> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Testing with a colleague

> The two-minute waiting-room test that doubles as a peer demo.

The fifth row of the welcome-screen checklist says: "Test your waiting
room with a colleague." That row earns its keep twice over — once as the
smartest sanity check you can do before booking a real client, and once
as the gentlest way to show another therapist what Rivet looks like.

Two minutes. One colleague. Done.

## Why this test, not a client test

You could test your waiting room by booking yourself a fake session,
opening Rivet on your phone, and tapping through both sides. That works
for the mechanics. It misses the thing a colleague test catches: how the
experience reads to someone who has never seen Rivet before.

Your client will be a stranger to the product. So is your colleague.
What confuses them now will confuse a client later — better to find out
in a low-stakes test than in week three of someone's therapy.

It also doubles as the most natural peer demo you can do. Therapists
talk to other therapists about tools constantly. A friend who joins your
waiting room, sees how clean the experience is, and goes "wait, what is
this?" has now seen Rivet without you ever giving a sales pitch.

## The script

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick a colleague">
    Another therapist, social worker, counsellor, or a friend you trust
    to give you honest feedback. Bonus points if they're a peer who
    might be curious about Rivet themselves.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Text them your URL">
    From your phone, send them a text that reads roughly:

    > "Doing a 2-minute Rivet test — can you tap getrivet.ca/your-name
    > when you have a sec and tell me what you see?"

    Use your actual slug. If you have their cell in your contacts, send
    from your personal number; the point is to make sure they tap a
    real link.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Rivet on your laptop">
    Sign in if you're not already. Click into the Video tab and open
    your waiting room. Leave it open in the foreground so you see when
    they join.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch them appear in your waiting room">
    Once they tap the link, grant camera + mic permission, and tap
    Join, a row for them appears in your waiting room panel. Their
    name (if they typed it) and a green Let-in button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Let them in">
    Click the green button. You're now in a live session together.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Spend two minutes saying hello">
    Ask them what they saw on their side. Was the camera prompt clear?
    Did the waiting state feel reasonable? Did they have any "wait,
    where do I…" moments? This is the feedback that catches the small
    confusions before a client hits them.

    If they're a therapist, show them the whiteboard and the EMDR
    workspace. Open a clinical template. The demo writes itself.
  </Step>

  <Step title="End the session">
    Red End-session button. Both sides disconnect cleanly. Text them a
    quick thanks.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What the test confirms

By the end of two minutes you've verified:

* Your URL is live and your slug routes to the right waiting room
* A real person on a real phone, on a different network, can reach you
* Camera + microphone permission prompts work on their device
* Your waiting-room panel updates in real time on your side
* Letting someone in works
* The session room launches without surprises
* The end-session flow disconnects both sides cleanly

That's the entire happy path of a real client session, in a no-stakes
context, with someone you can text right after to ask "did that feel
weird at any point?"

## If something didn't behave

If they couldn't reach your URL at all, double-check that you saved it:
open your Waiting Room and look for the link with the **Copy** button. The
picker waits for you to tap **Save** — typing it isn't enough.

If their camera or mic permission prompt didn't appear, ask them to
refresh the page. Some browsers (Safari especially) suppress permission
prompts until the user clicks a button on the page.

If they joined but you didn't see them in your waiting room panel,
refresh your laptop's Rivet tab. The panel updates over a long-lived
connection that occasionally needs a kick after a long idle.

If the audio felt echo-y, you were both on speakers. Put on headphones
for client sessions; the difference is night and day.

## Tick the row

Starting the session from your Waiting Room ticks the **Test your waiting
room with a colleague** row in the setup guide by itself. It saves across
devices, so you'll see the checkmark the next time you open Rivet
anywhere.

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your first session" icon="video" href="/getting-started/your-first-session">
    The full session walkthrough, this time with a real client on the
    other side.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sharing with clients" icon="paper-plane" href="/video-sessions/sharing-with-clients">
    The wording that works when you're sharing your URL with a client.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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