How can you write clear and actionable recommendations?

Usability testing is a valuable method to evaluate how users interact with your product, website, or app. But how do you communicate the results of your testing to your stakeholders, clients, or team members? How do you turn your observations, insights, and data into clear and actionable recommendations that can improve the user experience and achieve your goals? In this article, we will share some tips and best practices on how to write effective usability testing recommendations that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).

1 Understand your audience

Before you start writing your recommendations, you need to know who will read them and what they expect from you. Different audiences may have different levels of familiarity with usability testing, different priorities, and different preferences for the format and style of your report. For example, a product manager may want to see a high-level summary of the main findings and the impact on the product roadmap, while a developer may want to see more details and examples of the issues and solutions. Therefore, you should tailor your recommendations to suit your audience's needs and expectations, and use clear and concise language that avoids jargon and technical terms.

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Abdulhameed Mufeez

Head of UX at Lumi | لومي
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Make sure you start right from the beginning, a good starting point is always the objective. It's important to make sure everyone is aware and aligned on the objective before digging into the insights. Ask yourself these questions: "What was goal of the usability testing? / What was I trying to find out? / What are the product metrics I am trying to improve". Start the session with these before going to observations and recommendations. After the objective, make sure you present the insights and observations objectively. A great way of doing this is to show actual recordings of the usability session, show them some short clips that highlights a customer struggle or painpoint.

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2 Prioritize your findings

Not all usability issues are equally important or urgent. Some may have a significant impact on the user satisfaction, performance, or conversion, while others may be minor or cosmetic. Therefore, you should prioritize your findings based on their severity, frequency, and relevance to your objectives. You can use a simple matrix to classify your findings into four categories: critical, serious, minor, and trivial. Then, you should focus your recommendations on the most critical and serious issues, and provide a rationale for why they need to be addressed as soon as possible.

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Abdulhameed Mufeez

Head of UX at Lumi | لومي
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In any prioritisation, the two things you should be balancing is value & effort. When it comes to value, think about the impact the finding you have on the user's journey. Ask yourself these questions to understand impact; Was the user able to continue? / Did the issue stop him from completing the required task or was he able to go around it? / How will this impact the product/business metrics When it comes to effort, think about the effort this would take from the whole team and not only you as a designer. It's not for you to decide how difficult this is to accomplish for the rest of team but it's your job to create a platform for that conversation. Understand the effort required from each discipline and decide evaluate collaboratively

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3 Provide evidence and context

Your recommendations should be based on solid evidence and context from your usability testing. You should provide enough information to support your claims and show how you reached your conclusions. For example, you can use quotes, screenshots, videos, or metrics to illustrate the problems and solutions that you propose. You should also explain how your findings relate to the user needs, goals, and expectations, and how they affect the overall user journey. By providing evidence and context, you can increase the credibility and persuasiveness of your recommendations.

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Abdulhameed Mufeez

Head of UX at Lumi | لومي
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Using evidence is a very powerful method. To help other empathize with users, often showing them an actual recording of the user's struggle would achieve that. As designers, we should not empathise with users, but we should also help other team members do that. Because after all, if you convince anyone of the problem, the solutions and next steps become much easier to communicate. Rather than trying to convince other of your solution, spend majority of your time convincing them of the severity of the problem the user is facing.

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4 Suggest specific and feasible solutions

Your recommendations should not only identify the problems, but also suggest specific and feasible solutions that can solve them. You should avoid vague or general statements that leave room for interpretation or confusion. Instead, you should provide concrete and actionable steps that can be implemented by your audience. For example, you can use verbs, numbers, or examples to describe what needs to be changed, added, removed, or improved. You should also consider the feasibility and cost of your solutions, and avoid suggesting unrealistic or impractical changes that may not be possible or desirable.

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5 Follow the SMART criteria

Finally, your recommendations should follow the SMART criteria, which means that they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Specific recommendations are clear and precise, and avoid ambiguity or confusion. Measurable recommendations are quantifiable and verifiable, and allow you to track the progress and impact of your solutions. Achievable recommendations are realistic and attainable, and consider the resources and constraints of your audience. Relevant recommendations are aligned with your objectives and user needs, and contribute to the user experience and business goals. Timely recommendations are urgent and prioritized, and specify a deadline or timeframe for their implementation.

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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?

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How can you write clear and actionable recommendations?

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1 Understand your audience

2 Prioritize your findings

3 Provide evidence and context

4 Suggest specific and feasible solutions

5 Follow the SMART criteria

6 Here’s what else to consider

Usability Testing

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How can you write clear and actionable recommendations?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Understand your audience

2 Prioritize your findings

3 Provide evidence and context

4 Suggest specific and feasible solutions

5 Follow the SMART criteria

6 Here’s what else to consider

Usability Testing

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