“See your design through your users’ eyes while there’s still time to improve it.”
(Yale, 2026)
The next step in my creation process for the Tracklist of Change project is user testing.
User testing is essential to create a successful content campaign that an audience will find useful. In this process, a creator can directly see how real people interact with their product (Yale, 2026). When users experience your product or content before it is final, a creator accomplishes three goals:
- Uncover usability issues
- Validate design choices
- Reduce costly mistakes before launch
Research before the test
To create a beneficial user testing experience, I first had to research various forms of communication used in typical testing questionnaires. How a researcher/creator frames a question can make a difference in how the user would respond without them even noticing.
In an article by User Testing, they outlined key questions and methods an evaluator should consider when creating their testing plan.
One of the most important rules of user testing is: Don’t ask leading questions.
You want the user thinking on their own if you want accurate feedback about your product/content.
This is accomplished by asking open-ended questions such as:
- How does this product feature make you feel?
- What, if anything, do you want to change about this?
- How easy or difficult is this process? Please explain your answer.
The user testing process typically falls into two categories:
- Unmoderated: completed independently by users
- Moderated: guided by the researcher
For my testing, I decided to follow the unmoderated style. I wanted honest feedback from my users and wanted them to feel as though they were viewing the content on their own feeds. The goal was to see if my content could speak for itself at this stage without me being there to guide users through each post.
My user testing process
The first document I created was the presentation deck I would share with users to view the content. I created an introduction page to outline the goal of the project and then a separate section for each post. Each post also included the copy that will be included in the caption.
I began with questions about the individual user: occupation, age, social media usage, current standing, and experience with music and music technology. This section will help me better understand the users’ personality and anything that could affect their responses to the content.
The second section focused on the individual pieces of content. The goal of the testing is to understand their overall experience with the content, the clarity of the copy and design, and the effectiveness of the content to explain the topic.
Each post included the same 6 questions, with a mix of open-ended, rating, and yes/no:
- What was your overall experience consuming the content? (Open-ended)
- On a scale of 1-5 (5 being the clearest), how clear was the information presented? (Rating)
- On a scale of 1-5 (5 being the easiest), how easy was the layout to follow? (Rating)
- After consuming, do you feel knowledgeable on the topic? (Yes/No)
- If scrolling on social media, would you stop to consume this content? (Yes/No)
- Is there anything missing from the content? (Yes/No with opportunity for written feedback)
The final section of the survey focused on the content as a whole, with a mix of open-ended and yes/no questions:
- What was your overall experience consuming the content? (Open-ended)
- Did the content fully address the topic? (Yes/No with opportunity for written feedback)
- Was anything unclear or confusing? (Yes/No with opportunity for written feedback)
- Any final comments? (Open-ended)
The presentation and survey were sent to three people of various ages and occupations. Next week, in the revision phase of the process, I will evaluate the feedback and make necessary changes in preparation for release.
LAUREN SCOOPO 