Wizard of Oz Testing

Wizard of Oz Testing is a method where participants interact with a product or service that they believe is fully functional. However, the system's responses are actually being manually controlled by an operator hidden from the user. This technique allows teams to simulate and test aspects of a product's functionality before it is fully developed.

Goal

The goal is to validate user interest, behaviour, and the feasibility of product features without the need for complete backend development. It helps in identifying the most valuable features from the user's perspective, ensuring that development efforts are concentrated on what matters most to the end user.

Context

Most features fail to deliver the expected value because users don't want them as much as we think they will. But it can be hard to validate whether customers want something from prototypes that describe a process. Enabling them to experience the process is a much more reliable way to validate our assumptions, but if we invest the full cost in building the solution before we test it, we risk wasting time and money. Wizard of Oz lets us simulate the full experience without the full investment.

Difference compared to Concierge Testing

The main difference between Wizard of Oz Testing and Concierge Testing is that Wizard of Oz Testing is focused on simulating the experience of a product or feature, while Concierge Testing actually delivers the service and uses the insights gathered from delivery to influence the technology that they will build.

Inputs

Outputs

Anti-patterns

• Ignoring Scale and Feasibility: Validating features that cannot be realistically implemented or scaled.