How to rescue a usability test whose participant is lacking confidence?

Last night, I was conducting a usability test with a participant who was very uncertain of his actions. Before the test, I said all of the usual stuff about it being a test of the software and not him, asked him to imagine I wasn't there, that we were hoping he could help us find the software's weaknesses, and so on. The task he was given had also been successfully used with other participants already.

But it still went badly.

The participant became unsure of how to proceed, lost confidence in himself, and he clearly started feeling like it was more of a test of HIM rather than the software. The test dragged on and, despite yielding a good amount of useful feedback, it clearly hadn't been a pleasant experience for him.

How should I rescue such situations in the future? Is there anything I can do to get such sessions back on track, or should I just call an early end to tests where the user gets 'stuck' and stops enjoying it?

I'd welcome any advice...

Answer

It's not clear from your question if you have any insight into why the participant lacked confidence. You need to identify this because how you try to solve the problem depends on what's causing the anxiety.

Here are some causes I've found in the past:

• The participant is anxious because of the testing situation. He finds the recording equipment intrusive or he's worried that the test is some kind of elaborate scam.



• The software is very hard to use, making the participant feel stupid.


• The tasks you've set the participant aren't realistic -- he doesn't understand what he's expected to do.


• Something bad is going on in the participant's life (e.g. he had a row with his boss before coming in)


• The participant may have been poorly recruited and doesn't have the expertise necessary to take part.


• The moderator is anxious for some reason and this is being transferred to the participant.

Depending on what's causing it, here's some ideas that might help.

• Start off with an easily achievable task


• Ditch your canned tasks for a self defined task.



• Take a 10-minute break.


• Stop the problematic task and move on.


• Turn off any recording equipment and take written notes instead.


• Stop the usability test and do something else entirely -- for example, turn it into an interview instead.


• Be authentic and talk about the elephant in the room: "You seem quite anxious. Is there anything I can do to help?"