How can you write clear recommendations based on usability testing findings?

1 Analyze the data

Before you write any recommendations, you need to analyze the data you collected from your usability testing sessions. This may include qualitative data, such as user feedback, comments, and emotions, and quantitative data, such as success rates, task times, and error rates. You should look for patterns, trends, and insights that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your product or service, and how they affect the user experience. You should also compare the data with your usability testing objectives and hypotheses, and see if they are validated or contradicted.

2 Identify the issues

Based on your data analysis, you should identify the issues that need to be addressed or resolved. Issues are the problems or pain points that users encounter when using your product or service, or the gaps between their expectations and reality. You should describe the issues clearly and concisely, and provide evidence from your data to support them. You should also categorize the issues according to their severity, frequency, and impact on the user experience. For example, you can use a scale of low, medium, and high, or a matrix of importance and urgency.

4 Prioritize the recommendations

Once you have a list of issues and solutions, you should prioritize your recommendations according to their value and urgency. Prioritization helps you focus on the most important and impactful recommendations, and communicate them effectively to your stakeholders. You can use different methods to prioritize your recommendations, such as the MoSCoW method (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have), the RICE method (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort), or the Kano model (Basic, Performance, Excitement). You should also consider the dependencies and interrelations between your recommendations, and group them into themes or categories.

5 Format the report

The final step is to format your report in a way that is easy to read and understand. You should use a clear and consistent structure, such as an executive summary, an introduction, a methodology, a findings and recommendations section, and a conclusion. You should also use visual aids, such as charts, graphs, screenshots, and quotes, to illustrate your data and recommendations. You should also use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and numbering to organize your report and highlight the key points. You should also proofread and edit your report for accuracy, grammar, and spelling.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?