Set-up Procedures from a Usability Perspective
This domain tests the practical preparation of a usability test: who takes part, what they are given, where and how the session runs, and what is recorded. Items usually describe a scenario and ask which set-up decision is wrong.
Before the session
- Write test objectives and convert them into task scenarios in the user's language, stating the goal but never the clicks.
- Define the participant profile and a screener; recruit representative users, not colleagues. Qualitative studies typically use about five participants per distinct user group, while quantitative benchmarks need more, commonly 15 to 20 per group.
- Prepare consent and data-protection paperwork, pre-test questions, post-test instruments such as SUS and SEQ, a moderator script, an observation sheet and a logging template.
Environment and roles
Lab tests give controlled conditions, screen and face recording, and one-way mirrors; remote moderated tests use conferencing and reach dispersed users; unmoderated platforms suit simple tasks but lose probing; field tests capture real context. Separate facilitator and note-taker where possible. Always run a pilot to check equipment, timing and task wording.
Worked example
A team plans an unmoderated remote test of a mobile app with 20 participants. Correct set-up: screen participants for the right operating system and device, write five goal-based tasks that fit 20 minutes, obtain recorded consent, pilot with two non-team colleagues, log completion and errors automatically, and add SUS at the end. Reasoning: unmoderated means nobody can probe, so tasks must be unambiguous and the session short.
Traps
Recruiting friends or developers; skipping the pilot; recording without explicit consent; the moderator rescuing a stuck participant and destroying the finding; tasks that are really feature tours rather than user goals.