Beyond the Usability Lab

Chapter 3. Designing the Study

This chapter walks you through the steps in designing an online usability study. We cover all the major sections of a study in the order a participant would likely encounter them: introductory content, screening and starter questions, tasks, follow-up questions, and wrap-up. The end of the chapter includes a discussion of some special topics, including progress indicators and speed traps.

With online testing it's especially important to put thought into the study design since you can't change it on the fly. When creating questions and tasks, it's important to anticipate how you may want to structure the study results and tie them back to your business goals. The last thing you'll want is to have clients or business ...