Develop a Format for Easy Flow through the Questionnaire - I

Allow the caller to branch from one question to the next without thinking too much about the answers. This is especially important if you use an outside agency and the callers do not have an in-depth understanding of your product. Figure 7-4 shows an example of a screening questionnaire that was developed for the usability test of an accounting package for small businesses.
This questionnaire could be administered by phone or with slight adjustments by email. Note how the questions are intended to screen for a user who does his or her own bookkeeping on a PC, and who has experience using other office-related software. In administering a questionnaire like the sample one, the caller should not offer the choices listed below the questions, but simply mark them based on the respondent's answers. Likewise, if the questionnaire is to be administered by email, only the questions should appear without the possible answers. Note also that the questions focus on behaviors, not demographics. Figure 7-5 shows data collected by using the sample screener. (For an expanded sample of questionnaires and spreadsheets for recruiting and screening, go to the web site that accompanies this book: www. wiley. com/usability testing. com.)