Our study will have glitches. Piloting it before launch gives us a chance to fix them before they mess up the results. |
Test-driving tasks with a colleague and “previewing” a test ourselves are quick and effective ways to find glitches. |
Running a realistic pilot test with stakeholders and representative users is an even better way to spot mistakes in a study. |
Observing a few in-person sessions is the best method for finding problems. |
In addition to content problems, watch for technical issues caused by spam blockers, firewalls, unsupported web browsers, or mobile devices. |
If we make changes after the pilot, we revise a duplicated copy of the pilot study, and recheck the correct answers as necessary. |
Next: Chapter 11 - Running the test