This step-by-step guide includes:


  • The three phases in moderating a usability test.
  • How to explain the 'thinking aloud' technique to participants.
  • Step-by-step instructions for demonstrating 'thinking aloud'.
  • How to get participants to practise 'thinking aloud'.
  • Good and bad questions to ask during a test.
  • How to adapt the instructions if you're testing a paper prototype.
  • How to adapt the instructions if you're running a test with children.
  • Available in 17 languages: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Download cartoon guide to usability test moderation

Translated versions

If you can translate it into another language, please email us at and let us know. If you translate it, you can post the translation on your blog or web site.

Usability Test Moderation

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David Travis Dr. David Travis (@userfocus) has been carrying out ethnographic field research and running product usability tests since 1989. He has published three books on user experience including Think Like a UX Researcher.

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