How can you document test objectives and hypotheses to guide test design?

1 Why document test objectives and hypotheses?

Documenting test objectives and hypotheses is important for several reasons. First, it helps you clarify your research questions and focus your test on the most relevant aspects of the user experience. Second, it helps you communicate your test goals and expectations to your stakeholders, team members, and participants. Third, it helps you measure and evaluate your test results and compare them with your assumptions. Documenting test objectives and hypotheses can also help you avoid bias, confusion, and wasted resources.

2 How to write test objectives?

Test objectives are the specific outcomes that you want to achieve from the test, and they should be aligned with business goals, user needs, and research questions. A good test objective should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For instance, a test objective could be: "To measure the completion rate and satisfaction level of the checkout process on the new website within two weeks." Writing test objectives involves identifying the main problem or opportunity that you want to address with the test, defining its scope and criteria, breaking down the problem or opportunity into smaller sub-goals, writing one or more test objectives for each sub-goal, and then prioritizing and refining your test objectives based on their importance and feasibility.

3 How to write test hypotheses?

Test hypotheses are educated guesses about how users will behave or react in the test, based on existing knowledge, data, and assumptions. They should be testable, falsifiable, and realistic. For example, a test hypothesis could be: "Users who see the free shipping banner on the homepage are more likely to add items to the cart than users who don't." When writing test hypotheses, you should review your objectives and research questions, identify the variables and factors that might affect user behavior or outcome, formulate one or more hypotheses for each objective or question, state them clearly and concisely, and specify how you will test and measure them.

4 How to document test objectives and hypotheses?

Documenting test objectives and hypotheses is essential, and can be done in a variety of ways depending on preferences and tools. A brief introduction summarizing the background, purpose, and scope of the test should always be included. Additionally, a list of objectives and hypotheses organized by categories or themes should be included, as well as a description of how the test will be conducted - including methods, tasks, scenarios, participants, and metrics. Finally, a plan for analyzing and reporting the test results should be outlined, including success criteria, data sources, and formats. Various formats and templates can be used to document objectives and hypotheses; spreadsheets, word documents, presentations, or online platforms are all viable options. The most important factor is ensuring that documentation is clear, concise, and accessible to your audience.

5 How to use test objectives and hypotheses to guide test design?

Test objectives and hypotheses are essential for documenting your test plan and guiding your test design. They can help you choose the right test method and format, select the right participants, create realistic tasks and scenarios, define key metrics, and design a test script. By using your objectives and hypotheses to guide your design, you can ensure that your test is relevant, valid, and reliable. For example, you can use them to decide between moderated or unmoderated tests, qualitative or quantitative tests, lab or remote tests, determine the user segments and characteristics that you will target with recruitment methods, create engaging tasks and scenarios, define metrics for measuring outcomes such as completion rates or error rates, and design questions to elicit feedback.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?