This document discusses guerrilla usability testing, which involves observing people using a product in public spaces like cafes and recording their sessions. It recommends guerrilla testing as a quick, cheap way to identify usability issues. The document outlines the steps to plan and conduct guerrilla tests, including recruiting test participants, setting up the testing environment, moderating sessions, and analyzing the results to improve the product.

1. G U E R I L L A U S A B I L I T Y
T E S T I N G

2. W H AT I S
“ G U E R I L L A ”
U S A B I L I T Y T E S T I N G ?
“ T H E A RT O F P O U N C I N G
O N L O N E P E O P L E I N
C A F E S A N D P U B L I C
S PA C E S , [ T H E N ] Q U I C K LY
F I L M I N G T H E M W H I L S T
T H E Y U S E A W E B S I T E F O R
A C O U P L E O F M I N U T E S . ”
!
- M A RT I N B E L A M

3. B U T W H Y
S H O U L D I ?
• Quick and easy
• Cheap
• Identify pain points in your
product
• Growth- Conversion Funnel (ex.
Are people not converting
because they cant find the CTA
button?)
• Sales- Make sure the product
you are selling is easy to use

4. W H E N S H O U L D
I U S E I T ?
• Product has broad target
audience
• To quickly identify usability
issues
• WHENEVER POSSIBLE!
• (Not useful for software that
requires specific knowledge
(ex. CRM software)

5. S T E P 1 : P L A N T H E T E S T
• Location
• What product to test

6. S T E P 2 : C R E AT E TA S K S A N D
D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E
• Think about WHAT you want to test
• Do not use leading words
• Ask user to imagine she is in a certain scenario
• Boilerplate for Discussion Guide

7. S T E P 3 : R E C R U I T I N G PA R T I C I PA N T S
• Test 4-6 people
• Appropriate locations for product
• Buy them coffee!

8. S T E P 4 : S E T T I N G U P T H E
E N V I R O N M E N T
• Have product/prototype ready to go
• Screen recording software (Quicktime, Silverback, etc)
• Have NDA’s

9. S T E P 5 : M O D E R AT I N G S E S S I O N S
• Assure they can’t do anything wrong
• Let them FAIL!
• Never start with a description/demo
• Ask follow up questions
• Ask open ended questions

10. S T E P 6 : A N A LY Z E T H E D ATA
• Organize your data
• Observe trends
• Create/propose solutions!

11. USABLE PRODUCTS = HAPPY GORILLAS