Test usability with core customers, employees and external tester panels
How do your existing customers perceive your new feature? How is the new design received by your regular customers? Is your intranet user-friendly?
Certainly, not all your UX questions can be answered by our RapidUsertests panel. Some problems can only be analyzed with the help of your existing customers or employees. Maybe you have already built your own tester panel that you want to use for your questions.
Therefore you can run RapidUsertests with your own testers. So you are not bound to our RapidUsertests panel.
Overview of possible uses
- Tests with existing/regular customers and experienced users who are familiar with your tool
- Testing of very specific target groups, e.g. B2B software or SaaS
- Tests with employees
- Tests with your own tester panel
- Tests with an external panel provider (e.g. TestingTime)
Content
- Moderated tests with own test persons
- Moderated tests with test persons from TestingTime
- Unmoderated tests with own test persons
- What you should keep in mind for both types of tests
Moderated tests with your own test persons - this is how it works
1. Book Test: Select to bring your own testers when booking. The feature is currently only available for desktop tests.
2. Invite test subjects: After booking, you will receive a participation link for your test persons. The link is always available in your dashboard and is the same for all participants.
You send the link to your testers and arrange appointments with them or you forward it to your recruitment service provider.
You are responsible for the amount and type of compensation for tests with your own testers.
NOTE: In order to avoid overlaps, please make sure that you always leave some time of at least 30 minutes between your sessions, in case this time is exceeded. This way you make sure that participants of the following session do not have to wait.
3. Start session: The tester can enter the test session via the link on the scheduled test date. You join the session via the Start button in your dashboard. Only when both sides have started the test, the session begins. Neither you nor the tester needs to install anything for the test. There will now be a small microphone check at the beginning to make sure it works well.
It may take a few minutes for the session to be established.
You can learn more about running moderated tests here.
4. End session: When the session is finished, end the meeting using the "End Session" link. The session will be automatically recorded and uploaded to your dashboard. It can take up to 30 minutes for the video to be created and made available.
5. Evaluate the test: You and your team can now access and evaluate the videos at any time.
Continue here: What you should keep in mind for both types of tests
Moderated tests with test persons from TestingTime - this is how it works
With our cooperation partner TestingTime you can recruit test subjects from all over the world and fulfill specific requirements.
This is how it works:
1. First book the session with your own testers via RapidUsertests booking.
2. You will receive a link to the test, which you can enter directly in the test person booking of TestingTime:
3. At the scheduled test time, the test subjects enter the test session via the link. You join the session via the Start button in your RapidUsertests dashboard. Only when both sides have started the test, the session begins.
4. When the session is finished, end the meeting via the End Session link. The session will be automatically recorded and uploaded to your dashboard.
5. You and your team can now access and evaluate the videos in the RapidUsertests dashboard at any time.
Unmoderated tests with own test persons - this is how it works
1. Book test: In our booking form you can choose between "from the RapidUsertests panel" and "with my own test subjects". Then you create the test as usual. Tests with your own panel you can pay with your tester credits or by invoice. Tests with your own testers are only available for desktop tests for the time being.
NOTE: If you want to confirm the successful participation in your system or send an individual voucher code to the participants after the test, it is recommended to send them to a personalized URL. In this case, please inform the test manager about the forwarding URL and the parameter needed for it.
2. Invite test subjects: After booking, you will receive an invitation link from us that will lead the test persons to the test. You can send this link directly to your test subjects (e.g. you can find an email template for unmoderated tests here) and invite them to the test. The test persons need a computer (Windows, Mac) and a microphone (integrated laptop microphones are usually sufficient).
NOTE: You decide on the amount and type of compensation.
Recruitment via external panels: First book the test with us and then order the recruitment from the external panel. This way you can send the invitation link directly to the panel. If the panel works with a redirect link that should lead the participants back to the panel platform at the end of the test, be sure to inform us of this link.
3. Your testers perform the test: To ensure good quality, your testers first go through an automated onboarding process where we teach them what to look for during the test (speak all thoughts out loud, avoid background noise, allow enough time, privacy, etc.). You can check out an example here. By the way, we also offer this introduction in German and French.
4. Evaluate the test: In order to evaluate your result videos including the written post-survey, you can of course use our evaluation tool as usual. Watch an example video here.
What you should keep in mind for both types of tests:
- Test quality: Compared to test persons from our RapidUsertests panel, your test persons probably have less experience with remote usability tests. Experience has shown that technical problems occur more frequently or test persons do not complete the tasks. If you are not satisfied with a test person, we will be happy to free up another spot for you to recruit. Just contact our customer service (below in chat, mail, phone: 030 / 555 747 987). If your participants have technical problems, they can contact tester-support@rapidusertests.com or call as well.
- Privacy: Participants perform the test under a pseudonym and provide gender and age. This is the only data they provide to us.
- Compensation: The compensation of the test persons is your responsibility. Attractive compensation increases the willingness to participate: In practice, vouchers (we recommend at least 10 € voucher value) have proven to be very successful.
- Duration: It may take longer until the usability test is complete than with the RapidUsertest panel. You should therefore send out significantly more invitations than you need test persons (rule of thumb: at least 7 times the booked number of testers), so that the test is nevertheless quickly full. In the best case, you should start recruiting 2-3 weeks before the start of the test.
- Reimbursement of free tester spots: Sometimes it can happen that you don't get as many testers as you booked. We will gladly refund any remaining tester spots in the form of tester credits, which you can redeem during your next RapidUsertests.
- Technical requirements: Your participants need a computer (Windows, Mac) and a microphone (ideally a headset, but an integrated laptop microphone is sufficient). They will also need to download our screen recording software for unmoderated tests. At the beginning, each participant receives a clear briefing on the test procedure. If you are conducting tests with employees or in another corporate environment, your testers must have the authorization to independently install software on their computer.
Tests with your own test persons are possible in self-service as well as in full-service (for the time being, however, only for desktop tests).
Still have questions?
Feel free to contact us in the chat below, by mail or by phone (030 377 870 24).
PS: Did you know that the conversion rate of existing customers is on average 9 times higher than the CR of new customers? We, therefore, recommend regular usability tests with existing customers to get the most out of this difference.