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4 Comments

How do you find users for testing your prototypes?

I've got a paper prototype I want to test with users, but most of my nearby friends are busy this weekend. My options seem to be:

  • Wait for my friends to have free time to help me test.
  • Go to coffee shop / my climbing gym and ask people if they could help me out. Maybe get them a cup of coffee for their trouble?
  • Move onto higher-fidelity prototypes without much user testing. Code-based prototypes are easier to share / test without needed in-person contact.

How would you find users to test your prototype with?

  1. 1

    I'd convert to high fidelity prototypes using something like Sketch+Invision so that way you're not constrained to in-person testing.

    When I first launched NanaGram, I had good luck recruiting users from my Facebook friends via this post.

    I find it's best to incentivize people. It doesn't have to be much. $10-20 Amazon gift cards work nicely for a 30-60 minute user interview.

    1. 1

      Nice! Yea, its funny how framing affects my willingness to give compensation. Initially I'm like "wow $10 bucks for a user interview sounds like a lot", but when I think about it, I would gladly pay ~$50 for 5 good, insightful user interviews / tests.

  2. 1

    A coffee shop sounds like a good idea. You could also consider meetups (ie meetup.com). Waiting for friends might be a good answer as well, depending on how quickly you're looking to get started.

    1. 1

      Thanks! I hadn't considered meetups. I'll check that out!

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