Write tasks, not questions
"Do you like the dashboard?" gets you an opinion. "Invite a teammate and give them access to one project" gets you a list of the places the dashboard failed. Write two or three tasks that match what a real user comes to do.
- 1Start from a goal the user has, not a feature name: "find out how much it costs for a team of five".
- 2Don't give away the path: avoid words that appear on the button they should click.
- 3Ask testers to note every hesitation, not only the dead ends.
How many testers
The classic finding from usability research is that about five testers surface most of the problems in a given flow. After that, you mostly hear the same issues again. Several small rounds, fixing in between, beat one big round.
On Makers Wall you start with room for 3 testers per round and earn up to 8 by testing other people's projects. When a round is done, you reopen the project for the next one.
What you get back
- A written report per tester, with each problem listed separately: its type (bug, UX, copy…) and severity.
- Where it happened and what the tester expected instead.
- Screenshots when they help.
- How long they spent on it.
- A chat with the tester to ask follow-up questions.
What this isn't
There are no recorded sessions with think-aloud video, and testers are other makers rather than a panel matching your exact audience. If you need either, paid platforms do that well. For finding the obvious problems before strangers do, written reports from people who build things are hard to beat for free.
How it works on the wall
- 1 · SubmitPaste your link and write what testers should look at.
- 2 · TestClaim someone else's project and write down what broke. That's what moves yours up.
- 3 · ReceiveMakers test yours and send a report, every problem listed with its severity.
- 4 · RateYou rate each other; both ratings unlock together.
Free, and based on reciprocity. The FAQ has every rule written out.
Questions
- How can I do usability testing for free?
- Write two or three realistic tasks, find a handful of people who have never seen your product, and ask them to note every place they got stuck. On Makers Wall, other makers do this for you in exchange for you testing their products.
- How many users do I need for usability testing?
- Around five testers per round finds most of the problems in a flow. Fix what they find, then test again with new people.
- Is remote unmoderated testing reliable?
- It is when testers have a clear task and a reason to be thorough. On Makers Wall, testers are rated on how useful their report was, and you can ask for changes before accepting it.