Catalog
method#Product#Delivery#Quality Assurance#Reliability

Usability Testing

A method to evaluate a product's usability by observing real users performing concrete tasks.

Usability testing is a practical method to evaluate a product's ease of use by observing representative users performing real tasks.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Business
  • Design
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Analytics and prototyping tools (e.g. Figma, InVision)Issue trackers for findings (e.g. Jira)Session recording and remote testing tools

Principles & goals

Testing with real users yields valid insights.Test early and often to avoid costly mistakes.Convert results into prioritized, actionable recommendations.
Discovery
Team, Domain

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Incorrect recruitment yields irrelevant results.
  • Poor task design biases observations.
  • Results are not translated into actions.
  • Use short, realistic tasks instead of general questions.
  • Moderate neutrally; avoid leading users.
  • Complement findings with quantitative metrics.

I/O & resources

  • Prototype, MVP or production-ready application
  • Task lists and test scripts
  • Recruited participants matching target profiles
  • Prioritized list of usability issues
  • Recommendations for design and product decisions
  • Quantitative metrics for evaluation

Description

Usability testing is a practical method to evaluate a product's ease of use by observing representative users performing real tasks. Through structured scenarios and a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures it uncovers usability issues, informs design decisions and helps prioritize improvements to increase effectiveness and reduce downstream costs.

✔

  • Early detection of usability problems and misunderstandings.
  • Improved product adoption through user-centered adjustments.
  • Cost reduction by avoiding late rework.

✖

  • Limited sample sizes can restrict generalizability.
  • Test environment may influence real user behavior.
  • Requires resources for recruitment and moderation.

  • Task Completion Rate

    Share of test tasks completed successfully.

  • Time on Task

    Average time to complete a task.

  • SUS / subjective satisfaction rating

    Subjective user satisfaction measure (e.g. SUS score).

E-commerce checkout test

Test with real users to identify drop-off reasons in the checkout flow.

Onboarding flow optimization

Iteration of onboarding process based on observations and user feedback.

Accessibility validation

Sessions with users of assistive technologies to remove accessibility barriers.

1

Define goals, set success criteria and identify target users.

2

Design test scripts and tasks, prepare prototype and set up test environment.

3

Recruit participants, run sessions and document observations.

4

Analyze results, prioritize issues and derive actions.

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • No systematic storage of recordings and observations.
  • Lack of integration of findings into product backlog and roadmap.
  • No standardized metrics established for success measurement.
Recruitment of suitable test usersTime required for moderation and analysisInternal prioritization of discovered issues
  • Testing with wrong audience leads to misleading recommendations.
  • Unclear tasks make testers guess instead of act.
  • Making only cosmetic changes based on single observations.
  • Overinterpreting individual user comments as general truth.
  • Lack of documentation hinders reproducibility.
  • Insufficient moderator briefing leads to inconsistent sessions.
Moderation and interviewingQualitative analysis and pattern recognitionExperience with task and test design
User-centredness as product priorityFast iteration and feedback cycleMeasurability of success criteria
  • • Availability of representative user profiles
  • • Budget for incentives and moderation
  • • Access to relevant test environments