Usability testing is all too often confused with user testing. And it’s not hard to see why. These terms might seem interchangeable, but they actually refer to two quite different processes. 

To condense the difference into its most basic terms, usability testing is concerned with how people use a digital product, whereas user testing is about assessing whether people need the digital product in question. 

In other words, user testing is concerned with demand and usability testing assesses functionality. 

It’s also worth distinguishing usability testing methods from other UX research practices like A/B testing, questionnaires, and focus groups. Sure, they also assess user experience but none of those testing tools actually replicate the user experience directly with the collaboration of live participants. 

This is what makes usability testing unique and so important. 

What is usability testing for?

Usability testing is designed to identify potential problems that arise during the user’s experience of a digital product. Once these usability issues have been identified, designers can then set out to rectify the discrepancies and, once a product is deemed to be sufficiently usable, it can go to market. 

For example, if user researchers are trialing a new website, they will be asked to assess how easy that website is to use, navigate, and to make searches on. In other words, how easy was it for the participant to achieve their goal? 

Not only does usability testing improve the overall output of a digital product, it also makes sense economically. Companies save time and money by employing usability testing methods. Instead of fixing a product that has already been developed in full, design teams, and developers can make targeted fixes to any glitches that show up along the way. 

Usability testing in UX

Usability testing is a vital component for all UX (user experience) design processes. It allows developers to identify points of friction in the user journey and improve the overall usability of a new product. 

Reducing friction in the user experience isn’t just a point of perfectionism—it pays! 

The greater the friction working against your users, the more likely they are to look to competitor products and services. The lower the levels of friction, the more likely they are to stick around. Usability testing ensures that your user experiences are always smooth sailing and enticing, by taking into account a diverse range of perspectives and feedback from across your user base. 

UX is central to product success, and usability testing is the best way businesses and developers can make sure that their target user is at the core of every design decision. As such, usability testing is an essential phase in the development of any user experience design. This is what will ensure that your products offer features and functionalities that clients will pay for. 

Do I need usability testing?

We’ve established that usability testing is important, but what about who needs it, and when? There are many factors and criteria that might necessitate a business or developer to use usability testing as part of the developmental process. Let’s deep dive into a few of them. 

An excellent way to approach usability testing is to employ it across all stages of the user journey for a particular digital product. Usability testing should be conducted for features and processes that users will encounter during the discovery stage, early stage, mid stage, and late stage alike. Let’s frame this with an example. 

Say you’re launching a new redesign for your ecommerce website. You should aim to conduct usability testing on key webpages across the customer journey. 

• An example of a discovery phase webpage for testing might be your expert profiles and testimonials page. Ensuring that these pages are optimized means that future visitors will be able to research and reach out to your experts with ease. 
• An example of an early stage product for testing might be your ecommerce site’s accompanying mobile app. Once users have discovered your ecommerce brand, they’re likely (hopefully) to download your app and start browsing, so it's important to run a comprehensive mobile app test. If users have a seamless experience on the app, they’re going to be more likely to make their first purchase. 
• An example of a mid stage webpage for testing might be your contact forms. Once a website visitor has generated enough interest in your brand, they might want to get in touch with a sales rep or sign up to your email newsletter. Ensuring that your contact forms are easy to navigate will encourage website visitors to proceed to this next stage. 
• Finally, a late stage feature is something like your checkout page. Ensuring that your shopping cart and checkout processes are as user friendly as possible will reduce bounce and make sure all of those shopping baskets end in sales. 

All of the above examples present instances when usability testing would be beneficial. 

Why is usability testing important?

Usability testing reveals what real-life users really think about how a digital product works, looks, and functions. 

Real people reveal real issues that designers, marketers, and product developers might completely miss. When developing a new app or website, for example, it can be difficult to imagine how somebody with no prior knowledge of that product might experience it as a user.  

By engaging in usability testing with impartial participants it becomes easier to identify those features and functions that aren’t working optimally or that don’t suit the needs of your target market. 

Your participants should be able to assess whether or not your digital product is easy to understand, whether it delivers what they need, whether it works efficiently, and much more. In short, without robust usability testing, your UX designs risk falling at the first hurdle. 

Benefits of usability testing

Employing usability tests can be hugely beneficial for developers, as it’s a simple way to target every stage in the development process. Usability testing allows teams to test out functionality “in the field”, so to speak, and assess each new design/feature in real time. 

Some of the greatest benefits that come with effective usability testing include prototype validation, UX optimization, bug identification, and more. 

Let’s take a look. 

1. Prototype validation 

Usability testing is a great opportunity to validate your product prototype. During the early stages of development, once you’ve got your initial prototype ready, it can be really useful to bring in usability testers to see how they react to your design. 

Even though your product will still be in its infancy, the usability testers will be able to validate your concept and identify any issues early on (thereby saving you time and money in the long run). Testing your prototype in this way reduces your risk of needing to backtrack on your design or embark on costly redesigns later.

2. UX optimization

By conducting usability tests throughout the product development lifecycle, your completed product is more likely to work well first time round. You’ll have fixed all those navigation snags and user interface inefficiencies ahead of time. Because you’ve already identified any issues with your UI and flows, your product will be launched with sound and straightforward processes. 

3. Understanding the data

Chances are, you’re employing other testing methodologies alongside usability testing. That’s great. Usability testing is a fantastic accompaniment to other testing methods like heat mapping and A/B testing, for example. 

These other tests are great at quantifying data but often fail to get to the “why” behind a success or a problem. Usability testing gets straight to the source and qualifies the numbers through real user experiences.  

4. Identifying errors

Another important benefit of usability testing is that it is an excellent way to identify bugs before they become a bigger problem. Usability testers are great at picking up on the smaller errors in a product’s functionality, as well as the broader user experience as a whole.

For example, your test participants will be able to spot all those broken links, spelling errors, and search inefficiencies that might have passed you and your team by. These might seem like small, trivial things, but little errors like these can cause significant damage to brand reputation. 

Types of usability tests

The types of usability testing are best discussed using four key categories. These are:

1. Remote usability testing vs. in-person testing
2. Moderated vs. unmoderated testing
3. Explorative vs. comparative testing 
4. Summative testing 

The type of usability test that you need to employ will depend on a range of factors, including the resources you have available, your usability research objectives, and your target audience. 

Let’s take a look at each category in more detail below. 

1. Remote usability testing vs. in-person testing

Usability tests can be carried out in-person or remotely. Both methods are effective, although in-person testing is often more revealing, as it allows researchers to observe their participant’s non-verbal responses through body language, eye tracking, and expressions. 

That said, remote testing is a great substitute where in-person testing isn’t financially or practically feasible. It’s less time consuming, inexpensive, and you won’t have to pour resources into hiring a testing center. 

2. Moderated Vs. unmoderated testing

You’ll also need to decide whether you’re going to run moderated or unmoderated tests. 

Moderated test sessions are overseen by an experienced researcher. This can happen in-person or as part of a remote testing session. The moderator is responsible for introducing the test to your participants and answering any questions they may have. 

Unmoderated tests are unsupervised. In an unsupervised session, participants will trial your product either at a usability lab, or most commonly, in their own homes. While both methods have proven effective, moderated testing is better for generating deeper insights. 

Moderators can interact with participants and really get to know how they feel about the product—and why. Having said that, unmoderated testing is still better than no testing and can provide developers with a resource light and inexpensive way to gather usability insights from participants. 

3. Explorative vs. comparative testing

You’ll want to use either an explorative or a comparative testing template, depending on the type of information you’re trying to derive from your research participants. 

Explorative testing is essentially open-ended testing. In an explorative usability test scenario, participants will try out your product before being asked to give their opinions openly. By contrast, in a comparative testing scenario, participants will be given two products/designs and asked which they prefer. 

4. Summative testing

A summative testing environment (or assessment-based testing) involves observing how users engage and interact with your product through a task-based script.

As your participants work through each task, researchers can glean insights into how they navigate the product and identify any issues in the UX design that might be impeding the overall user experience. 

How to execute usability testing