Think-Aloud Testing template

Use this template to take notes during think-aloud testing to reveal important insights and inferences, pinpoint where the success and failure points are in their system, and diagnose the causes.

When successful, a think-aloud test reveals important insights and inferences that would otherwise be unknown to a design team.

The think-aloud test template helps you:

• Capture feedback that is often lost or not surfaced

• Identify the causes of problems or failures within a system

• Identify reasons why system elements are successful

• Identify opportunities to improve in real-time

How to use the think-aloud test template

To make the most of your think-aloud testing, follow the below steps.

Step 1: Establish the problem you’re trying to solve

Use the first section of the template to clearly describe the problem you’re looking to solve through your research. This should be done in 1-2 short sentences.

Step 2: Add the key tasks you’ll be asking testers to perform

Once you have the goal established, add sticky notes with each of the key tasks involved in the process you are testing. For example, if you are building a shopping app for an online store, you might have tasks like ‘share with a friend,’ ‘save to favorites,’ or ‘add to cart.’

Step 3: Determine the talking points you’d like to include for context

Outline the talking points that each team member should go over with each tester, in order to frame the context and make the process as clear as possible.

Step 4: Have each tester perform the assigned tasks

As each person in your test group goes through the tasks in the assignment, have a dedicated team member record notes, questions, and observations regarding their experiences.

Step 5: Organize and analyze feedback

Once you’ve run through the tasks with each tester, have your team add their key takeaways from the exercise by looking for any themes or groups, and gathering that feedback together for analysis and next steps.

Tips for running a think-aloud template workshop

To run a successful think-aloud template workshop, you should

• Ensure that every team member working with a tester has the right context and can frame the problem clearly and succinctly

• Use Mural’s flexible and secure permissions to empower your team to gather and organize feedback across all tests

• Collate and analyze your feedback into action items, so that your research directly informs design improvements