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Guerilla Research/Testing

Gain insights to make informed decisions in a quick and low cost manner using the means you have at your disposal.

Guerilla Research or Guerilla Testing is a way to get out of the building and into a public space to engage with people. Approach people to ask them a few questions to learn about a topic or show them your idea to get feedback.

It is ad hoc by nature. It is ideal for situations where you’re constrained my time, budget, and other resources.  This is a way to get real user feedback in a low cost and short time. Some insights is better than no insights. Other conditions guerilla research is good for is when you have a general product or service which requires no previous experience or specific domain knowledge. It is also good if you are looking for general first-impressions and want to know if people understand your product value.

Avoid guerilla research if you are exploring sensitive topics related to health, money, sex, and relationships; if the context in which someone will you use your product will greatly impact their usage and you can’t talk to people in context; and if you need participants to have specific domain knowledge.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to consider. The advantages are that it is cheap, takes less effort, takes less time, and can be very informative. The disadvantages are that it can be a small sample size, not representative of personas, potential for high rejection, and not enough time to ask the right questions.

2-3 people
2-4 hours

What you’ll need

  • Pens
  • Notebook
  • Person to interview/test with
  • A partner
  • Your idea/prototype
  • An environment where it's acceptable to approach people
  • Audio/video recording device
  • An incentive
  • Discussion Guide

Prerequisite Activities

Downloadable Materials

Preparation

step 1

Create a Modified Research Plan

Always begin all research or testing with a research plan. Know why you’re collecting data and information. Refer to Research Plan activity for the full instructions and template. Make modifications to reduce the resources, time, and scope.

Consider modifications in these areas:

 

  • Scope: What are the objectives, goals, and expected outcomes of this guerilla research? Since this is time and cost sensitive, narrow down the research scope. Instead of exploring the full problem or solution, you can explore a portion of it with participants. Be clear on what you want to learn from this guerilla research.
  • Discussion topic or idea: What topics or questions will you ask participants? What will you show them? Draft some topics and questions you want to explore in the conversation with the participant. If you plan to show your idea, test it out with other associates beforehand.
  • Location and Environment: Find an environment where it is acceptable to approach people. A park, university campus, or coffee shop are good places to approach people who may already be in a relaxed and positive mood. Plan to be outside for 2 hours, excluding transit time to the location. Also, consider the weather and any implications on your research.
  • Participant criteria: How many people should you approach? Aim for 5-8 people and 5-15 minutes per person. Balance between getting insight versus bothering the participant.
  • Partner: Who else is involved? Bring another person from the team with you. Going with another team member provides ways to share information, bounce ideas, and approach with confidence. You can approach people together or separately. To maintain a comfortable condition for participants, only 1 or 2 people should approach the same person; don’t have the whole team of 6 people approach 1 stranger.
  • Data collection method: How will you collect data? Will the session be recorded? Ask participants if you can take photos or record the audio. Bring a pen and a notebook to capture notes after each session and during the post-session debrief.
  • Incentive: if possible, provide each participant with a small thank you gift. This can be a gift card to a coffee shop with a small balance.
step 2

Gather your materials

Prepare materials in advance. Block out 2-3 hours in your calendar. Head out with another team member.






Instructions

step 1

Arrive at location

Look around the location and briefly discuss with your partner the plan. Are there candidates around that you can approach? How is the weather? How is the noise level at the moment? Is this still a good place to do guerilla research?

step 2

Approach a person and introduce yourself　

Find a person to approach. Introduce yourself covering these points:

  • Ask if they have a moment to speak to you.
  • Describe who you are and why you are there.
  • Describe your ask and want.
  • Ask if they can give you 10 minutes.
  • Describe how you will reward them.
  • Ask permission to record.
step 3

Show them the idea

Take out your idea and show it to them. Observe and record them interacting with your idea.

step 4

Things to do during the session

Practice these tactics during the session.

  • Follow-up questions. Ask questions to clarify or dive deeper; get to the why.
  • Think-out-loud protocol. Ask them to think out loud as they are interacting with your idea.
  • Minimize note taking. Stay engage and in the moment. Take notes afterwards.
  • Talk less, listen and observe more. Allow space for the participant to speak and share their thoughts. Hold silence for 12 seconds after prompting the participant, to give them time to share.
  • Stay on track. It is easy to go off tangent. Make sure to stay on track and hit your goals with the limited time.
  • Be open to their ideas. Offer and allow the participant to sketch their feedback.
  • Respect their time. Be respectful and mindful of the time. If you tell them 10 minutes, stick to 10 mins and do not go over.
  • End early if unhelpful. It is possible that the feedback and information is unhelpful or irrelevant to your idea or research goals. End the conversation early.

 

step 5

Thank them and take notes

Thank them for their time and offer the reward. Take some notes to revisit with your partner later. Call out the key takeaways and highlights.

step 6

Repeat until you've met your goals

Find the next person to approach. Repeat steps 2 through 5 until you’ve reached your goals.

step 7

Debrief after the session

With your partner, review your notes and the recordings. Highlight what worked well and what needs to change. Write down any new questions or ideas you may have. Set up a time to meet with the rest of the them and share your findings.