How a Project Works, Step by Step

Step 1: Learn the goals

Scoping starts with your question, not with our method. You describe the site, the audience, what concerns you and the decision you need to make. We ask follow-up questions until we can state the research question in one or two sentences, for example: "Why do visitors who start a quote request on a phone fail to finish it?"

From there, we propose a method, the pages or flows in scope, the number of participants if any and a timeline. That becomes a written quote, as described on our pricing page. Scoping is free.

Then a written plan

Once you approve the quote, we write a detailed plan. For an audit, the plan lists the pages, tasks, devices and criteria. For research with participants, it adds the screener, the session guide with tasks and follow-up prompts, the consent wording and the schedule.

You review and approve the plan before anything else happens. This is the best moment to raise concerns, because changing a task after sessions start would make the results harder to compare.

Step 2: Observe and review

For an expert audit

The reviewer works through each task on the agreed devices, recording problems with screenshots and notes as they go. If your team adds its own independent review, we compare both sets of findings only after each is finished.

For research with participants

Sessions are run one at a time over video. We introduce the study, confirm consent, give tasks and ask neutral follow-up questions. People from your team are welcome to watch live if you wish. Between sessions, we note any technical problems with the site or prototype so they can be fixed before the next session.

For accessibility work

Sessions run longer and include breaks. Participants use their own assistive technology. The WCAG review runs in parallel.

Step 3: Explain the findings

Analysis is where observations become findings. We review every session recording or audit note and log each problem against the task where it happened. We then group problems by cause, because several symptoms often share one root cause. Each finding receives a severity rating and is checked against the evidence: how many participants met the problem, or for an audit, which principle it breaks.

We separate observation from interpretation throughout. Take the illustrative example on our home page: "Three of five participants missed the pricing link inside the Resources menu" is an observation. "The Resources label hides the pricing page" is an interpretation. Reports show both, clearly marked.

The report and readout

The report is delivered before the readout, so you can read it first. The readout is a video call in which we walk through the most important findings, play short clips where consent allows and answer questions. We recommend inviting the people who will make the changes: designers, developers and content owners. Hearing the reasoning firsthand makes the recommendations easier to act on.

You can see the structure of a report, with fictional content, on our sample report page.

Step 4: Plan the fixes

After the readout, you have two weeks to send questions about the findings at no extra cost. If you want help turning findings into a ranked backlog, that is the recommendations service. When changes ship, a short retest with a few participants is the best way to confirm they worked, and we can quote that as a separate phase.

How we communicate

We use email for everything that needs a record: scope, approvals, changes and deliverables. Short video calls are used for the kickoff, the readout and any point where talking is faster than writing. You will receive a brief written update at the end of each step, stating what was done, what comes next and anything we need from you.

How we handle your data

We ask only for the access the project needs, such as read-only analytics or a test account. Recordings are stored securely, shared only with the people named in the plan and deleted on the agreed schedule. We do not reuse your site, findings or recordings in marketing or examples. Our privacy notice covers personal data in more detail.