Stop 03 · UX ResearchTopics · 3/11

Usability Testing

In short

You'll never see your own design's problems because you know how it works. Watching five real people try it for twenty minutes will humble you, and make the product much better.

Watching real users attempt tasks on a product (or prototype) to find where they get confused or stuck — one of the highest-signal, lowest-cost research methods available.

The jaadu sits on its hands, watching a grandmother try out a new smartphone.

Think of it like this

Watching Nani use a new phone

You hand Nani her new phone and ask her to call Mama. Then the hard part: you sit on your hands and say nothing. Every place she pauses or taps the wrong thing shows you what's confusing.

Watch it happen

One task in a test session

Facilitator

Participant

Prototype

Book a bus to Pune

1/6Give a realistic task, not instructions. Don't say which button to press.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Think aloud

Ask people to say what they're thinking as they go. You hear their expectations, not just their clicks.

Five is often enough

Nielsen Norman Group suggests about five users per round finds most big problems. Test again after fixing them.

Watch, don't defend

Your job is to observe. Explaining your design in the session ruins what you're there to learn.

Test early and often

Paper sketches and rough prototypes can be tested too. Earlier tests mean cheaper fixes.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Giving step-by-step instructions like 'click the blue button'.

Do this instead

Give goals like 'find a bus for tomorrow'. Let them figure out the path.

Oops

Testing only once, right before launch.

Do this instead

Run small rounds throughout the project, especially before building anything expensive.

Your mission

Run a hallway usability test

~40 min

Quick check

During a test, a participant asks 'Should I tap here?'. What should you say?

Go deeper

1Run a 5-user usability test on any app, even an unrelated one, to practice the method.
2Learn the 'think aloud' protocol for capturing a user's real-time reasoning.
3Focus on where users struggle, not just whether they 'succeeded'.