Customer test · Lesson 04 of 05

Design a small test.

Choose an activity small enough to learn from before you commit more.

By the end of this lesson

Describe a bounded activity, the observations it will produce and a point at which you will stop and review.

Match the activity to the question.

If the question is whether someone understands a description, let them use that description for a relevant task. If the question concerns a current routine, an experience conversation may be a better starting point. Choose the activity because of what you need to learn.

Describe who is relevant to the question and what they will do. A convenient participant can help rehearse an activity, but record that rehearsal separately if their situation differs from the people you hope to serve.

Decide what to record and where to stop.

Choose a few concrete observations before you begin: choices made, information requested and the point where help was needed. A count is useful only when you keep its context. Two people getting through a rough page does not establish a market success rate.

Set a limit on effort, time or spending and a point to review. The limit prevents an exploratory activity from silently becoming a larger commitment. Let participants stop, and do not ask for payments or imply that an unbuilt service is available just to make the exercise feel realistic.

Pause and try

What is the smallest useful activity?

Sam wants to learn whether the revised appointment label is understandable before building the booking system.

Read the explanation

The first activity directly examines the label while limiting effort. The other options either add an unnecessary commitment or answer a different question.

Bring it into your work

Give your test its boundaries.

Draft the activity, record and limits. Keep it a plan for now; the course does not require a purchase, a public launch or a participant session.

These notes become part of your final test plan. Use the fictional example if you prefer. Keep sensitive personal information out of this practice.

The small activity: Who would take part, what would they do, and what would you show or ask?

What I will record: Choose observable actions or answers tied to the question.

The limits I will set: Name a time, effort or spending limit, and when you would stop.

Review your work

Does the activity answer the question from Lesson 1?
Will the notes capture observations rather than only approval?
Is the stopping point clear before you begin?

Open the Idea Worksheet Return to the small-test reference

An existing tool opens separately. It does not receive an answer automatically. Its editable file remains separate from your course file.

Keep your place.

When you have worked through the explanation, practice and application, mark this lesson reviewed. This is your record, not a test score.

Background and related reading

Original Brass Charter teaching, exercises and fictional examples. Background on setting a purpose and observing a task. This course exercise does not establish commercial demand.

Digital.gov: How to conduct a usability test