The facilitator must resist the natural urge to help the user, but rather allow the user to struggle since the point of the test is to see if the user can complete the task unaided. Sometimes a user will ask for help. Rather than giving the answer, a facilitator can reflect back what the user is saying and help draw out his or her thoughts. Assist users only as a last resort. Sometimes it’s possible let a test user know that you sympathize with the frustrating circumstances and can encourage him or her to stay with a task a little longer. If a user becomes so frustrated that it appears that he or she may just stop working and leave, provide small pieces of information.

What will be an ideal response?

Thinking aloud occurs when users provide a running commentary of what they are doing and why they are doing it. Thinking aloud has the advantage of providing insights into a user’s preconceptions and reactions to the interface and provides a rich set of feedback for further improvements to the interface.