Orientation Script

The orientation script (also known as the introduction script) is a communications tool meant to be read verbatim to participants. It describes what will happen during a test session, sets the tone for that session in the minds of the participants, and is intended to put them at ease. It achieves this by informing the participants of what they will be doing, and reinforcing the fact that the product, not the participant, is being tested. Remember that participants often have only the vaguest idea of what they will be doing, possibly having been

presented with only some ambiguous reference to "participation in market research" or the like. For a particularly nervous participant, introducing the session this way can provide reassurance that he or she is actually the right person in the "right" place.

The script may be read to the participants in the testing area or in a "waiting or meeting area" prior to moving to the testing space. Our own preference is to read it just before beginning testing activities, which occur in the main testing area.

When developing an orientation script, there are three major guidelines to remember.