Businesses across all industries rely on user testing and research to create amazing products that keep customers happy and loyal for years to come.
When you think about it, it’s easy to see why this is the case. User research is the key to understanding your audience and how they feel about your product or service.
A mistake I’ve seen many marketers and leaders make is they apply what they’ve learned during a research session to their entire audience without pilot testing first. At a glance, this might not seem like a problem. But when you consider that the data might be incomplete or not account for gaps in your customers’ needs and pain points, the reason for testing becomes crystal clear.
Today, I want to share with you why pilot testing is essential to strong, actionable user research. You’ll also learn about some of the key steps in this process, plus some potential roadblocks to avoid.
Whether you’re a product manager, UX designer, or business owner, you’ll learn practical tips on how pilot testing can help you get the most value from user research.
What is Pilot Testing, and Why is it Important?
In this context, pilot testing is when you run a small-scale experiment with your user research before fully launching it across your brand. We look at it as a sort of practice run. You’ll get the chance to see what people think, identify any potential issues, and make meaningful improvements before your update is ready for everyone.
For example, if you’re thinking about changing the way your product landing page looks, it’s a good idea to let small subsections of your customers see this new look before you apply the changes to your website. They could, for instance, notice that the pricing isn’t clear or the call-to-action is too vague.
Without end-user testing, these mistakes might make it past your team and cause trouble for prospects and existing customers who didn’t know the changes were going to happen.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few noteworthy benefits of pilot testing:
- Identify and fix issues: Pilot tests are the best way to catch problems early. You may find that certain questions are confusing, the instructions are unclear, or technical glitches are present. Fixing these issues in a pilot phase ensures that your actual study runs smoothly.
- Improve your research flow: A well-designed pilot test improves the flow of your research. It ensures that participants understand the tasks they are asked to perform, making the whole process smoother and more efficient.
- Refine research questions: Gathering preliminary data helps you refine your questions and hypotheses. Sometimes, the way you frame questions can skew results, leading to inaccurate findings. Pilot testing gives you the chance to adjust before you go all-in.
- Reduce bias: There’s no doubt that bias can impact research. Maybe the questions you ask unintentionally lead participants to a certain response. A pilot test helps you catch these issues and increase the reliability of your findings.
- Save time and resources: Conducting a pilot test can help you avoid having to redo your research later. It’s much cheaper to fix small issues in the testing phase than to overhaul an entire study that’s gone wrong.
How to Pilot Test Your User Research
Now that you know why it’s important to conduct pilot tests with your user research, let’s look at the step-by-step process so you can get more value from your next test.
Step 1: Define Your Pilot Test Objectives
Before diving into a pilot test, you need to clearly define your objectives. Ask yourself what you are hoping to achieve. Generally speaking, the goal is to make sure the information you gathered during your user research is accurate and representative of the rest of your audience.
Setting these goals upfront will help you focus on what matters and track your progress. If you try to start a test without knowing what you want to accomplish, you’re not going to get as much actionable data that you can use in a live environment.
With that in mind, here are some more specific goals you should consider:
- Test the clarity of your research questions. If people understand your message, they’re far more likely to take action.
- Ensure that the user interface and design are crisp, clear, and easy to navigate.
- Make sure there are no missing features or options that would help your target audience understand the features and benefits of your products or content.
- Identify any technical issues that could impact UX.
Step 2: Find a Representative Sample
Recruiting the right participants is crucial to a successful pilot test. You don’t need a large group—just a small group from each of your audience segments.
When selecting participants for your pilot test, especially for a B2B SaaS product, it’s crucial to choose individuals who resemble the actual users who will be impacted by the changes.
The key is to choose people who closely resemble the audience who will be seeing your adjustments when they go live. If your pilot testers are too different from your real users, the feedback won’t be as valuable, and you may end up making the wrong changes to the final version of your update.
I highly recommend reaching out to participants who already interact with your product or service. These users are more likely to provide relevant feedback as they’ve already used your product and have shown brand loyalty.
There’s a good chance they’ll give you the most accurate, helpful results when you’re trying to figure out what changes need to be made.
Damian Grabarczyk, a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur and the co-founder of PetLab Co., says, “Choosing the right sample for pilot testing is not just a step—it’s the foundation for refining the customer experience in eCommerce. At PetLab Co., we avoided the trap of relying on assumptions by selecting a diverse group of new and loyal customers to test key elements like product descriptions and subscription models. This allowed us to uncover insights into how our audience actually interacts with our offerings. The adjustments we made based on this feedback smoothed the buying journey and enhanced customer engagement, setting us up for a more successful launch when we rolled out these changes to a wider audience.”
Step 3: Choose Your Pilot Testing Method
Next, you’ll want to consider what type of pilot test you should run to gather the best data. This will honestly depend on your industry and specific goals. Here are a few ideas that we recommend:
- Walkthroughs – In a walkthrough, participants go through the research process step by step. This strategy allows you to observe your test group in real time and ask for feedback on each part of the study.
- Soft launches – A soft launch involves releasing your research to a small, controlled group before opening it up to the full audience. This method helps you test the process and share their feedback. Make sure you give them an option to revert to the old look if they want after the test.
- A/B testing – In A/B testing, you present two different versions of a question, task, or user interface element to see which performs better. It’s a great way to refine details based on data. You can A/B test just about anything, from headlines, product descriptions, calls-to-action, and even entire pages.
Choose the method that aligns best with your research objectives, and don’t hesitate to mix methods if it will improve your overall results.
Step 4: Conduct the Pilot Test
Once you’ve selected your participants and method, it’s time to get started with your test. There are a few ways you can make sure this process goes as smoothly as possible. These are the things we try to do every time we want to test our user research:
- Provide clear instructions – Always make sure participants know what to do at every stage of the test. Ambiguity will lead to inaccurate results, so always double-check that all instructions are easy to follow.
- Be available for questions – There will be times when participants need clarification during the test. Be ready to answer any questions that come up, but also try to let them navigate the process independently as much as possible. My philosophy is if they have to ask too many questions, then we need to work on our user interface so it’s easier to understand.
- Document issues in real-time – Take note of any issues that arise during the test. Whether it’s a technical problem, confusing question, or feedback from participants, documenting these problems as they occur will help you improve the research process and ultimately get better results.
Step 5: Analyze Feedback and Iterate
Now, it’s time to gather feedback from your participants and use it to shape how you implement your user research. You can do this through interviews, survey tools, or simply asking for their thoughts on the process.
You can further assemble the findings (manually, or even automatically) in a clear report, and even incentivize survey respondents with a personalized report based on their input.
The goal is to understand what worked well and what didn’t so you can make changes that help the people who care most about your brand and products.
Here’s how to use feedback to improve:
- Look for patterns – If multiple participants report the same issue, that’s a clear sign that something needs to be changed. Focus on the most common problems to make your research as reliable as possible.
- Refine your process – Use feedback to make adjustments. Whether it’s rewording questions, fixing technical issues, or rethinking the flow of your research, iterating based on feedback is essential.
- Test again if necessary – Sometimes, a single pilot test isn’t enough. If you made significant changes based on feedback, consider running another pilot test to ensure everything is working as intended
Common Pilot Testing Mistakes to Avoid
Now, let’s wrap this up by going over some common pilot testing mistakes that can have a negative impact on your results or on your user experience as a whole.
These are things you’ll want to consider and address before you turn user testing into a full-fledged change on your site.
- Skipping pilot testing altogether – Some teams skip pilot testing to save time, only to regret it later when issues arise once the changes are live. Don’t make this mistake. A pilot test can prevent bigger problems and help make your first official launch smooth and effective.
- Using too small of a sample – While you don’t need a large group for your pilot test, using too small of a sample or skipping audience segments can lead to incomplete feedback. Aim for a diverse group of people that represent your target audience.
- Working with the wrong audience – If your pilot testers don’t resemble your actual users, their feedback will not carry the same weight. With that in mind, always recruit participants who are representative of your target audience.
- Ignoring feedback – One of the worst mistakes you can make is ignoring the feedback you receive. Even if the changes seem small, addressing issues can dramatically improve your research.
Conclusion
Pilot testing is a critical step in the user research process that can help you refine your questions, improve your methods, and ensure that your business is set up for success.
So, we highly recommend you take the time to integrate pilot testing into your research workflow. The insights and improvements you gain will ultimately lead to better user experiences, more actionable data, and, ultimately, a better product.
Remember the strategies we’ve outlined today, including some of the common pitfalls. Use this information to turn your next user research session into an amazing experience for every person who decides to visit your website.
- The Importance of Pilot Testing Your User Research - November 18, 2024
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