User research session notes

Prepare the source

Keep the session identifier and approved recording in your research system. Avoid adding unnecessary personal details to a working transcript.

Check what the participant said while performing a task, especially words like cannot, expected and confusing. Before processing a full recording, test a passage that includes the difficult conditions you expect in the rest of the material. A clean introduction may not reveal problems with quieter answers, room noise or changes of language later in the file.

Settings for this workflow

Set the audio language when you know it, and begin with Tiny to confirm the device can run the model. Compare another available model on the same passage if the first draft needs too much correction. Keep the task on original-language transcription unless an English translation is specifically the goal.

Review against the recording

Link observations back to timestamps and keep your analytical notes separate. Review the screen recording when behavior matters more than spoken wording.

Use the timestamp beside a segment to return to its audio. Correct the draft before copying a passage into another document. If a phrase remains unclear, leave an explicit marker in your working copy so the uncertainty survives later editing and sharing.

Illustrative handoff

Imagine a reviewer receiving the draft without having attended the session. They need the source recording identifier, the chosen transcription convention, a clear distinction between spoken words and notes, and a way to find unresolved passages. Make those choices visible in the exported document instead of assuming the next person will infer them.

TXT for finding passages and DOCX for a reviewed session record. Keep the source audio under the access rules for this project. The app stores a local copy when browser storage permits; that convenience is not a substitute for an approved archive or backup.

Know the limit

A silent pause or failed click may be central to the finding but absent from speech. Use the recording and observation notes alongside the transcript. If the work requires a managed transcription service, independent checking or a specialized record format, use a workflow that provides it. The useful result here is a transparent, reviewable draft.