Practica
User Testing in Public Institutions
Learn when, why, and how to get ongoing user feedback on your paper and digital designs.
For public institutions, the stakes of not doing user testing are particularly high—critical services might not work for everyone who needs them, or fail to work at all. This course covers testing for paper and digital designs, with case studies, step-by-step instructions, and template materials to help you center user feedback across your design process.
course outcomes
Describe the difference between discovery research and user testing, and how they fit together.
Understand the role testing plays in the context of HCD.
Make a plan and conduct a user testing session.
Synthesize feedback from a user testing session, identify priorities for improvement, and evolve your design accordingly.
What you'll learn
Welcome to User Testing+
- Course overview
- Preparing to learn
- Getting started checklist
User Testing in HCD+
- What is user testing?
- Testing methods
- Case studies
- Activity: Choose an artifact to test
Planning a User Test+
- The user testing plan
- Recruiting testers
- Selecting a test setting
- Creating a test interview guide
- Crafting questions
- Activities: Start recruiting and schedule a test session
Running a User Test+
- Who should be there
- Using a test interview guide
- Taking notes
- Trauma-informed testing
- Activities: Practice notetaking and run a test
Synthesis and Iteration+
- Downloading
- Synthesizing your findings
- Iterating your prototype
What’s Next+
- Things to keep in mind
- Activity: Plan your next test
- Templates and tools
Enroll as a team
Learning is better as a team sport. Practica supports collaborative learning through paid cohorts—group learning experiences facilitated by Civilla staff. Together with your colleagues, you’ll participate in workshops, be guided through one or more Practica courses, get coaching from Civilla design experts, and make significant progress applying HCD to priority projects.
