Customer test · Lesson 03 of 05
Separate observation and interpretation.
Keep the evidence visible while you make sense of it.
Distinguish an observed action or quotation from an interpretation, and write a plausible alternative explanation.
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Write what happened first.
“The person paused at the appointment choices and asked what ‘drop-off’ meant” records an action and a question. “The page is confusing” interprets that moment. The interpretation may be useful, but it should not replace the observation.
Record the context too: what the person was asked to do, what they saw and whether you helped. If Sam explained a label, the next successful choice is not evidence that the original label worked without help.
Give an explanation room to be wrong.
A pause might reflect unclear wording, unfamiliarity with the service or an interruption. Write your strongest interpretation alongside another possibility and what could help distinguish them.
Keep accounts that do not fit your first impression. In a small exercise, one useful observation can suggest a change worth examining; it does not become a reliable estimate of how every customer would behave.
Pause and try
Which note preserves the evidence?
The person asks when the bicycle will be ready. Which note best separates what happened from what Sam thinks?
Read the explanation
The second note records the question before interpreting it. The alternatives help Sam decide what to ask next without turning a question about timing into an unsupported conclusion.
Bring it into your work
Practise writing two kinds of note.
Use the fictional example, an existing non-sensitive observation, or a clearly labelled practice scenario. You do not need to run a test to complete this exercise.
These notes become part of your final test plan. Use the fictional example if you prefer. Keep sensitive personal information out of this practice.
Review your work
- Could someone identify the action or words you recorded?
- Is your explanation clearly labelled as an interpretation?
- Have you named another possible explanation?
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.
Keep or reopen your course work
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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