Usability testing is a form of user research in which product design teams observe test participants as they interact with a product to achieve a goal or specified task.

This allows product and design teams to examine their product’s functionality and intuitiveness, based on user actions and responses.

By observing users as they navigate through your interface, usability testing uncovers any hindrances that might impede their experience, allowing designers and developers to fine-tune features and improve overall functionality.

In short, you get a set of testers to accomplish pre-defined tasks (for example, “buy green pants on this website”). Then, you observe users complete the tasks and try to identify frustration points or where they get stuck.

The goal is to find usability issues, understand user behavior, and collect feedback to improve the product. This helps product designers and UX researchers find areas where users struggle or get confused.

 

Decoding Usability Testing Tools: Features and Methods

Usability testing vs User testing vs User acceptance testing: What’s the difference? These words are often used interchangeably and can lead to confusion.

The difference between the three lies in the testing timeline:

User testing happens before launching, or even developing, the product. Here, you evaluate ideas, prototypes, and wireframes.

Usability testing typically takes place on a staging environment. The goal is to watch ideal users test your website or app for the first time, observe areas of confusion, and ensure they can complete tasks.

This allows designers and product teams to observe test participants interacting with the experience in real-time, and enable them to identify any pain points or frustration users encounter whilst navigating the site.

User acceptance testing happens when your new site or feature is live or in pre-production. You observe real users. The goal is to figure out if they are using your product the way you expect them to, and if business objectives are met.

 

 

Streamlining User Experience Without Technical Expertise

Some common usability testing methods for UX teams:

Card Sorting: Participants organize content into categories that make sense to them, helping define or refine the information architecture.

Eye Tracking: This method tracks where and how long a user looks at specific areas of a screen, offering precise data on user attention and interest.

Session Recording: User interactions with a website or application are recorded, allowing researchers to observe firsthand how users navigate and where they encounter problems.

Heatmaps: Visual tools that show where users click, scroll, and hover on a webpage, helping identify which areas draw attention and engage users.

Usability testing can uncover website navigation and information architecture issues, such as confusing menu structures or needing help finding important content.

 

The Economics of Usability Testing: Costs and Opportunities

When it comes to the question of when you should do usability testing, the short answer is early and often. Usability testing is an iterative process from the prototyping phase to the post-launch.

At the conceptual stage, before making any design decisions, test your low-effort prototypes, as it’ll reveal user feedback and pain points.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Test at every phase of the product development cycle to learn user behavior and understand what works well, what needs improvement, and how you can fix it.

While there are many methods to usability testing, they all fall underneath four fundamental test types: remote testing, in-person testing, moderated testing, and unmoderated testing.

 

 

The Nuts and Bolts of Online Usability Testing Process

When putting together a usability test, one of the first decisions to make is whether you’ll be running your usability tests remotely or in-person.

During remote usability testing, participants complete tasks and provide feedback from their location, typically using online testing platforms or software. Because participants use their own devices in familiar environments, this can provide more natural and realistic user interactions.

Remote testing allows for a broader reach in test audience sample size and participant recruitment, as users can participate from any location with internet access. It offers flexibility in scheduling, allowing participants to complete tests at their convenience and reducing the need to coordinate in-person sessions.

In-person usability testing involves participants completing tasks and providing feedback in a physical location such as a usability lab or conference room. In this location, a facilitator or moderator can observe participants’ behavior, gestures, and reactions in real-time.

Conversely, remote testing may lack the ability for direct observation and interaction with participants, which can make it challenging to gather nuanced insights.

 

Moderated Versus Unmoderated Usability Testing

During moderated usability testing, a facilitator or moderator guides participants through the process. The moderator can provide instructions, ask questions, and gather additional insights from participants in real-time.

This approach allows for more in-depth observation and understanding of user behaviors and reactions. Participants may feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and feedback with a moderator present.

Unmoderated usability testing involves participants completing tasks and providing feedback independently without a moderator present. Participants follow predefined tasks and instructions using remote testing platforms or software.

An unmoderated approach offers flexibility in terms of timing and participant location. Participants can complete tests at their convenience.

Unmoderated testing can be more cost-effective and efficient for gathering feedback from many participants. However, compared to moderated testing, there may be less opportunity for in-depth probing and follow-up questions.

 

 

Getting to Grips with Usability Testing: Quantitative vs Qualitative

Depending on the testing methods and sample sizes collected, usability testing can result in two different types of data: quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative testing is the collection and analysis of numerical data. It aims to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to broader populations by representing data expressed as numbers.

Qualitative Usability Testing: Gathers non-numerical data such as user opinions, feelings, and experiences during testing. It often involves open-ended questions to probe deeper into user thoughts and feelings, helping to uncover motivations and attitudes that influence behavior.

 

Remote Versus In-Person Usability Testing: Making the Right Choice

Scaling your research: Statistical significance is gained through larger sample sizes. Because unmoderated testing leaves users to their own devices (literally), you can better scale your project, potentially including hundreds of people.

Using quantitative data to cement qualitative insights: Qualitative and quantitative research don’t have to be mutually exclusive. For example, you could run a qualitative study and discover that a handful of users aren’t satisfied with a design feature. You can then use a large-scale quantitative test to prove or disprove this insight.

Democratizing UX research: The demand for UX research is higher than ever. You only have 24 hours daily, one team can’t run every research project needed. People from other departments and roles can engage in research with unmoderated research.

Usability testing is a powerful tool for creating user-friendly products that meet and exceed user expectations. By identifying issues early and gathering valuable user feedback, usability testing helps improve the overall user experience and ensures that the product is both functional and enjoyable to use.

 

 

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Posted on: May 18, 2021, by : Gordon McQue