We’ve all heard the phrase, “Well, it looked good on paper.” Often, that’s the sound of someone describing an idea or business concept that, for whatever reason, didn’t work when it was deployed in the real world. As you dream up products that might distinguish your business from competitors, you need to make sure real customers will appreciate your offerings.
With this in mind, you can conduct user testing, a method of obtaining direct feedback from your target market. Here’s an overview of user testing, with the steps to create user tests of your own.
What is user testing?
User testing is a process in which a company asks real users to interact with a product and provide feedback about their experience or offer opinions about a hypothetical product. It can illuminate how your product meets customer needs and alleviates customer pain points. It can also help you understand your product’s overall user experience. The point of a user test is to identify issues with a product and find areas for improvement before the product hits the market.
User testing vs. usability testing: What’s the difference?
While the terms sound similar, a user test is not the same as a usability test. Here’s how they differ:
User testing
A user test provides a broad look at a product. In completing a user test, you might ask questions like whether the product has utility in a customer’s life and what emotions the user associates with the product. User tests help teams develop products that meet customer expectations. User testing methods include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observational studies, and usability testing. User testing can be moderated or unmoderated, meaning you may or may not need someone supervising test participants.
Usability testing
Usability tests are a subset of user testing, focused specifically on how easy or difficult it is to complete various tasks with a product. As such, usability tests are largely moderated, or supervised by product team members. For example, a product team might ask usability testers to use a mobile application to edit a video recording. If the app is easy to use, the tester should be able to complete the task without feeling frustrated. However, if the app has a confusing user interface (UI) or buggy software, usability testers will likely find it difficult to edit the video. The latter test results could indicate missteps in the app’s design process, which the product team could then address.
A combination of user and usability testing helped Lindsay McCormick turn her eco-friendly personal hygiene product brand, Bite, into a smashing success. “In all of my preparation and research I wasn’t thinking, Is this a good business idea?” Lindsay says. Instead, she asked herself: “How can I make the best tablet possible?” Lindsay’s goal was to make toothpaste in tablet form, and testing was a key part of her development process.
Why is user testing important?
By conducting user testing, product managers can ensure their product meets customer needs, save time and money in the product development cycle, and ultimately create a saleable and effective product.
Here are three ways user testing can benefit your company:
1. Meeting user expectations
A user tester may arrive with high expectations, particularly if you’re rolling out a new iteration of an existing product. For your new offering to thrive, it must meet or exceed those expectations. User testing can tell you if you’re on the right track.
2. Identifying unexpected issues
Through a series of different user tests, you can uncover usability problems that designers might not expect. For example, you might use user test data to determine whether people remain satisfied with your product for the duration of the test or whether satisfaction drops off as people spend more time with the product. If you catch these types of issues early on, you can address them at a lower cost than you’d incur later in the development process.
3. Lowering development costs
User testing can prevent product development costs from spiraling out of control, because it can identify problems before you start making your product.
If you’re testing a physical product, you could make a prototype, ask users to interact with it, and gather feedback before commencing production. For digital products like websites or mobile apps, you could work with paper prototypes (paper drawings that simulate a desktop or mobile screen) and only commit to a fully coded product if your findings indicate users that will respond positively to it.
Types of user testing
- Exploratory testing
- Comparative testing
- Usability testing
- Surveys and interviews
- Diary studies
- First-click testing
User testing can take many forms depending on a product developer’s objectives, budget, and the metrics they want to test. Here are some popular types of user testing:
Exploratory testing
Often deployed during the early stages of product development, exploratory testing is a largely unmoderated approach in which participants are asked to interact with a product in whatever way feels natural. The goal is to gather insights into user expectations, behaviors, and needs, which can inform product design decisions. Exploratory testing can also provide insight into a product’s ergonomics and overall ease of use.
Exploratory testing can be done remotely, where participants interact with products in their own environment. Software developers may find this especially useful when testing different websites or digital products intended for a wide audience. Furthermore, remote exploratory testing is flexible. It helps teams recruit a diverse user base and it gives them sufficient time to decide whether a product is helpful and well designed.
Comparative testing
Also known as A/B testing, comparative testing pits two or more product versions against each other. Two user groups receive different versions of the same product and report their respective findings. This method can point to which product version is more effective or user-friendly. A/B testing is popular in web design and marketing campaigns.
Usability testing
Usability, or task-based, testing gives participants specific tasks to complete while interacting with a product. This type of testing lets design teams examine the efficiency and effectiveness of their product in helping users accomplish these tasks. Metrics for success include completion rates, time on task, and error rates.
Surveys and interviews
Surveys and interviews don’t always need to involve direct interaction with a product. Instead, you might ask participants to describe what they expect from your product. Each answer can guide your team toward creating products with maximum utility for customers.
Diary studies
In a diary study, users record their interactions with a product over an extended period of time. This method is particularly useful for products that are used regularly, such as toothpaste, as this approach captures the user's experience over time rather than just during a single test session.
First-click testing
Website builders use first-click testing to evaluate the usefulness and intuitiveness of a site’s structure. In this form of user testing, you show participants a website prototype and ask them where they would click first to accomplish a given task. Their initial click is analyzed to determine if it leads them closer to their goal. The goal is to match site structure with users’ intuition.
How to conduct user testing
User testing should be a straightforward process with clear goals, metrics for success, and strategies to take action once you get the test results. Here’s a step-by-step method to use in your own user testing:
1. Define your objectives. Determine what you wish to measure, such as usability optimization, user preferences, or task efficiency.
2. Select a user testing method. Consider whether you want your tests to be moderated or unmoderated, in-person or remote, and long-term or short-term. For instance, long-term user testing might best match with diary studies, while short-term testing might benefit from an A/B test.
3. Design the test. Develop the questions and tasks that participants will respond to or perform during the test. These should align with your objectives and mimic real-world usage. Name the metrics you’ll be tracking, such as the time it takes to complete a task or how often a participant uses an aspect of the product.
4. Recruit participants. Identify and recruit participants who match your target audience. If you’ve created buyer personas for your product or service, make sure your test subjects match those personas.
5. Conduct the test. Run the user test, ensuring participants understand the tasks and feel comfortable. Observe their behavior, take notes, and record the sessions, if possible.
6. Analyze your collected data. Review and analyze the data you collected during the test. Look for patterns, usability issues, and areas for improvement.
7. Put your results to work. Given your results, consider key insights, recommendations, and any necessary design changes. Then implement these changes, creating new iterations of your product to better serve user needs.
User testing FAQ
What is the difference between user testing and usability testing?
User testing evaluates the overall effectiveness and customer experience of a product, examining how it meets customer needs and expectations. Usability testing, on the other hand, focuses on how easy it is for potential customers to use a product.
What are the different types of user testing?
The different types of user testing include moderated and unmoderated testing, remote and in-person testing, exploratory testing, comparative testing, A/B testing, usability testing, first-click testing, surveys and interviews, and diary studies.
What does user testing do?
User testing assesses how real users interact with a product. Companies leverage user test results to improve their product offerings and better match them with the needs of the market.
