailed findings and recommendations

Introductory Questions & Tasks
NOTE: List the question followed by the summaries of responses. If you ask participants to define their
expectations for a set of labels, it may be useful to put them in a table so they can be compared.
Following are two examples.

Sample 1. Summary of introductory questions

Sample Questions Sample Responses
Have you heard of [site]? None of the participants had been to or
heard of the site.
Just from looking at this site, what kinds All participants correctly defined the purpose
of information do you think you could get of the site. Participants used phrases from
from this site? Please be specific. major headers and labels to describe the
information on the site.
Who do you think this site is designed Participants correctly identified general
for? Why? public. One person suggested doctors and
nurses.
Who manages this site? One participant identified the sponsor from
the masthead.

Sample 2. Label expectations by participant

Participant No. What’s New News Resources
1 New on the site Press releases Web sites
2 New books Headlines Books, articles

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 Scenario 1 - Exercise/Sports; Fitness
You’ve heard that many people get injured due to bike accidents. You want to know if wearing a
bike helmet will reduce your chance of injury. Where would you look for this information?

Number of participants X
Percent successful XX%

Sample Findings Sample Recommendations

X participants completed the task with State each separate recommendation in the
ease (score of “2”) by finding the form of an action item.
[target].
X participants needed prompting or List as many as needed to resolve the issue,
had significant difficult completing the keeping in mind how the recommendations
task (score of “1”) affect the site or application as a whole.
X participants did not complete the
task (score of “0”).

X participants found the [target] via

[path].

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 Scenario 2 – Diseases & Conditions
You want to create a diabetes education program at your organization to increase awareness
about what diabetes is and how to prevent it. Where would you get this information?

Number of participants X
Percent successful XX%

Sample Findings Sample Recommendations

X participants completed the task with State each separate recommendation in the
ease (score of “2”) by finding the form of an action item.
[target].
X participants needed prompting or List as many as needed to resolve the issue,
had significant difficult completing the keeping in mind how the recommendations
task (score of “1”) affect the site or application as a whole.
X participants did not complete the
task (score of “0”).

X participants found the [target] via

[path].

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 Scenario 3 – Self-Directed Activity
Now, we’d like to hear about how you might use this site. Please identify an item that you would
be interested in finding on this site. Please state your question and then search for the answer.
Let me know when you’ve found the information. [Outline the tasks that participants described
and their success in attempting those tasks.]

Number of participants X
Percent successful XX%

Sample Findings Sample Recommendations

X participants completed the task with State each separate recommendation in the
ease (score of “2”) by finding the form of an action item.
[target].
X participants needed prompting or List as many as needed to resolve the issue,
had significant difficult completing the keeping in mind how the recommendations
task (score of “1”) affect the site or application as a whole.
X participants did not complete the
task (score of “0”).

X participants found the [target] via

[path].

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 Exit Questions/User Impressions
NOTE: It may be useful to put responses in a table, especially if you want to list all participant responses
rather than an overall summary. Following are two examples.

Sample 1. Summary of user impressions

Sample Questions Sample Responses
What is your overall impression to [site]? Participants liked being able to find health
info.
What is your impression of the search Search worked well, efficiently. Seemed to
capability? have the most relevant information at the
top.
Do you feel this site is current? Why? The site is current because the information
is dated with information from the past
couple of days.
What did you like best about the site? 1) Resources 2) Articles 3) Health tips
What did you like least about the site? 1) No way to share info 2) Everything in
PDF 3) Not enough pictures (images,
charts, graphs)
If you were the website developer, what 1) “Email a friend” 2) FAQs
would be the first thing you would do to
improve the website?
Is there anything that you feel is missing 1) “Email a friend” 2) FAQs
on this site?
If you were to describe this site to a It’s a useful site with a lot of good
colleague in a sentence or two, what information.
would you say?
Do you have any other final comments or Needs more pictures and color.
questions?

Sample 2. User impressions by participant

Participant No. Like best? Like least? Improvements
1 Search Registration Add more color
2 A-Z index Pop-ups Clickable charts

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