The product being tested

The UX researcher running the usability study has to thoroughly understand the interface that will be tested. This is a prerequisite for being able to write an effective discussion guide or script. The following are some questions that we like to ask the study sponsor during a kick-off session:

• How would you describe the purpose of the interface?: Admittedly, it's rare that we don't have any idea what the product does before we start a usability study, but it is always useful (and interesting) to understand how the study sponsor views it. In extreme cases, this view may strongly deviate from the UX researcher's perception of the product. An unnecessary discussion can be avoided by asking the actual users in the study how they perceive the product.
• What are the most important functions of the product?:  This answers the question of the user's goal. Nobody installs an app because they want to create a user account. It is a necessary means to an end – the end being the actual function that the app provides.
• How often will the product be used in a normal user scenario?: A website, such as one for purchasing a ski pass, will, in most likelihood, be used once a year, maybe in repeated succession; a website to read email might be used multiple times daily. This is relevant information for the UX researcher, because how usable a site is influences how quickly a user masters it the first time he visits, and also how quickly he familiarizes himself over repeated usage. Repeated use allows an interface to correct a potentially bad first impression.
• What are the most frequent use cases?: The most frequently used functions should be easily recognizable and directly accessible in the product interface. For studies with a wide scope, this information will help to prioritize which tasks are of higher significance.
• What are known pain points?: We like asking this question because we usually receive a flood of input. Don't get us wrong here: the UX researcher should not base the study on this very biased input. Instead, they should treat the known pain points as candidates to validate when reviewing the interface themselves.
• Who are the main competitors?: This question is especially relevant during a comparative study with competitive sites, but even in other types of studies, it can be relevant input. Similar to the question about the purpose of the interface, this question helps the UX researcher understand how the study sponsor views the product when compared to the competition. Beyond that, it might also be useful to know what similar interfaces the participants are familiar with (and perhaps already using), in order to measure the product under testing against them.

Getting answers to these questions will give the UX researcher a high-level understanding of the product to be tested, its purpose, its core functions, and its subjective position in the market. Before drafting the discussion guide or script, however, we recommend that the UX researcher perform a review of the interface themselves, in order to identify potential weaknesses that the study can validate or refute.