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Ready to analyse the results of your prototype test? Excellent!
Here’s your step-by-step guide on how to collect the test data, analyse the results, and interpret the findings. Just remember, the method may differ depending on whether you’ve created a task flow prototype test or a free flow prototype test — so make sure you’re following the right steps for each one.
From your personal dashboard, click on the settings menu of the test you want to analyse.
Each prototype test that you carry out comes with its own individual dashboard…
Under the ‘Overview’ tab, you’ll find a general summary of your test results, including information such as:
Now’s the time to find more in-depth information on who took part in your test under the ‘Participants’ tab, including:
If you’ve used a shared link only, remember this section will be empty because you used your own participant pool, not ours.
Skip to the free flow method below if you created a free flow test instead of a task flow test.
The main test results can be found under the ‘Prototype test’ tab. The data is presented according to each specific task that participants completed.
The findings of each task has an overview section including the following information:
Discover the most common series of pathways performed by the majority of participants.
You won’t see every pathway taken (pathways taken by just one user are not shown), just the pathways that multiple participants performed. Under each pathway, you’ll see the following information:
The goal screen of the successful paths is highlighted in green. You can also see the average time spent on each single page explored in the flow.
The behaviour data is the most important set of findings for your prototype test. This shows how participants behaved on the prototype, including where they clicked and where their focus tended to be during the navigation.
Under the behaviour section, you can view the image screens you used in the test, ie. your website page design, etc.
Once you’ve selected how you want to view the image, you can then look at the heatmap findings by clicking ‘Heatmap’. With this data, you’ll be able to see what participants do on your prototype – ie. where they click, where they scroll to, and what areas and elements they most engage with.
The focus areas are shown through red markings – the deeper the red, the more participants focused their attention there.
Tip: you can download the heatmap and clickmaps. Save the map to your personal drive for future use.
The clickmap visualises the data in a similar way, this time in the form of dots which provide a clearer vision and the exact coordinates of the click, whereas the heatmap is more about showing the most active areas.
Tip: you can also view the average time spent to perform the total of clicks on each page. You’ll find this information at the bottom of the screen image.
Answers to the task flow follow-up question are at the bottom of the results page. Depending on the type of question asked (free text, likert scale, etc.).
Remember, you can see all of the above data for each individual task. So be sure to review the data for each one using the left and right arrow buttons at the top of the ‘Prototype test’ page.
Follow the below steps if you created a free flow test (when you ask participants to freely explore your prototype based on the instructions you provide).
The overview of the free flow prototype test findings include the following information:
See what common pathways were taken per flow. No single-user paths are shown, just common pathways that multiple participants explored. Under each common pathway, you’ll see the following information:
Unlike the task flow pathways, there will be no green screen to highlight whether participants reached the goal because the results show a free exploration, not a specific goal-reaching task.
The behaviour data works in the same way for free flow and task flow. You are shown how participants behaved during the test, including where they clicked and where their focus tended to be during the test.
Under the behaviour section, you can view the image screens you used in the test, ie. your website page design, etc.
Once you’ve selected how you want to view the image, you can then look at the heatmap findings by clicking ‘Heatmap’. With this data, you’ll be able to see what participants do on your prototype – ie. where they click, where they scroll to, and what areas and elements they most engage with.
The focus areas are shown through red markings – the deeper the red, the more participants focused their attention there.
The clickmap visualises the data in a similar way, this time in the form of dots which provide a clearer vision and the exact coordinates of the click, whereas the heatmap is more about showing the most active areas.
Unlike task flow where you can ask just one follow-up question per task, free flow allows you to ask up to three questions for each task. Answers to the free flow questions are at the bottom of the results page.
You can also view the answers by user, chart, and aggregated data.
For more information on how to analyse answers to questions, check out our survey guide. You’ll find everything you need to know on there.
Lastly, take a look at the answers for your pre-test introduction questions and post-test conclusion questions.
This is your chance to read through the responses and notice any patterns and similar responses. For example, if the majority of participants answered that they think the colour palette of Design 1 is too dark or dull, chances are they’re right. However, it’s completely up to you whether you take their feedback on board and make amendments.
Next, it’s time to review the answers for your pre-test introduction questions and post-test conclusion questions (if you’ve added any).
Once you’ve reviewed the prototype test data, you’ll naturally start to form your own conclusions based on the ways participants behaved, how they interacted with the prototype, and the opinions they formed about it.
Amongst the conclusions, you might identify certain strengths that solidify the success of some elements – but also useability pain points that need rectifying or adjusting moving forward. For example, you might find that:
With insights gained from the data, you can solve usability issues and turn the feedback into actionable ways of improving the prototype to create a better user experience — all based on the participant experiences.
That’s why we recommend conducting multiple prototype tests – with each one improving on the last until your results show exactly what you desire from your prototype.
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