Form questions
Usability testing questions before, during and after each task
Use the screener, then 3 to 5 tasks with the same three questions after each, then 4 to 6 wrap up questions. Never skip whether the task was completed, how easy it felt and what the person expected to happen. Completion is the main measure, ease shows effort, and expectations explain failures.
Usability testing questions come in three kinds: a screener before the session, short questions after each task, and wrap up questions at the end. These twenty two are written for a moderator to fill in as the session runs, so every participant is asked the same things in the same order.
The questions
Screener
How often do you use websites or apps like this?Single choiceRequired
Recruit people who match the real users, not experts or the team.
Have you used this product before?Single choiceRequired
Which device do you use most for this?Single choiceRequired
Do you use any accessibility tools?Multiple choice
Your age groupDropdown
After each task
Moderator: did the participant complete the task?Single choice
Completed without help, completed with help, did not complete. Repeat this set for each task.
How easy or difficult was that task?Single choice
A seven point scale from very difficult to very easy, the single ease question approach.
What did you expect to happen when you clicked there?Long text
Ask about a specific moment you observed, not in general.
Moderator: where did the participant hesitate or go wrong?Long text
Moderator: time taken, in minutesNumber
Moderator: path takenShort text
The pages or screens in order, to compare with the intended path.
Wrap up
Overall, how easy was the product to use?Single choice
What was the most frustrating moment?Long text
What, if anything, surprised you?Long text
Would you use this to do this task in real life?Single choice
How confident would you feel using it on your own?Single choice
Is there anything you expected to find but did not?Long text
Moderator: top three issues seen in this sessionLong text
Moderator: severity of the worst issueSingle choice
Cosmetic, minor, major, blocks the task.
Participant IDShort text
An ID rather than a name keeps the notes anonymous.
May the team contact you for a future session?Single choice
Anything else?Long text
Which questions to make required
Only the three screener questions are required, because they decide whether a participant should be in the study at all. The task and wrap up questions are filled in by the moderator during the session, and some will not apply when a participant skips a task or runs out of time. Required fields would get in the way of an observation.
- How often do you use websites or apps like this?
- Have you used this product before?
- Which device do you use most for this?
The form built from these questions
A static copy of the finished form, from its own example page.
Three ways to change this bank
For an unmoderated remote test, keep the screener and the ease and expectation questions, and replace the moderator fields with a question asking participants whether they completed each task. For a card sorting or navigation test, replace the tasks with where the participant would look for each item. For a quick hallway test with colleagues, use one task and the three post task questions only. Whatever the format, write the tasks as goals the participant understands, such as book a meeting room for Friday, and never name the button they should press, because that turns a usability test into a test of reading.
Questions people ask
How many participants does a usability test need?
Small numbers find most of the big problems in a design: many teams test with about five people per round, fix what they find and test again. Larger samples are needed when measuring task success rates precisely or comparing designs statistically.
What is the single ease question?
A question asked straight after a task: overall, how easy or difficult was this task, usually on a seven point scale. It is quick and comparable across tasks and rounds. Low scores on a task point to where to look in the session notes.
Should the moderator help a stuck participant?
Let them struggle for a while, because that is the finding, then help if they are clearly stuck so the session can continue. Record that help was given; completed with help is a different result from completed alone. The after task question captures this.
Should participants think aloud during a test?
Many moderated tests ask participants to say what they are thinking as they go, which explains hesitation and wrong turns. It can slow people down, so do not compare thinking aloud times with silent ones. The expectation question captures the same insight for silent sessions.
How are usability problems rated?
By how badly they affect the task, from cosmetic to blocking, and by how many participants hit them in the round. A problem that blocks most people is fixed first. Recording severity in the same form as the observations makes the end of round summary quick.
What is the difference between usability testing and a survey?
A usability test watches people trying to do real tasks and records what they do; a survey records what people say. Both are useful, but behaviour in a test often contradicts what people report. Use testing to find where a design fails and surveys to measure satisfaction across many users.
Can usability testing be done remotely?
Yes. Moderated sessions run well over video calls with screen sharing, and unmoderated tests let participants complete tasks on their own time. The questions are the same; in unmoderated tests, participants answer the completion question themselves, so phrase it simply and add a note asking where they gave up.
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On writing the questions themselves, read How to pilot a survey before you send it. For everything the builder can do, see the form maker. Step by step: Create a conversational form with AI, then View, export and manage your responses.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .