Recruiting and scheduling best practices
Here are some user research participant recruiting and scheduling best practices. We covered these in the Ask Like A Pro “Orchestrate” class tonight. This cohort is fantastic!
In general:
Identify which recruiting criteria you are willing to relax before you begin screening
Pilot every single aspect of your study including your note taking strategy
Schedule pilots at least two days before the actual sessions begin
Do not schedule more than 3 session in any one day
Plan for 5-6 people max per segment for usability and 8-10 max for generative research
Allow least 30 minutes of buffer time in between sessions, much more for ethnographies
Over recruit by @30% to accommodate for no shows
Watch out for:
-Participants choosing the first available times (mix up the first available to address this)
-Time zones (people assume things are in their local time). Use a time zone convertor!
- Daylight savings (often occurs in different dates in different countries, does not occur in all states)
-International considerations - local holidays, cultural differences (talking aloud, showing up with a boss, access to technology, focus, UX maturity)
Watch out for:
Participants choosing the first available times (mix up the first available to address this)
Time zones (people assume things are in their local time). Use a time zone convertor!
Daylight savings (often occurs in different dates in different countries, does not occur in all states)
International considerations - local holidays, cultural differences (talking aloud, showing up with a boss, access to technology, focus, UX maturity)
