Report

The UX researcher should clarify the expectations with regards to how the results will be communicated, as follows:

• Format: We recommend wrapping up a usability study with a written report because it avoids having to repeat the results (and potentially not get the details right) if new stakeholders join later, and also makes the results available for subsequent studies to compare to. Some study sponsors might not want to spend effort on a written report, however, especially if the scope of the study is not very large. In that case, they might request a simple discussion of the main findings.
• Language: In globally distributed studies, where the study language might not be the language of the study sponsor, it is germane to align on the language the report is expected to be written in.
• Recommendations: The raw results of a usability study might provide information about potential usability issues, but they do not, on their own, provide recommendations on their resolution. This is where the expertise of the UX researcher comes in. UX researchers interpret the raw results, identify the underlying issues, and suggest improvements that should be a part of the report. When the stakeholders or study sponsors are UX researchers themselves, they might prefer to receive the raw study results and make their own inferences.
• Topline report: A topline report is often provided 24 hours after the last session, in a moderated study.