Menu
Try It Now Free

Templates · usability test observations and session notes

Usability Testing Template (free)

Structure your usability test observations and session notes into prioritised findings so your team knows exactly what to fix and why.

Analyze your data freeJump to the full template
Free to copyNo sign-upReviewed by Junu Yang

What is in it

Template components

Task Scenario & Participant Info
Record the task the participant was asked to complete, their role or segment, and any relevant background context before the session begins.
Example: Participant: Maya, 34, mid-market SaaS product manager. Task: "Without any help, find and export last month's usage report as a CSV." Prior tool experience: moderate. Session length: 45 min.
Session Observations & Direct Quotes
Log timestamped behavioural observations and verbatim quotes as the participant moves through the task, noting hesitations, errors, and workarounds.
Example: 02:14 — Clicked "Analytics" first, then backtracked. Said: "I assumed exports would be under Analytics, not Settings." 05:40 — Hovered over three icons without clicking. "I have no idea what these do." 09:22 — Successfully found export but missed CSV option, defaulted to PDF.
Issue Log with Severity Rating
List every distinct usability issue observed, assign a severity level (Critical / High / Medium / Low), and note how many participants encountered it.
Example: Issue: Export function buried in Settings, not Analytics. Severity: Critical. Frequency: 4/5 participants. Issue: Icon tooltips absent on dashboard toolbar. Severity: High. Frequency: 3/5 participants. Issue: CSV not the default export format. Severity: Medium. Frequency: 2/5 participants.
Prioritised Findings & Recommended Actions
Summarise the top insights from across all sessions, ranked by impact, and pair each with a concrete design or product recommendation for your team to act on.
Example: Finding 1 (Critical): Navigation mental model mismatch — users expect export to live in Analytics. Recommendation: Move export entry point to Analytics or add a cross-link. Finding 2 (High): Unlabelled icons cause task abandonment. Recommendation: Add persistent tooltip labels to all toolbar icons.

The template

The full template, ready to copy

Usability Test Report
Product: [Product Name] • Researcher: [Researcher Name] • Date: [Test Date] • Session format: Moderated / Unmoderated
1. Test Overview
Research objective
[e.g. Can new users identify and complete account setup within the first session without external help?]
Feature or flow being tested
[e.g. Onboarding flow — steps from sign-up confirmation through first project creation]
Session format
[e.g. Moderated remote — facilitator and participant on video call with screen sharing enabled]
Number of participants
[e.g. 6 participants across two rounds of 3]
Session duration
[e.g. 60 minutes per session including 5-minute intro and 10-minute debrief]
Recording method
[e.g. Zoom cloud recording — screen, audio, and front-facing camera; stored in shared research drive]
Scheduled dates
[e.g. Round 1: March 10–12, 2025 • Round 2: March 17–19, 2025]
Tip: Write the objective as a question your team needs answered, not a description of what you will do.
2. Participant Profile
Target user type
[e.g. Small business owners or team leads managing 5–20 person teams, non-technical background]
Experience level required
[e.g. Intermediate — uses project management software at least weekly but has not used this product before]
Screener criterion 1
[e.g. Currently manages a team of 3 or more people in a professional context]
Screener criterion 2
[e.g. Has used at least one project or task management tool in the past 6 months (e.g. Asana, Trello, Notion)]
Screener criterion 3
[e.g. Has NOT participated in a usability study for this product in the past 12 months]
Recruitment source
[e.g. User panel via UserTesting.com + internal CRM outreach to free-tier signups from past 90 days]
Incentive offered
[e.g. $75 Amazon gift card for completing a 60-minute remote session]
Tip: Screener criteria should reflect your actual target user — over-screening creates artificial results.
3. Task Scenarios
Task 1 — Scenario
[e.g. You've just signed up for the product. Get your account ready so your team can start working together on a new project today.]
Task 1 — Success criteria
[e.g. Participant completes profile setup, creates a project, and invites at least one team member without facilitator prompting]
Task 1 — Time limit
[e.g. 8 minutes]
Task 2 — Scenario
[e.g. Your team is growing and you want to understand what it would cost to add more people. Find out which plan best fits a 10-person team and what you'd pay monthly.]
Task 2 — Success criteria
[e.g. Participant correctly identifies the recommended plan for 10 users and states the correct monthly price without researcher assistance]
Task 2 — Time limit
[e.g. 5 minutes]
Task 3 — Scenario
[e.g. A deadline changed for one of your tasks. Update the due date and let your teammate know about the change using only the tools available in the product.]
Task 3 — Success criteria
[e.g. Participant updates the task due date and sends a notification or comment to the assigned teammate within the task view]
Task 3 — Time limit
[e.g. 6 minutes]
Task 4 — Scenario
[e.g. Your manager wants a progress update on the current project. Find a way to show them how much of the work has been completed so far.]
Task 4 — Success criteria
[e.g. Participant locates and opens the project progress or reporting view and can describe the completion percentage or task status breakdown]
Task 4 — Time limit
[e.g. 5 minutes]
Task 5 — Scenario
[e.g. You no longer need one of your projects and want to remove it permanently. Make sure it won't appear anywhere in the product after you're done.]
Task 5 — Success criteria
[e.g. Participant successfully deletes the project and confirms it no longer appears in the project list or archive]
Task 5 — Time limit
[e.g. 4 minutes]
Tip: Write tasks from the user's goal, not the interface. Avoid naming UI elements in the task description.
4. Session Observation Notes
Participant — Task
P1 — Task 2
Observation
[e.g. Participant navigated to the Help section first, then tried Settings before finding the Pricing page via the top navigation after 3 minutes 20 seconds]
Verbatim quote
"I thought pricing would be under my account settings, not up in the main menu — that's not where I'd look for it."
Issue type
Navigation / Labeling
Severity
Major
Participant — Task
P1 — Task 5
Observation
[e.g. Participant right-clicked on the project name expecting a context menu; none appeared. Spent 2 minutes searching before abandoning the task]
Verbatim quote
"Usually right-clicking gives you a delete option — I just assumed that would work here too. I can't figure out where else it would be."
Issue type
Flow / Navigation
Severity
Critical
Participant — Task
P2 — Task 1
Observation
[e.g. Participant skipped the profile setup step entirely, not realising it was required before inviting teammates. Hit an error state at the invite step]
Verbatim quote
"I didn't see anything that said I had to fill my profile in first. It just took me straight to the dashboard so I assumed I was done."
Issue type
Flow / Comprehension
Severity
Critical
Participant — Task
P2 — Task 4
Observation
[e.g. Participant found the Reports tab quickly but was confused by the difference between "Progress" and "Activity" views, hovering between them for over 90 seconds]
Verbatim quote
"Progress and Activity sound like the same thing to me. I'm not sure which one shows what's actually been completed versus what people are doing."
Issue type
Labeling / Comprehension
Severity
Major
Participant — Task
P3 — Task 3
Observation
[e.g. Participant updated the due date successfully but sent a direct message in the inbox rather than commenting on the task, believing it would not reach the teammate otherwise]
Verbatim quote
"I didn't trust that a comment on the task would actually notify them — a message feels more reliable, like an email."
Issue type
Comprehension / Flow
Severity
Minor
Participant — Task
P3 — Task 2
Observation
[e.g. Participant located the pricing page quickly but could not determine the per-user cost for the Business plan because the pricing table only showed flat monthly totals for preset team sizes]
Verbatim quote
"It only shows me prices for 5 or 15 people — my team has 10. Do I pick the bigger one? I don't know what I'd actually be charged."
Issue type
Comprehension / Labeling
Severity
Major
Tip: Capture exact quotes during sessions — paraphrasing introduces researcher bias.
5. Usability Issues Log
Issue 1
Pricing page not discoverable from account settings • Task: 2 • Severity: Major • 4 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Add a "Plan & Billing" link inside account settings that redirects to the pricing page, and relabel the top-nav item to "Plans & Pricing"
Issue 2
No context menu or visible affordance for deleting a project • Task: 5 • Severity: Critical • 5 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Add a three-dot overflow menu to each project card exposing Rename, Archive, and Delete options; support right-click as a secondary pattern
Issue 3
Required profile setup step not communicated during onboarding • Task: 1 • Severity: Critical • 3 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Introduce a linear onboarding checklist on first login that makes profile completion a gated step before the dashboard is accessible
Issue 4
"Progress" and "Activity" report tabs indistinguishable by label alone • Task: 4 • Severity: Major • 4 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Rename tabs to "Completion Status" and "Recent Activity", and add a one-line description beneath each tab header explaining what the view shows
Issue 5
Pricing table does not communicate per-user cost for non-preset team sizes • Task: 2 • Severity: Major • 3 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Add an interactive seat calculator to the pricing page that shows the exact monthly total for any team size entered by the user
Issue 6
Task comments not trusted as a notification mechanism • Task: 3 • Severity: Minor • 2 of 6 participants affected • Fix: Display a visible "Notify assignee" toggle when a comment is added to a task, and show a confirmation tooltip confirming the teammate has been notified
Tip: Severity = Critical means task failure; Major means significant struggle; Minor means friction without failure.
6. Key Findings and Recommendations

How to use

How to use it

  1. Set up your task scenarios before each session
    Fill in Section 1 for every participant so you have consistent context that makes cross-session comparison reliable.
  2. Capture observations and quotes in real time
    Use Section 2 during the session itself — timestamp every notable behaviour and write quotes verbatim so you don't lose nuance when reviewing later.
  3. Log and rate every issue immediately after each session
    Complete Section 3 while the session is fresh, assigning severity and tracking how often each issue appears across participants.
  4. Synthesise findings across all sessions into Section 4
    Once all sessions are done, group recurring issues by theme, rank them by severity and frequency, and write one clear action per finding for your product team.

Filled in

What it looks like filled in

Navigation Mental Model Mismatch
"I kept looking in Analytics — it never occurred to me that exporting would be a Settings thing."
→ Relocate the export function to the Analytics section or add a persistent shortcut link from Analytics to Settings exports.
Unlabelled UI Controls Cause Abandonment
"I didn't want to click something I didn't understand — I was worried I'd break something or lose my data."
→ Add visible text labels or always-on tooltips to all toolbar icons to eliminate ambiguity and reduce task hesitation.
Default Export Format Doesn't Match User Expectation
"I wanted CSV straight away — I use it in Excel. The PDF default just added an extra step I wasn't expecting."
→ Set CSV as the default export format and surface format options more prominently before the user initiates the download.

Or skip it

Why teams skip the template

Usercall reads the usability test observations and session notes for you and drafts the themes, quotes and recommendations. See how qualitative analysis works.

  • Manually reviewing hours of session notes is exhausting and slow
    Combing through timestamped observations across five or more sessions to spot patterns takes hours of focused work that's easy to rush or cut short under deadline pressure.
  • Severity ratings are subjective and inconsistent across researchers
    When different team members rate the same issue differently, your prioritisation becomes unreliable and stakeholder conversations stall over conflicting interpretations.
  • Synthesis is where nuance gets lost
    Compressing rich qualitative observations into a findings summary by hand means subtle but important signals — especially low-frequency but high-severity issues — often get dropped entirely.

Keep reading

More templates.

Other free templates, and the product pages that fill them in for you.

Reviewed by

Junu Yang
Founder of Usercall. 15+ years in qualitative research and insight led strategy

Analyze your usability test observations and session notes automatically — no template needed

Free to start. Upload transcripts, notes or survey responses and get themes with the quotes attached.

Analyze your data freeOpen a real report