Hi Emily,

I hope that you’re doing well!

I saw that you mentioned using Slack for your testing group and was wondering if you had any tips. I’ve used Slack for work and like the immediacy of it but I’ve mostly done it with just one or two people on a channel.

I’ve used a Facebook group for testing before but I didn’t really like it.

In general, I tend to get a little overwhelmed during testing and have a hard time tracking everything. So, anything that would make testing easier appeals to me.

Did you have just one group slack channel that everyone was a part of? How many people did you have?

All the best.

Hi there,

I am pleased to hear you have a new pattern in the works and are almost ready for testing! I can definitely relate to how overwhelming pattern testing can be. I feel like I have almost streamlined my testing process to a point that it feels manageable and not as intimidating as it used to feel, so I would be very happy if it could help you feel less overwhelmed too!

SLACK VS FACEBOOK

I am definitely pleased I transitioned to Slack rather than Facebook and will continue using Slack in future. Having channels really helps and I like that things stay in chronological order, rather than becoming one endless random thread of posts.

For pattern testing I set it up with just a couple of channels, but recently I used it for my Darlow pants sew-along and tried using more channels and I think that it worked better.

In future I think I will create the following channels:

General - I think you have to have this channel in Slack. This can be used as a general conversation space - a place for people to get to know each other. I like having a channel where people can just chat about whatever. Generally people were talking about what they're reading, watching, listening to etc. and was a nice way for participants to connect with each other
View A
View B - If the styles are quite similar or follow the same construction, I would consider keeping both in one channel, but for the Darlows I had View A and View B so it was quick and easy for people to find what they were looking for.
For the Darlows I did separate channels for pattern alterations and sewing. For example: View A alterations / View A sewing. I think this was really helpful for pants as most people needed to make alterations. For a pattern that doesn't need as much tweaking I would probably just keep alterations and sewing in the one channel (e.g. View A).
Finished makes - During pattern testing a few people said they would have liked a separate channel just for finished makes, so I did add one in the Darlow sew-along and it seemed to work well

As for numbers, I normally have about 20 people in the testing group - 2 for each size in thesize range - 1 making each of the two views.

I found this article really helpful for things like privacy settings etc. in Slack and just worked my way through it as I set up the workspace and channels.

I wrote an introduction and posted to the General channel. In the post I detailed:

An introduction and explained briefly what the channels are for
Pattern feedback deadline
Asked people not to share the pattern details on social media
Attached the pattern files. I attached directly to Slack, which was fine, but I think next time I will also include a Dropbox link.
I then pinned the post so it could easily be found in the thread

COLLECTING FEEDBACK

I have also found that collecting feedback can be overwhelming, so have come up with a few systems that have really helped:

I collect feedback in two ways:

1. An online form that is completed / submitted at the end of testing for in-depth feedback regarding fit and the experience of using the pattern. I set this up through my website. I ask questions such as:

Did you make any modifications to the pattern?
What do you like about how the garment fits?
What don't you like about how the garment fits?
What do you like MOST about the finished garment?
What do you like LEAST about the finished garment?
Were there any steps that you feel require more detail?
Are you happy with the techniques used to assemble the garment or do you think there could be a better way?

2. For general feedback I use a Google Doc which has been a real game changer for me. Using this method means that all the feedback is in one place and I don't have too many notes doubling up as participants can see previous notes - as it's a live / interactive document.

On the Google doc I include instructions for testers and then create a table so there is space to write notes about each section of the pattern. This means that when feedback is added, there is a clear place for each note to go and testers can quickly and easily see what has been mentioned and what hasn’t. This document is basically used for keeping track of any typos, errors, or steps that need further explanation etc.

I have a rule for myself that is that I don't read any of the feedback until testing is over, as I have learned that it just stresses me out and I'd rather just go through it all when testing is finished. I have also learned that any negative feedback, never feels as big or as overwhelming when I can read all the feedback at the same time. This rule also means that I can spend my time in the Slack group just hanging out with the testers, which has to be the best bit about pattern testing!

When testing is done, I go through all the feedback that has been submitted from the online form and add any notes to the Google doc that I have found in the feedback that aren't already in the doc. This is when a second computer monitor helps a lot! I work through all feedback and then the Google doc becomes my checklist for updating the pattern.

PREPARING THE PATTERN FOR TESTING

One thing I learned recently is that it’s worth getting the pattern copy edited before it goes into testing. I used to just copy edit the pattern myself, but would often miss a few things here or there and these became stumbling blocks for testers, that meant they were spending more time on missed steps / typos than the flow of the order of construction. By getting my patterns professionally edited before I send them out for testing, I noticed a big difference in the types of things the testers were able to focus on, when not distracted by the errors that had slipped through the cracks in the past.

Best of luck with your pattern testing and please do let me know if you have any questions about any of this!

Talk soon,

Emily

resources mentioned in this issue

The In the Folds sizing chart can be found here.
How (and why) to create a Slack community article can be found here.

P.S. Would you like to know what the Q & A series is all about? This page tells you a little bit more about the motive behind the series. Past issues from the Q & A series can be found here.

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