The participants' experience during an unmoderated usability test
Learn more about what it's like to be a participant in an unmoderated usability test.
Need to get started with unmoderated usability testing fast? Check out our quick start guides:
At the start of the activity
-
Participants access the activity on desktop. They
proceed through welcome messages and questions that precede the Recording
action.
Note: If the unmoderated usability test doesn't have a Recording action:
- Participants can also access the activity on mobile.
- Participants do not see the subsequent screens about preparing for their session and checking their microphone and camera. Instead, they start at the screens described in the Figma prototype and Website sections.
- Participants see a
"Preparing for your session" screen with tips.
If Camera Recording was selected on the Recording action, "Turn on your front camera for video recording" is displayed.
If Microphone Recording was selected on the Recording action, "Speak into the microphone" is displayed.
Participants are reminded to:
- Share the entire screen.
- Close unrelated tabs.
- Complete their task within 60 minutes.
- Participants select the
check box to give their consent (they cannot proceed unless they do). They
click
Next.
- The participants' web
browser informs them the site wants to use their cameras and microphones.
Participants must select one of the
"Allow" options to continue.
- Participants review their
microphone and camera settings. (This is a good time to make sure nothing
embarrassing is appearing on camera.) A
"Great!" message appears onscreen to let them know their camera
and microphone are working. They click
Next.
- Participants are prompted
to share their entire screen. If they have multiple screens, they need to pick
one and click
Share. (This is a good time to check if they
are sharing sensitive information. They should also double-check that the
screen they are sharing contains the browser tab with the usability testing
activity.)
- Participants will know
screen sharing is successful when they see an
"Awesome!" message. They click
Next.
The next few steps vary depending on whether the participant is accessing a Figma prototype or a website.
Figma prototype
- This is the part where
participants complete the usability task. The Figma prototype loads onscreen.
The task instructions are in the floating
Task Instruction box on the right.
- Participants interact with
the prototype. While completing the task, at any time they can:
- Move the Task Instruction box by clicking the six dots in the upper left corner and dragging the box into place.
- Collapse the Task Instruction box by clicking the arrow in the upper right corner.
- Click Finish Task when they have completed the task, or if they are ready to move on.
- If participants click
Finish Task early, they are prompted to
confirm. They can click
Yes, Move on to proceed to the next survey
page, or click
No, Keep trying to stay on the Figma
prototype.
- Once participants
successfully finish the task by reaching the end screen or the end of the path,
the
Task Instruction box updates to say
"Task Completed!" They click
Next to continue.
Website
- This is the part where
participants complete the usability task. They read the task instructions and
then click
Open in new tab.
- The survey tab stays open.
In the new browser tab, they complete the task they were asked to do. As they
complete the task, they should be talking out loud and articulating their
thought process. In this example, participants were asked to find information
about career opportunities on the Alida website. Let's say the task is finished
when they find or click "Join the Team."
Tip: Be clear in your question text about when participants should return to the survey tab.
Since participants are completing the task in a new browser tab, you need to give them a clear end point to indicate when they should switch back to the survey tab (for example, "Once you're done exploring or you've been able to sign up to join, come back to this tab and click Next").
The question text should also cover a scenario in which participants are unsuccessful (for example, "If you haven't been able to sign up to join within five minutes, please return to the survey and click Next"). You want participants to return to the survey and let you know they were unsuccessful instead of just closing their browser tabs and being marked as incomplete.
- Once they're finished,
participants close the tab. They return to the survey tab. The survey tab has
refreshed and now displays the task success question. Participants answer yes
or no.
At the end of the activity
- Participants answer any
follow-up questions and click
Next and proceed through the rest of the
survey.
- At the end of the survey,
participants see a
"Recording upload in progress" screen. This is when the session
is processed and uploaded. Participants must keep the browser tab open until
the processing is complete. If they close the tab before that, they will be
marked incomplete for the session and the recording will not appear in
reporting.
What happens to incomplete participants?
Participants are considered incomplete if they can't complete their tasks and follow-up questions within the 60 minutes following the Recording action. This can happen if they have trouble finishing everything, or if they walk away from their desktop for a long time.

Incomplete participants can try the activity again. When they click the link, they resume the activity where the Recording action occurs.