Think-aloud usability testing
Think-aloud usability testing gives you a window into how users interact with your product by having them verbalize their thoughts as they complete tasks. Let’s walk through each step of the process, from planning and creating tasks to analyzing the results, so you can gather valuable data.
Think-aloud protocol guide
Planning and conducting a think-aloud usability test
There are five main stages to planning and conducting a think-aloud test.
1. Set clear goals and objectives
Jot down your goals and objectives in a central place – think of using a tool like Notion for visibility across your team and organization.
Before you create your test, pinpoint what you’re hoping to achieve. Different goals and objectives often require different approaches.
For example, if your research goal is to improve the information architecture of your mobile app, your objectives might look like this:
Conduct a tree test to evaluate the current information architecture using a think-aloud protocol.
Analyze the data to extract findings and make recommendations.
Iterate the design and then test again.
Understand your users better with think-aloud testing
Want to understand how users interact with your product? Launch your first think-aloud test today and gain actionable insights.
2. Write clear instructions
In line with best practices for writing usability testing tasks, your instructions should be clear and crafted in a way that doesn’t inadvertently give away the answer. You can include an instruction section before your test to set expectations.
Remember, give the participant context and expectations.
3. Design scenarios and tasks
With your goals in place, you can now move on to crafting relevant scenarios and tasks.
Scenarios are hypothetical situations. They represent typical use cases someone might experience while using your product and help to provide context for the usability test.
Tasks, on the other hand, are specific actions you’re asking your participants to complete. They should reflect typical activities someone would do when using your product.
Let’s use a basic prototype test example. Here, we’re asking participants to locate a specific item, add it to the shopping cart, and complete the purchase.
Notice at the top of the test builder there’s a Record option – you can click here to enable audio, camera, or screen recordings, or a combination of all options.
Remember, keep your test concise. Avoid making your test too long or adding too many tasks to prevent participant fatigue and dropout.
4. Recruit participants
Before launching your test, make sure to preview it or conduct a pilot with a small group. This will help you to identify any potential issues ahead of time.
Next, it's time to recruit your participants. In Lyssna, you have the flexibility to recruit from our research panel or from your own network by creating a unique link.
5. Brief participants
If you're conducting a moderated think-aloud test, you'll need to introduce the test and brief your participants before they start. You can also answer any questions they might have or address any concerns.
For unmoderated testing, you'll want to enable a welcome screen or add a pre-test instruction. This helps participants understand the testing process and what’s expected of them.
It's important to note that with Recordings enabled on a Lyssna test, participants will get additional information about the recording process by default.
Analyzing think-aloud test results
No matter which testing method you’re using, the "think aloud" part will always be qualitative in nature. So the vast majority of the time, you'll be using qualitative analysis methods, such as thematic analysis or content analysis.
Either way, there are four main steps you can take to analyze your results.
1. Transcribe and review your recordings
Begin by transcribing your recordings. In Lyssna, you can easily review individual recordings in the Results tab.
In Lyssna, some features such as transcriptions aren't quite available yet, but they're coming soon. If you need to transcribe your recordings, there are various online tools available. It’s also useful to have an editable transcript that you can use to mark up notes about things like facial expressions and body language.
2. Analyze think-aloud data and identify patterns
With transcriptions in hand, you can start analyzing the data and identifying patterns. You'll want to code the transcript line-by-line, looking for common phrasing, thoughts, and behaviors, likely using either thematic or content analysis.
With a thematic analysis, you use an inductive approach, where your codes and themes are developed from the data itself. This is a good option if you're in early-stage product development or you're simply exploring.
With a content analysis, you'll take a deductive approach, creating pre-determined codes and categories and seeing if your data matches. This approach is more suited to late-stage development, where you're looking to validate hypotheses.
3. Synthesize your findings and build your report
Whichever method of analysis you choose, you'll want to synthesize your findings in a way that makes it easier to understand the data.
Describe how the data supports each theme, then add supporting excerpts. If you happen to have sub-themes, explain why they exist, and add the data that supports this decision.
By the end, you should have a document or presentation that clearly shows your results. You can use this document to write your research report.
The report should introduce the research (who, what, where, when, and why), describe your methodology, show your results, and include an insights discussion section that offers recommendations.
4. Share your results
Once you've built your report, share it with your key stakeholders. This will likely be your team members, the product team, marketing team, and whoever else would be interested in your study.
Transform your UX research with think-aloud
Ready to elevate your usability testing? Conduct a think-aloud test with Lyssna and reveal the true thoughts behind user actions.
Conduct your think-aloud studies with Lyssna
In Lyssna, you can run think-aloud studies on the following tests:
If you're ready to take your remote, unmoderated studies to the next level with a think-aloud protocol, check out our pricing page to find a plan that suits your team.