Recruiting, compensating, and protecting users

Method: Recruiting users

What

Recruiting in the user research context is finding people to interview or test your product.

Why

Recruiting people who represent your core user group is a critical and often overlooked part of research. Working with the right users matters more than using the perfect method.

How to do it

Seek out people who:

• Are trying to use your product at the moment
• Have recently tried to use your product
• Have used the thing you are working on less recently
• Have used something like what you are working on, and are likely to use what you are working on

Reach them through: 

• Relevant community organizations
• Impromptu requests in or near the relevant environment
• Your personal and professional network
• The new or existing website
• Existing mailing lists
• Recruiting services

Time required

1 to 2 weeks for up to 9 participants