User Testing Articles & Videos

  • Analyze Usability Test Data in 4 Steps

    Analyze with confidence by collecting relevant data, critically assessing it, and forming testable explanations.

  • 6 Dimensions for Assessing Usability Data in Analysis

    Analyze usability findings for authenticity, consistency, repetition, spontaneity, appropriateness, and confounding factors to separate surface impressions from real insights.

  • 5 Reasons to Test Even When You “Know” the Answer

    Evidence from usability studies can be more convincing than what you say. Test even if you can easily determine the difference between good and bad designs.

  • A Case for Returning to In-Person Usability Testing

    In-person usability testing provides insights remote testing can miss. It offers unique benefits, such as building rapport, observing non-verbal cues, and providing immersive experiences for stakeholders that enhance understanding.

  • Tools for Unmoderated Usability Testing

    There are many tools for unmoderated usability testing on the market. Choose a tool that offers the right features for your research.

  • 3 Design Processes for High Usability: Iterative Design, Parallel Design, and Competitive Testing

    3 methods for increasing UX quality by exploring and testing diverse design ideas work even better when you use them together.

  • Research Plans: Organize, Document, Inform

    Start every UX-research study with a plan. Research plans document goals, methods, and logistics.

  • Screening Participants for User-Research Studies

    Well-written screeners ensure that your study participants are appropriate for your research goals, improve data quality, save resources, and reduce bias.

  • How to Conduct a Competitive Usability Evaluation

    Competitive usability evaluations help you understand how your competitors solve certain design problems and how you might outperform them. These evaluations are often performed at the beginning of design projects to shift their direction toward areas of opportunity.

  • Why Use 40 Participants in Quantitative UX Research?

    40 is the optimal sample size for many quantitative UX studies, ensuring a balance of precision, risk, and practicality.

  • Icon Usability: When and How to Evaluate Digital Icons

    Effective icons depend on recognizability and interpretation. Evaluate them with methods appropriate for your specific research questions

  • User Testing with Older Adults

    When conducting usability testing with older adults, understand the unique needs of participants in this age group and adjust your test setup and tasks accordingly.

  • What Is User Research?

    The goal of user research is to identify ways to improve a product's design based on evidence rather than opinions.

  • International Usability Testing: 3 Factors to Consider

    International usability testing examines how people from different regions use products. For successful testing, decide on the format, ensure clear communication despite language barriers, and select a facilitator familiar with the local context.

  • Affinity Diagramming for Collaboratively Sorting UX Findings and Design Ideas

    Use affinity diagramming to cluster and organize research findings or to sort design ideas in ideation workshops.

  • The Wizard of Oz Method in UX

    The Wizard of Oz is a user-research method where a user interacts with a mock interface controlled, to some degree, by a person.

  • The Aesthetic-Usability Effect

    Users are more tolerant of minor usability issues when they find an interface visually appealing. This aesthetic-usability effect can mask UI problems during usability testing. Identify instances of the aesthetic-usability effect in your user research by watching what your users do, as well as listening to what they say.

  • Competitive Usability Evaluations

    Data on what works well or poorly on other sites saves you from implementing useless features and guides UX investments to features that your users need.

  • Data vs. Findings vs. Insights

    Data refers to unanalyzed user observations, findings capture patterns among data points, and insights are the actionable opportunities based on research and business goals.

  • Always Pilot Test User Research Studies

    Running a pilot test for a user research study enables you to assess the study's effectiveness and avoid common problems in the main study.