Usability Testing

Definitions

1. Usability Testing is a user experience research method where real users attempt to complete specific tasks with a product while researchers observe their behavior, note difficulties, and collect feedback. The goal is to identify usability problems, measure task completion rates, and understand how people actually use a product versus how designers intended it to be used. Testing can be moderated (a facilitator guides the session, asking follow-up questions) or unmoderated (users complete tasks independently, often remotely through platforms like UserTesting.com or Maze). Think-aloud protocol, where participants verbalize their thought process while interacting with the product, provides rich qualitative data about user expectations and confusion points. Jakob Nielsen's research suggests that testing with just five users reveals approximately 85% of usability issues. Usability testing can be performed on prototypes, mockups, or live products at any stage of development. The practice is central to user-centered design and provides evidence-based insights that prevent teams from building features based on assumptions rather than observed user behavior.

   In plain English: Watching real people try to use your product while you take notes on what trips them up. It's the fastest way to find out that the 'obvious' button placement is actually invisible to everyone except the person who designed it.

   Example: "Five usability tests uncovered that 80% of users couldn't find the export button — it was hidden behind a three-dot overflow menu they never opened."

Related Terms

• Persona
• User Flow
• Card Sorting
• A/B Testing
• Layout Shift
• Progressive Enhancement
• Puppeteer
• Setup Teardown
• Snapshot Test
• Spec File
• Stub
• Test Hook
• Testing Library
• Happy Path