User tests

A User test is a structured research item for planning a study, capturing sessions, and turning what you heard into findings. Each test has four tabs: Setup, Run, Results, and Graph.

Setup

Define what you're testing and why. For the moderator guide you can Generate a draft from the purpose and linked targets, create a blank note, or select an existing research note — whichever you choose is graph-linked to the user research so Ask and the Graph keep the connection. Edit freely; a generated draft is a starting point, not a script you're stuck with.

Run

Paste Crux’s Prolific study URL (Run tab → Enable) into Prolific as the Study URL with URL parameters. Crux records PROLIFIC_PID, STUDY_ID, and SESSION_ID when a participant lands, then forwards them to your first outgoing tool link. Capture session notes as you go; if you record sessions, upload the transcripts — audio transcription is available on paid plans.

Results

When the sessions are in, Crux synthesises outcomes from your session notes: recurring themes, notable quotes, and answers to the questions you set out with. As with all AI output in Crux, results are proposals to review — see Reviewing AI output.

Graph

The Graph tab shows how the test connects to the rest of your project: the evidence it produced, the assumptions it tested, and the experience entities it informs. Findings feed the wider research graph, so Ask can cite them alongside everything else you know.

Good practice

• Write the discussion guide before recruiting — it sharpens who you need to speak to.
• Capture notes per session rather than one running document; synthesis is more reliable when sources are separable.
• Link the test to the assumptions it examines, so a result visibly confirms or challenges something.

Next

• The research graph
• Highlights & labelling