Moderated testing with Trymata is live (again)! We’re happy to announce that moderated user testing has now been added to the brand-new rebuilt Trymata system.
While we’ve been very proud of our shiny new platform, up until this point it hasn’t been 100% finished. With the launch of moderated testing, we’re back at full functionality, and looking forward to plunging ahead with some totally new features in the weeks and months ahead!
Intro to Trymata moderated user testing
For readers who aren’t familiar with our moderated user testing feature, here is a brief description of how it works. If you’ve already used it before, check out this section to see some screenshots of how it looks in our new system!
Setting up a moderated test
Creating a moderated user test on Trymata is mostly the same as creating an unmoderated one. The key difference is an extra step called “Scheduling,” where you’ll choose the date and time you’ll be hosting your test sessions.
One thing to make sure of before creating your first moderated test is to set your time zone. On the profile page, there is a dropdown where you can select the time zone you’re in. Once selected and saved, all dates and times throughout your logged-in experience will be updated to reflect your local time.
In case you forget, the test creation form will remind you on the scheduling step.
Running your moderated sessions
After you’ve placed the order for your moderated test, you’ll see the scheduled upcoming date & time on your dashboard (switching to a countdown when it gets closer).
30 minutes before the start time, you’ll be able to kick things off.
When you launch the moderator experience, the first thing you’ll see is an invite page. Testers who are eligible to participate based on your demographic filters and screeners will be waiting in a queue; when you click the “Invite tester” button, an invitation will be sent to the person that’s first in line.
In case tester #1 doesn’t accept your invite, you can send a new invite to the next tester in line. When a tester accepts your invitation, both of you will be added into a live call together, with camera and microphone sharing.
From there, you can communicate directly with the tester. In addition to seeing their shared screen, you’ll also have a panel where you can read from your prepared script, log their answers to questions, and take notes.
You’ll also be able to send the text of any task or question to testers as a message with a single click.
If there is a problem with the connection, or for whatever reason the tester is not working out, you always have the option to end the test early. In such cases, that session will not be counted, and you can simply invite the next tester in the queue for an immediate replacement session.
What’s different from the old system?
First and foremost, the entire moderated user testing experience has been modernized with a clean, updated UI. On both the moderator and tester sides, the flows are much smoother and more user-friendly.
We’ve also been able to eliminate issues that were present in the moderated test feature in our old system – in particular, a bug which occasionally split the moderator and tester into separate call rooms. With new live call technology and improved logic, we’ve stamped out this bug – and more generally, we’ve built in more pathways for you to recover from unexpected issues, interruptions, and mistakes on the spot.
What’s coming next for moderated user testing with Trymata?
Moderated testing may be live again on Trymata, but that doesn’t mean we’re done! The next items we’ll be focusing on to make this feature even better include:
1. New ways of taking advantage of moderated: For now, gaining access to the moderated testing feature requires a paid add-on fee that unlocks the feature suite. We’ll be changing this so that customers on higher-level plans have permanent free access to it, and instead just spend 3 credits per moderated session instead of 1 when ordering tests.
2. Observers in live sessions: While our current moderated feature connects a tester and a moderator in a live call room together, we will be working to enable observers to join as well, so that your colleagues can watch and take notes as sessions unfold.
3. Mobile moderated testing: The challenge of connecting testers and customers live is hard on any device type, but mobile poses even more challenges. While this will be a bit further out, we have an innovative plan for achieving it without requiring any downloads!
