Survey · Product
Sean Ellis test survey template
Keeps the standard Sean Ellis questions and asks them of everyone in the same order, so your result is comparable from one round to the next. A first question thanks and releases people who have barely used the product, and anyone happy to talk more can leave an email for a follow-up interview.
Try it live
Try it as a respondent
Every question, and where it leads
The conversation
What a respondent is asked, in order.
We'd love your honest take on the product. A handful of short questions, about two minutes.
How much have you used the product recently?
How would you feel if you could no longer use the product?
What would you use instead if it were no longer available?
What is the main benefit you get from the product?
What type of people do you think would benefit most from it?
How could we improve the product to better meet your needs?
Would you be up for a short follow-up chat about how you use it?
Great. Which email should we use to set it up?
Endings
Thank you 🙏
Thanks for letting us know
Thank you, we'll be in touch 📅
The flow
Where each answer leads. Every route here is editable once the form is yours.
Single select
Single select
Short text
Long text
Long text
Long text
Yes / No
What this template uses
- Single select
- Short text
- Long text
- Yes / No
- 3 branches
- 3 endings
Questions to consider
- How do you define an active user for your product, and does the screening question match it?
- Will you send it to a random sample of active users, or to everyone at once?
- How often will you repeat the test, and what change would make you act?
- Who will run the follow-up interviews, and how many can you handle?
How to use the responses
Count only the people who passed the screening question, then work out what share answered very disappointed. Read the main benefit answers from that group side by side: the phrases that repeat are how your best users describe you. Look at what the somewhat disappointed would use instead, since that's who you're really competing with, and book the interviews while the answers are fresh.
How to customize and share it
- 1Replace 'the product' with your product's name, and adjust the screening options to match how often people normally use it.
- 2Keep the four core questions as they are if you want to compare results with earlier rounds.
- 3Send the link to active users only, then export to CSV and read the very disappointed group's answers on their own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Sean Ellis test?
A short survey that asks users how they would feel if they could no longer use a product. The share who say very disappointed is used as a signal of product-market fit.
What is the 40 percent rule?
Sean Ellis suggested that if around 40 percent of active users would be very disappointed without your product, you are likely close to product-market fit. It is a benchmark, not a guarantee.
What are the four Sean Ellis questions?
How would you feel if you could no longer use the product, what would you use instead, what is the main benefit you get, and how could we improve it. Many teams also ask who would benefit most.
Who should take the Sean Ellis survey?
People who have used the product recently and more than once. This template screens out anyone who hasn't, so the score reflects real users.