Best Practices When In-Home-Use-Testing

In this post, we will walk you through steps to take to successfully conduct an IHUT study, while utilizing your online community. These best practices will guide you towards getting the most of your next  in-home-use-test study. 

What is a In-Home-Use-Test (IHUT)?

In-Home-Use-Testing is a popular way to evaluate new products, enhance current products, and achieve other important milestones! IHUTs focus on the performance, as well as the different uses for a product over an extended period- specifically in a user’s natural environment (home). Organizations can optimize the customer experience in the long run by testing products in consumers’ homes, as it allows for more organic insights to be drawn. This in turn gives a company a clear path on areas to improve before a product goes to market or additional developments on a preexisting design are made. 

Have a game plan for your study:

You wouldn't step on to the field during a big game without determining which plays would take down your opponent, would you? The same consideration should be taken in market research before a product launches to consumers.

1. Set Achievable Goals:

   Setting clear objectives for your overall goal and ensuring the product is ready for testing are crucial in conducting a successful IHUT. For example, some of the potential goals could be to increase consumer purchases by a certain percentage, fix a bug with the product that's leading to consumer frustration, etc. All in all, having clear objectives is critical towards establishing KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure.

2. Screening

   Before you can begin research, you need to know who your target audience is (age group, gender, employment status, education level, etc). Once understood, then you can send out the screener to those who they think would qualify as an additional way for them to identify the correct people. You need to ensure that you recruit the correct amount of people for these tests as some may drop out over time and there needs to be enough people for the study. In addition to a standard screening qualifier, always re-confirm study expectations with consumers within 24 hours of them completing a screener. Participants’ physical agreement to the study’s terms and conditions holds them accountable throughout the testing process. In an effort to prove a tester’s reliability and responsiveness, add articulation questions, encouraging the consumer to elaborate on a certain topic at hand. Even if these questions are not part of the initial screener,  this practice can be a useful tool to determine the quality of feedback you will receive from a potential tester.

3. Set a Clear Timeline

   Allow the proper amount of time for testers to thoroughly use all of the features of your product. Be sure to outline a schedule for when they will receive any check-ins, whether that’s in the form of a survey or an interview with your organization. Set your own personal milestones for the completion of various project tasks to ensure you are able to report back to your professional network regarding any necessary product changes. Not only will a timeline allows you to manage the success of the study, but it will promote alignment of expectations across all involved parties.  

My-Take’s software allows you to manage the steps involved in the IHUT process with the convenience of using a single online platform. From recruiting and planning to the final report, incentives, and follow up, we can handle all points in the process. The platform also has secure authority and control over all of the data and members of the insight community. In addition, our platform offers flexibility and can adapt to any study!

Contact us to learn more.