Using Metrics Questions

Metrics questions are available on the following subscriptions:

Find metrics questions, like multiple choice questions, rating scale questions, and written response questions, in your test plan builder. Go to the Metrics tab once your test is completed to view the responses to these questions and to Export the results to Excel.

Why Use Metric Questions?

They save you time

Want to settle a team debate over which version of your signup page is more appealing? Multiple choice questions help provide an answer.
Curious if a drop-down menu or a list is easier to use to find information? Have contributors try it both ways and then rate the task's ease or difficulty on a 5-point scale.

They improve the quality of your research

Unlike the results of traditional surveys, which bring you lots of numbers and little context, asking these survey-style questions during a test gives contributors a chance to explain WHY they are providing the negative or positive feedback. Their answer often concisely highlight certain problems areas on the site and might also highlight confusing areas.

They make it easier to share study results with others

While clips and notes can be powerful illustrations of usability issues, supplementing your qualitative findings with charts and graphs can provide "big picture" information in an easily digestible way.

Metric Question Types

Multiple choice

Multiple choice questions are great for collecting responses that can be organized into categories. Multiple choice questions should be written with care so that contributors aren't forced to give an answer they don't agree with.

They are also useful in situations where you might want the contributor to choose from a predetermined set of responses, instead of letting them come up with their own wording.

When setting up your multiple choice question, specify whether contributors should be able to select more than one answer or must select only one answer.

Examples:

• Do you trust this company?
• How often do you shop for running shoes?
• Were you able to find the product you were looking for?
• Which site do you prefer?

Some customers like to use this metric when asking contributors which label they'd prefer to see on high-level navigation or to gauge expectations. For more information, visit the "Using Multiple Choice Questions" article.

Rating scale

Rating scale questions are great for measuring the success of a common task, comparing your site with a competitor, or collecting ordered categories (e.g., low, medium, high).

Be sure to label your endpoints. We recommend having lower numbers as detractors and higher numbers as promoters (1 = worst, 5 = best). You may select from a 5, 7, 9, or 11-point scale.

Examples:

• How unlikely or likely are you to return to this site again?
• Rate your agreement with this statement: These search results are helpful.
• How unsatisfied or satisfied were you with the checkout process?
• How not useful or useful does this feature seem?

For more information, visit the "Using Rating Scale Questions" article.

Written response

Written response questions help with running post-test analysis, collecting rich qualitative insights, and creating quick quotes for building user stories.

Since written responses take more time to answer, it's best to ask questions that can be answered in a sentence or two.

Examples:

• What three words best describe this site?
• What questions do you have about this service?
• What is this site for? What can you do here?
• What do you think is missing from this page, if anything?

For more information, visit the "Using Written Response Questions" article.

Please provide any feedback you have on this article. Your feedback will be used to improve the article and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Article evaluations will remain completely confidential unless you request a follow-up.