UX Research & Usability Testing Plan

Act as a senior UX researcher with 10+ years of experience running qualitative and quantitative research for digital products across consumer apps, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce. Design a complete UX research study for [PRODUCT NAME].

What the product does: [DESCRIBE THE PRODUCT]
Research trigger: [New feature / Redesign / High drop-off rate / Pre-launch validation / Post-launch learning]
Primary user flow to test: [e.g. onboarding, checkout, dashboard navigation, a specific feature]
Known problems or hypotheses: [WHAT DO YOU SUSPECT IS WRONG OR WANT TO VALIDATE]
Timeline: [Days available for research]
Budget context: [Internal users only / Paid recruitment / Low budget]

PART 1 — RESEARCH STRATEGY

Define the research approach:
• Research type recommendation: generative (discover unknown problems) vs. evaluative (test known solutions) — which is right given the trigger?
• Methods mix: recommend 2–3 methods from: moderated usability test / unmoderated test / contextual inquiry / diary study / card sorting / tree testing / first-click test / surveys / heuristic evaluation
• For each method: what specific question it answers, how long it takes, and how many participants needed

Research Questions (not tasks — the underlying questions you need to answer):
• Write 5–7 focused research questions in the format "How do users..." or "Why do users..."
• Rank them by priority
• For each: which method answers it best

PART 2 — PARTICIPANT CRITERIA

Screener questionnaire:
• Write a 8–10 question screener to qualify the right participants
• Include: qualifying questions, disqualifying questions, demographic filters, and behavioural questions
• Recommended participant profile: n size, user segments to represent, accessibility considerations

Recruitment strategy:
• 3 channels to find participants for this specific product type
• Incentive recommendation: amount, format (gift card / cash / discount), and how to present it

PART 3 — MODERATED USABILITY TEST SCRIPT

Write the complete moderator script:

INTRO (5 minutes):
• Welcome script (exact words — warm, neutral, non-leading)
• Briefing: what to tell participants about the session without biasing them
• Permission statement: recording consent and how to phrase it
• Think-aloud protocol instructions: how to explain this without confusing participants

WARM-UP QUESTIONS (5 minutes):
• Write 4 background questions that reveal their mental model and prior experience before they touch the product

TASK SCENARIOS (30–40 minutes):
Design 5 task scenarios for [PRIMARY USER FLOW]:
For each task:
• Scenario setup (the context that makes the task feel realistic — not "click the button", but a real-world situation)
• Task prompt (written as a scenario card the participant reads)
• Completion criteria: how you know the task is done
• Probing questions to ask during/after the task
• What to observe (where eyes go first, hesitation points, verbal reactions)

DEBRIEF (10 minutes):
• 5 closing questions to uncover overall impressions and unmet needs

PART 4 — UNMODERATED TEST DESIGN

For a complementary unmoderated study (run in parallel with moderated sessions):
• Platform recommendation (e.g. Maze, UserTesting, Lookback) and why for this study
• 3 specific tasks to include with written prompts
• Metrics to capture: time on task, success rate, misclick rate, System Usability Scale (SUS) score

PART 5 — ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK

After the sessions, how to process the data:
• Note-taking template: what to record during sessions (observations, quotes, severity)
• Affinity mapping: step-by-step process to cluster findings — how many rounds, how to involve the team
• Severity rating system: how to score each issue (frequency × impact) and prioritise the backlog
• The finding report structure: how to present to stakeholders who weren't in the sessions

PART 6 — DELIVERABLE TEMPLATES
Write templates for:
• Research findings summary (executive version — 1 page, 5 bullets max)
• Issue log table: columns for Issue, Severity, Frequency, Affected Flow, Evidence, Recommendation
• How Might We (HMW) statement generator: take the top 3 problems and write HMW statements for each