User Experience

As an employee and a freelancer, I’ve seen plenty of brands fall prey to a shiny object syndrome where they want to build a feature they saw a competitor launch or simply thought was a good idea. Then, they build that idea without knowing if their audience needs or wants it — they skip usability testing. “In many companies, if the leading competitor has this feature and we think it’s a good idea, validation is done. It never works,” shares author and product leader Itamar Gilad. “You should not assume that your competitor actually knows what they are doing any more than you do. I always ask, ‘Where is your evidence?’” Usability testing is a way for your company to test and validate new ideas and features with evidence. In this post, I’ll cover what usability testing is, the main types of usability tests, and how to run a usability test — even without a big research team or budget. Table of Contents What is usability testing? Benefits of Usability Testing When to Do Usability Testing What to Test for Usability Testing Usability Testing Examples & Case Studies Types of Usability Tests How to Conduct a Usability Test 15 Usability Testing Questions Usability Testing vs. User Research User research, also known as UX research, is a broad field that includes multiple methods to understand the needs, behaviors, and motivations of users. Usability testing is just one of many user testing techniques. Usability Testing vs. A/B Testing A/B testing compares two variations to determine which performs better. While usability testing typically analyzes a single version of a product, UX researchers sometimes use A/B usability testing to compare two prototypes and understand why one version outperforms the other. Benefits of Usability Testing When you’re trying to build and launch a product, running a usability test may seem daunting or expensive. But I promise it’s worth the effort — here are four reasons why. 1. Helps you understand your users’ wants and needs. I’ve seen some companies get so caught up in what they think their customers want that they only find out after launching a product that it doesn’t match what they need or want. Testing a product early means companies can understand the market and create a product that’s much more likely to succeed. 2. Helps you make data-based decisions. In any development cycle, products go through multiple rounds of iterations to reach a launch-ready product. Design teams have to make some assumptions when creating a first iteration, but usability testing can validate or disprove a concept before it moves from prototype to development. Many teams can fall prey to a “false consensus effect,” where they assume that others will agree with their point of view. Usability testing removes the bias and the designer’s lens so you can have a data-based, objective view of what’s working and what’s not. 3. Creates shorter product development cycles. You might assume that adding a testing phase would lengthen your product development cycle. But, when companies invest in UX and usability testing early, they can shorten product development by 33 to 55%. That means you need fewer resources to fix a faulty product later on — and you can deliver value add, revenue-generating products to the market faster. 4. Leads to higher customer retention, cross-sell, and upsell rates. Studies show that companies that invest in customer experience see 42% higher customer retention, 33% higher customer satisfaction, and 32% higher cross-selling and up-selling. Simply put, with a good experience, customers are less likely to leave and more likely to spend more over time. When to Do Usability Testing Not every company has a dedicated UX research team, nor needs one. While SaaS companies who ship products constantly may need a robust usability testing strategy, most companies need only periodic research. Here are some scenarios where usability testing may be beneficial. Prototyping: Launching a New Product, App, or Website Most product designs start with wireframes. Teams then build out high-fidelity mockups and a working prototype. These steps give companies a fast, low-cost way to validate a design before actually building it. “Usability testing and design is so much cheaper than coding, then figuring out you created a problem and having to pivot back,” shares Katie Lukes, VP of Product Strategy at Innovatemap. “If you are making big swings and assumptions about how people work, you want to get that design in people‘s hands to see, ‘Can they navigate this experience that I’ve designed for them? Can they achieve this goal?’” If you are designing whole screens that will be brand new experiences for the user or workflows for them to go through, designing a working prototype is really important. Pre-Launch: Late-Stage Testing Once you’ve validated and coded your concept, late-stage usability testing can help you catch bugs and issues before launch. Post-Launch: Improving an Existing Product If you have an existing website or app, you can run usability tests for a prototype of a new or improved feature. You can also A/B test small changes like copy, color, or other design choices to see if it improves a quantifiable outcome like a user clicking “Buy Now.” Expanding to New Markets If you have an existing product but are launching to new geographies or industries, usability testing can help you see how a different audience interacts with your product. For example, educators and students may use collaboration software differently than a business team. What to Test for Usability Testing When I conduct a usability test, I’m looking for much more detailed information than whether users had a “good” user experience or a “bad” one. To set up a successful usability test, identify the problem you are aiming to solve and create a study plan outlining exactly what you want to test and how. Here are some components that you may want to consider testing. Navigation How easily can users find their way around your product? Test the intuitiveness of your menu structure, search functionality, and overall information