Guerilla Testing

What is guerilla testing?

Guerilla testing, also spelled guerrilla testing, is a method for collecting feedback about a design, mockup, concept or prototype, by getting live, real-world feedback from people encountered in public. The guerilla testing method for user testing is great for teams with low budgets or teams that need feedback on an idea or design quickly.

Pros and cons of guerilla testing

How to conduct a guerilla test

1. Plan

Your guerilla test needs some scope — something to narrow down goals and align stakeholders on the intent of the test. The plan should be simple and include  the following:

• Objective
• Schedule
• Tasks, scenarios, and questions
• Tester requirements
• Location
• Budget
• Roles
  

2. Prepare

Before you head to your testing location make sure you have your equipment, participant questions, and have called the location where you will be set up (if it's required, not all places require permission).

3. Get out there

Once the day of your study has arrived, head to your location and get ready for some testing!

4. Review 

Talk about what you've learned between participants or share a meal with colleagues after the test to review results. The important thing is to review what you found and create a short list of key takeaways. Double check your findings against your test objectives to verify you've got the information you need.

5. Share

The time has come for you to share your findings with the rest of your team. Work on a brief presentation or even a brief email summarizing what you discovered. Follow up with some action items for addressing important findings from the test that need attention.

Guerilla testing example

A product team and a couple of business leaders had a great idea for a new computer gaming service, but really needed to flesh out the idea. Formal studies were over a month away and the team wanted to get an initial gut check. They decided to try out guerilla testing and started working on a plan. 

They found a local gaming center and called up the owners to ask for permission to come and interview some patrons. To sweeten the deal for the gaming center and for the participants, they were incentivized with 2-hour game cards for the center. 

Next, they built out a loose idea of who they wanted to recruit. They were looking for young adults who were playing computer games and were interested in indie developers. After establishing a high-level understanding of who they wanted to recruit, they started working on a series of questions and scenarios to ask participants.

The team was then ready to start their test. They arrived, checked in with the venue team, and quickly got to work asking patrons about their interest in participating in a brief study. They did a quick screen to make sure potential participants were somewhat in their target market. After interviewing around 10 participants, they felt like they had enough feedback to help them shape their original concept. The team talked about the findings over lunch and created a brief presentation about their findings and plans for modifying their concept to share with their extended team.