More on Finding User Testers
Finding testers through the Deep Work community
You can get help from the Deep Work community to find user testers by creating a bounty in the #bounties channel on Discord. Here's how to do it fast:
Specify the exact target audience
Come up with a screener question and decide precisely what the user testers should be familiar with before reviewing the product. You will need to forward this information to the community.
Submit a bounty
You can use the following template, make sure you replace the bold parts:
We are looking for 5 user testers for the [paste project name here] project.The target audience are people who have considered a neobank such as N26 or Revolut, but that have never created an account with one of those services. I will primarily select those, but if that's too difficult to find we can also test with people that have an account with one of those two.Interviews are on Friday the 17th of September, all responses will be dropped into Discord and I'll send a Calendly to those who are most suitable for the test. After the user test they get paid $45 and you also get paid $45.Send them this Typeform to apply: https://deepworkstudio.typeform.com/to/A5jF5qzv And ask them this screener question: How do you currently use neobanks in case you have signed up for one? The Typeform will ask them for an answer to that question along with your user name so we know who the referral came from.You can read more about how to find testers here: https://docs.deepwork.studio/skills-and-levels/creative-director/creative-director-skill-tree/finding-user-testers#how-to-find-user-testers
Review the submissions
The submissions will be posted to the #active-projects channel.
Invite suitable testers for a user test
Send testers with the best response to the screener an invitation email:
Hey friends! Thank you so much for signing up for the user testing session last week! We are a small design studio called Deep Work Studio that designs digital products and also conducts user research. My name is Andrej, I'm a user researcher and I'm responsible for the user tests this week.This week we are working on a neo-bank website, similar to Revolut, N26, bunq, etc.If you're receiving this email it means that we think you are a good fit for the user testing session. If you have time on Friday, 17th of September, you can use the following link to sign up for a session: [paste calendly here]The session will consist of an online-call and take approximately 30-45min, where we will show you the current design of the website, which you can share your thoughts on. After the call we will send you a $45 Amazon Gift card or PayPal.Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise have a great start in the week and hope to see you on Friday!
Pay testers and the person who referred them
Ask those who referred successful user testers to invoice Deep Work for $45.
How to find user testers
Tester categories
Users we want to test with usually fall into two categories:
- 1.People who’ve never used the product before, but fit the profile of someone who might use it, for example.
- 1.If we're designing a new crypto trading application for high volume day traders, then existing crypto day traders who have not used it before are the perfect user type to do research with.
- 2.Current users of the product (but not investors or advisors to the product. This is because we are looking to speak to people who don’t already have a vested interest in the success of what we’re designing and don’t come with preconceived ideas). For example
- 1.If we are designing a new feature for a well established product, let’s say a web3 deployment service, then finding current users of the service who might be the sort of person to use the new feature is the perfect user to test with.
Places to find users
- Adhoc: Directly contact people, or post the ‘Call to Research’ on Discord, Reddit, Telegram, Twitter (wherever the likely audience will be)
- Asking friends of friends
- Snowball recruitment: at the end of the user test, ask the user for a recommendation for 1 or 2 other people they know who you should talk to.
- Deep Work's Twitter Account
- Deep Work's User Tester Panel (pinned to the #active-projects channel)
Communicating with users
- It’s important to set expectations and get informed consent to take part in the user test session, whilst not revealing in too much detail what we are looking to find out through the research.
- For Example “We are looking for people who do X to take part in some user testing. The sessions will last 30 minutes, and we will have an open discussion about some of the things you do, and then ask you to look at a prototype and provide your feedback on it.”
- Check that the user is the right kind of person to be speaking with. On more formal research projects, we’d use a screener questionnaire, but you can just ask them to tell you a bit about themselves to check they are suitable.
- For example, if we’re looking for web3 developers, you can ask them “Tell me a bit about your experience working with web3 technologies”. And ask follow-up questions if you need to be sure.
- Explain that:
- We are a design studio working with a client to test our designs. (It's a good idea not to mention who the client is because we don’t want the user to go away and do any research beforehand).
- They don’t have to do any preparation ahead of the call
- They must be on a laptop with working camera/mic (sometimes users like to join a session from an airport on a mobile phone!)
Invite suitable users to book a time/date that works for them. Remember to include the lead researcher / Expert on the calendar invite too.
On finding the right people
This largely depends on the product you're building and the type of users you are looking for. If you are testing for a specific demographic within the general population, you can use Facebook Ads to create a banner. They are pretty cheap ($10-$20) and people normally sign up pretty quickly. Here are a few other places we approach to scout testers:
- Telegram groups for specific topics
- Reddit subreddits for specific topics
- Online forums
- Ask existing customers or friends
Screener and Monetary incentives
We always reward our user testers with a $45 Amazon voucher to incentivise them to get on a call with us and give honest feedback. You want the amount be high enough for them join the scheduled call but low enough so they don't do it only for the money. After running hundreds of interviews I normally go for $45.
Screener
A screener is a question which only a person with a suitable background will be able to answer. They usually ask for specific experience or explanation of a complex functionality of a tool.
Example when looking for people who considered signing up for a banking app:
How do you currently use neobanks (like Revolut, N26, etc.) in case you have signed up for one?
Potential answer 1: No I have not registered for them but i am considering using them.
Potential answer 2: Two good years of already using Bunq services. Zero issues, happy about all the functions available. They stop having travel account and now I have to pay for the service. But I am still happy about it. Also they are the only bank/fintech one that allowed me to have Maestro card. I spend 1/5 of year in The Netherlands and that is helping me much
Typeform + Zapier
In Typeform, under the section "User Testing" you can find a template for user testing screeners. Duplicate it and change the first question to something relevant to the project. You can also use the general Typeform if your screener is in your message.
If you are using the screener in the Typeform, go to Zapier, there is a "User Testing" category where you will need to duplicate the template zap to send the Typeform results to Discord. This will make it easier for you to browse through the responses and choose those who fit.
Post messages in social media
The message you want to write can be as simple as this:
Hey, I am Andrej, I currently work on a digital insurance product and would love to have some feedback. Would anyone have 30min to have a look and give me some feedback? I’m happy to compensate the effort with a $45 amazon gift card or PayPal. Sign up here: [insert screener typeform link]
Or if you are posting on Reddit, you can give people a bit more context:
Hey guys, I run a remote design studio (deepwork.studio) helping highly technical teams design great interfaces and launch new digital products.e are working on a different product almost every week and test the products with around 5 people each week, looking for testers very short notice.Each test consists of a 30min interview on a computer (please have a mic and ideally a webcam) and we compensate it with a 45$ Amazon gift card or PayPal.This week we are testing a website for a Layer 2 solution, it's pretty cool but we need to find out if the value proposition is clear. The interviews are on Monday, 19th of October.This week I'm looking for people matching the following criteria: You should have an understanding of how ETH transactions can influence the gas price.I have three slots free so if you would like to participate, please send me a PN with a super short description how transactions influence the gas price.Thank you very much and hope to see you soon!
Selecting testers
Once you have a list of respondents, try to find those who fit your criteria the most and send them a Calendly link to sign up. Please also send everyone you didn't pick a message to tell them that they weren't selected. Not doing so will make it unlikely for them to respond next time and will damage the quality of our panel.
Back to Skill Tree
Last modified 9mo ago
Copy link
Contents
Finding testers through the Deep Work community
Specify the exact target audience
Submit a bounty
Review the submissions
Invite suitable testers for a user test
Pay testers and the person who referred them
How to find user testers
Tester categories
Places to find users
Communicating with users
On finding the right people
Screener and Monetary incentives
Back to Skill Tree