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XD Ideas   /   Process   /   User Testing

User Testing

What is user testing? User testing is a technique used in user-centered design to
evaluate a proposed solution or product by testing it with real or potential users. User
testing is an irreplaceable usability practice because it can assess how easily your target
audience can interact with your design while helping to identify typical problems that may
cause friction. Read about some common user testing methods as well tools you can use to
validate your designs.

User Testing

How to Design a Successful User-Centered Beta for Your Product

By Laura Herman

Over the years at Adobe, we’ve developed several beta best practices. These are the 10 key themes.

User Testing

Design Inspiration for UX and UI Workflows

By Dan Silveira

Design Inspiration for UX and UI Workflows.

User Testing

User & Usability Testing Questions: Ultimate Guide

By Nick Babich

An ultimate guide to usability testing questions for product designers.

What Does User Testing Do?

For an app, website, or product to be successful, real users must test its interface and its functions. Through various usability tests, you can identify areas where users struggle with the functionality of a product and make UX and UI improvements. User testing requires participants to complete a set of tasks using a product either in a lab or in a real-world environment. Depending on the maturity of the idea, testing might be conducted with a prototype or real product.

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It’s possible to define two main categories of user testing as moderated and unmoderated testing–the difference being the presence of a skilled moderator. Typically, user testing starts with defining your testing goals–UX practitioners should know what they want to achieve by testing a product. As soon as goals are identified, it’s possible to define critical metrics for user testing; the most common are success rate and time to complete a task. After this, you can choose your relevant methods of testing.

What are the Various User Testing Methods?

Common user testing methods include guerrilla testing, in-person usability testing, remote usability testing, contextual inquiries, and card sorting. With so many different user testing methods, it’s often difficult to select the best one for your product. The user testing method you choose should align with both your resources and your objectives. Consider how much time you have to invest in finding relevant test participants–people who represent your target audience and are ready to participate in the testing. It’s also recommended to pair user testing with an expert review, also known as heuristic evaluation.

What are the Most Important Aspects of User Testing?

To have an efficient design flow, it’s best to ensure these important aspects are part of your user testing:

  1. Define your goal. Make sure you have a solid understanding of the problems you are trying to solve and the goals you are trying to achieve.
  2. Know your audience. This will help you ask the right questions which leads to a design that is more focused on your users’ specific needs. 
  3. Test early and often. Testing is a necessity in UX design. When creating your web design, it’s important to run tests often so you can validate components of your design. Prototype your design, test it with your users, and use the feedback to improve your next design.

It’s also essential to build time to analyze test results into your testing schedule. Depending on the type of testing, this step might take anywhere from a few hours (if testing was conducted automatically) to a few weeks (e.g., moderated testing with a large number of test participants without automation). The findings should always be communicated clearly and in a way that everyone on a product team can access and understand them in order to feel confident making product design decisions.

Read on for more details about user testing options and for the latest developments in UX design knowledge.

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User Testing

Everything You Need to Know About Beta Testing

By Nick Babich

Learn what beta testing is and how product design benefits from it.

Improving Website Scannability for UX Design Success
User Testing

Improving Website Scannability for UX Design Success

By Will Fanguy

Website scannability can be the number one factor between a user accomplishing their goal or bouncing.

Iterative Usability Testing Best Practices
User Testing

All You Need to Know About Iterative Usability Testing

By Justin Morales

A successful UX designer always begins iterative testing with users at the early stages of the design process.

The Top 5 UX Benchmarking Tips for Designers 
User Testing

The Top 5 UX Benchmarking Tips for Designers

By Nick Babich

Practice UX benchmarking right from the start of the product design process. Top 5 tips for designers.

Usability Metrics: Measuring UX Design Success
User Testing

Usability Metrics: Measuring UX Design Success

By Muditha Batagoda

Measuring usability will help designers understand the numerous improvements that need to be pursued.

Guerilla Testing: Hallway Usability Tests for UX
User Testing

Guerrilla Testing: Hallway Usability Tests for UX

By Guy Ligertwood

Guerrilla testing is a rapid, informal way to test ideas, get feedback and potentially uncover user experience problems.

User Testing

How to Test Your Design’s Learnability

By Nick Babich

Learn how your design’s learnability to maximize usability and reduce the user’s learning curve for your product design.

User Testing

Guidelines to Creating User Testing Questions

By Nick Babich

To design a good user experience, we need to understand who our users are, what they need, and why.

User Testing

The System Usability Scale & How It’s Used in UX

By Andrew Smyk

The System Usability Scale offers an effective way to evaluate the usability of products. Learn more about SUS.

Graphic illustration of a series of user avatars.
User Testing

Remote Usability Testing 101 & How to Get Started

By Justin Morales

Here’s everything you need to know about remote usability testing & how to run effective tests.

A graphic illustration with the words 'moderated vs unmoderated'.
User Testing

Usability Testing: Moderated vs Unmoderated

By Nick Babich

What’s the difference between a moderated and unmoderated usability test? When and how should each be used?

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