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Experience your study from a participant’s perspective before launching. This step lets you validate that the conversation flows naturally and covers the topics you need. You’ll have a real conversation with the moderator you configured, running the research plan you just built. Optional, but a ten-minute test catches problems while they’re still cheap to fix.

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How to run a test

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Starting the Test

  1. On the Test Conversation screen, you’ll see: “Ready to test your study?”
  2. Click Start Test Conversation to begin
  3. Experience the full participant flow

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During the Test

Once the test begins, you’ll experience the full participant flow:
  1. The moderator greets you and introduces the study
  2. You’re asked questions from your research plan
  3. The moderator probes deeper based on your responses
  4. The conversation wraps up
Tips for effective testing:
  • Respond naturally: Don’t just give short answers. Respond as a real participant would.
  • Try different response types: Give some detailed answers and some brief answers.
  • Test edge cases: What happens if you give an unexpected answer?
  • Complete the full conversation: Don’t skip ahead—experience the entire flow.

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Ending the Test

When the conversation concludes (or if you end it early):
  1. You’ll see a feedback screen: “How was the conversation?”
  2. Select Good or Needs Work to provide quick feedback
  3. Optionally, add written comments in the text field
  4. Click Submit to record your feedback

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Making Adjustments

If you identify issues during testing, you have several options:

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Option 1: Minor Adjustments

For small changes to question wording or flow:
  1. Click Back to return to Step 3 (Review Goals)
  2. Edit the research plan directly
  3. Proceed through the steps again to re-test

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Option 2: Major Changes

For significant restructuring of the research plan:
  1. Click Back repeatedly to return to Step 2 (Customize Plan)
  2. Chat with Charles about the changes you need
  3. Let Charles regenerate the research plan
  4. Review and test again

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Option 3: Proceed Anyway

If the issues are minor and you’re comfortable proceeding:
  1. Note the issues for future improvement
  2. Click Save & Continue to proceed to launch

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Usage Limits

Test conversations do not count against your usage limits. You can test as many times as you need to get the conversation right. This encourages thorough testing without worrying about consuming your allotted interviews.

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Skipping the Test

While testing is optional, we strongly recommend completing at least one test conversation before launch. However, if you’re confident in your research plan:
  1. Click Save & Continue without starting a test
  2. You’ll proceed to Step 6 (Ready to Launch)
Warning: Skipping testing means your first real participant will be your first test. We recommend always testing before inviting participants.

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Proceeding to the Next Step

After testing (or choosing to skip):
  1. Review any feedback or issues you noted
  2. Make adjustments if needed by clicking Back
  3. Click Save & Continue to proceed to Step 6: Ready to Launch

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Test as many times as you need. Each test helps you refine the experience.
They’re labelled with a Test badge so you can tell them apart from real participants, and they’re never eligible for rewards.
Yes. Anyone with access to the study can run a test conversation.
Test conversations take as long as a real interview—typically 10-20 minutes depending on your research plan. You can end early if you’ve seen enough.
Not necessarily — it adapts to each conversation, so no two run identically. It’s worth adjusting your research plan if it consistently misses an important probe or heads somewhere you don’t want.