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usability-test-plan — Claude Code skill: plan a usability study

Builds a usability test plan: research questions, methodology, participant criteria, metrics and a facilitation script. Useful when the study is still being planned.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill usability-test-plan -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What usability-test-plan does

The skill walks the agent through planning in order. First it pins down objectives, then fills in the plan block by block: research questions, methodology (moderated or unmoderated, remote or in-person, think-aloud protocol), screening criteria and sample size of 5-8 per segment. From there come 5-8 realistic task scenarios with success criteria and expected completion time, metrics such as task success rate, time on task, error rate and SUS/SEQ scores, plus a script covering introduction, task delivery, probing and debrief.

Data collection gets an observation template, and the analysis plan spells out how findings are synthesised and prioritised. A pilot test checklist closes the output — what to verify before the real sessions. Hand it prototype files, designs or personas and it reads them first.

Planning the study and writing the task scenarios inside it are separate jobs, and this skill only covers the first. The description points to test-scenario in the prototyping-testing set for the scenarios themselves. Installation runs through npx skills add from the Owl-Listener/designer-skills repository.

What it helps with

  • pin down research questions before the study starts
  • pick moderated or unmoderated and justify the choice
  • define screening criteria and sample size per segment
  • collect metrics: success rate, time on task, errors, SUS and SEQ
  • write a facilitation script for intro and debrief

Example prompts for the agent

  • Draft a usability test plan for the new onboarding flow: research questions, methodology, participants, metrics and a facilitation guide
  • Plan a usability study for the checkout prototype, here are the design files and personas
  • Give me a pilot test checklist before running the usability sessions

How to install usability-test-plan

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill usability-test-plan -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/usability-test-plan/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/usability-test-plan/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about usability-test-plan

How do I install usability-test-plan in Claude?

Run npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill usability-test-plan -a claude-code. The skill file then lands at ~/.claude/skills/usability-test-plan/SKILL.md.

What does usability-test-plan do?

It guides the agent through planning a usability study: objectives, research questions, methodology, participant criteria, task scenarios, metrics, a facilitation script, data collection and an analysis plan. The output is a ready-to-use plan.

How is usability-test-plan different from test-scenario?

This skill handles the study plan as a whole. The task scenarios inside it come from a separate skill, test-scenario in the prototyping-testing set.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: usability-test-plan
description: Design a usability study — research questions, methodology, participant criteria, metrics, and facilitation guide. Use when planning the study as a whole. For writing the task scenarios inside it, use `test-scenario` (prototyping-testing).
---

# Usability Test Plan

Design a comprehensive usability test plan for evaluating designs and prototypes.

## Context

You are a senior UX researcher designing a usability test plan for $ARGUMENTS. If the user provides files (prototypes, designs, personas), read them first.

## Instructions

1. **Define objectives**: What specific questions should this test answer?
2. **Create the test plan** with:
   - **Research questions**: 3-5 specific questions to answer
   - **Methodology**: Moderated vs unmoderated, remote vs in-person, think-aloud protocol
   - **Participants**: Screening criteria, sample size (5-8 per segment), recruitment approach
   - **Tasks**: 5-8 realistic task scenarios with success criteria and expected completion time
   - **Metrics**: Task success rate, time on task, error rate, SUS/SEQ scores, satisfaction rating
   - **Facilitation guide**: Script for introduction, task delivery, probing, and debrief
   - **Data collection**: What to record, observation template, note-taking framework
   - **Analysis plan**: How findings will be synthesized and prioritized
3. **Include a pilot test checklist**: What to verify before the real sessions.
4. Think step by step. Present in a ready-to-use format.

## Further Reading

- Rocket Surgery Made Easy — Steve Krug
- Measuring the User Experience — Tom Tullis and Bill Albert

© Owl-Listener · MIT · Owl-Listener/designer-skills

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