Usability tests will help us find the answer to the question whether our product is user-friendly. Thanks to them, we can increase the efficiency and level of conversion. How does it work and what exactly is the application or website usability testing?

• Usability tests are responsible for verifying whether the software will be understandable, easy to use and attractive from the user’s perspective.
• Among the popular usability test methods we can find: heuristic analysis, session recordings, heatmaps, surveys and finally usability tests.
• The key to success is the appropriate selection of the group of respondents.

What are the usability tests? Definition

Usability tests are defined differently, but each definition emphasises their focus on the user. The most important task of usability testing is to answer the question whether the software will be understandable for the potential recipient, easy to use and, above all, attractive. Another name for usability testing is User Experience testing. The author or owner of the software will not be able to judge its layout, structure and design from the point of view of a random user. Usability tests will show us what problems may arise and interrupt the customer’s shopping path. The obstacles are often overly complicated interfaces or inappropriate division of the software content into subpages and categories. Such situations can lead the potential customer to frustration.

Usability tests were created primarily to:

• avoid possible obstacles on the recipient’s path,
• adjusting the UX to what the user expects.

How do the usability tests work?

Website usability testing can take many forms. They are usually carried out as part of the Usability Audit. The popular methods include: heuristic analysis, session recordings, heatmaps, surveys and finally usability tests.

The preparation and conduct of such an analysis involves several stages. Among them we can mention:

• creating a scenario,
• selecting test participants,
• conducting the analysis and
• summary of conclusions and observations.

The number of participants should be adapted to the complexity of the project and the purpose of the examination. It is worth noting that there are many tools available to help with the testing.

Tool support will allow us to optimise the time spent on testing. We will also receive an automatically generated list of conclusions. However, it is worth emphasising that we should outsource such activities to professionals. Conclusions are not enough! You also need to know what to do with them next.

Who should be the participant of the usability tests?

In order to receive an answer to the questions bothering us, we should first of all select the appropriate group of respondents. If we decide to use remote tests, then it is worth finding participants who are really interested in the product, belonging to the target group. How to do that? One of the simplest solutions is to search among newsletter subscribers, website observers or social media recipients. It is worth paying attention to whether there are people matching the profile in the circle of our friends. If the website or application works, then you can search for participants among those actively using the published version of the product.

Thanks to this, we increase the credibility of the tests and the chances that the test persons will use our product in the future. Undoubtedly, usability testing has many benefits and conclusions that we might not have come to by ourselves.