How to throw a watch party

👋🏼 Introduction

Watch Parties are helpful for project kick-offs, new product innovation, and major changes to existing features. They are however a bit of an overkill for quick usability studies.

1️⃣ Throw a watch party

Invite core group to attend as observers

No secondhand research report or highlights video alone can deliver the same jolt of insight and impact as when the core team actively observes a full set of customer interviews.

Remind them how it will help the project. Add it to their calendars. Send reminders.
Stoke FOMO in stakeholders by sending catchy updates during the interviews!
Even create “I’m a customer champion” badges as give-aways.

Set up room with goodies

Stickies and pens to take notes on, large TV to watch on.
Note taking template on figjam, google sheets, or notion for everyone to anchor to.
Snacks and coffee to take care of energy levels through the day.

Record interviews using

This frees up mind space during the call to engage in the conversation and ask insightful questions. Set up your account, create a project and connect to your google account. Meetings will get auto recorded.

Add grain to meeting links
Record if remote, share screen, open prototype, then give remove access to user
If in person, join meeting from test device, share screen, open prototype, then hand device to user. Use computer to record video of user.

Stream to core team

If the Participant is joining remotely, and core team is present in person—The note-taker should join from a conference room with mic and camera turned off. Observers can join the conference room in person.
If everyone is joining remotely—The note-taker sets up a parallel Observers Meeting. S/he also joins the interview meeting. S/he will then share screen with audio from Interview Meeting on the Observer Meeting.
If everyone is joining in person—Assign a note-take/facilitator, who will be with the observing group to help take notes, to call attention to interview techniques, and to do quick debrief after calls. They will also be able to collate questions form the group and share with the interviewer.

2️⃣ Further reading

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Last updated 1 year ago

1️⃣ Throw a watch party

Invite core group to attend as observers

No secondhand research report or highlights video alone can deliver the same jolt of insight and impact as when the core team actively observes a full set of customer interviews.

Remind them how it will help the project. Add it to their calendars. Send reminders.

Stoke FOMO in stakeholders by sending catchy updates during the interviews!

Even create “I’m a customer champion” badges as give-aways.

Set up room with goodies

Stickies and pens to take notes on, large TV to watch on.

Note taking template on figjam, google sheets, or notion for everyone to anchor to.

Snacks and coffee to take care of energy levels through the day.

Record interviews using

Add grain to meeting links

Record if remote, share screen, open prototype, then give remove access to user

If in person, join meeting from test device, share screen, open prototype, then hand device to user. Use computer to record video of user.

Stream to core team

If the Participant is joining remotely, and core team is present in person—The note-taker should join from a conference room with mic and camera turned off. Observers can join the conference room in person.

If everyone is joining remotely—The note-taker sets up a parallel Observers Meeting. S/he also joins the interview meeting. S/he will then share screen with audio from Interview Meeting on the Observer Meeting.

If everyone is joining in person—Assign a note-take/facilitator, who will be with the observing group to help take notes, to call attention to interview techniques, and to do quick debrief after calls. They will also be able to collate questions form the group and share with the interviewer.