5 Benefits of Usability Testing

Excited, happy user

Benefits of Usability Testing

The importance of testing

How many times have you been to a website and thought, “Why can’t I find what I am looking for?”. Or, “I wish I could order online from this website instead of having to call in.” Thoughts like these are common when usability testing is not valued by a product team. One reason why usability testing is valuable is to prevent negative user thoughts. In conclusion, usability testing is to ensure user thoughts are positive is critical to product success.

We should be designing for the end-user. Not for ourselves as designers or for what the client thinks the user wants. This is a mistake often made by many due to a lack of research, budget, or time. Usability testing is important for its success of a website or application. Good designers use data to influence decisions, instead of designing based on assumption.

Usability testing allows product teams to find problems before the end user. The earlier bugs are identified, the less expensive it is for the client to fix. Detecting issues early on encourages a smoother launch or feature release.

Provides better experience and increases conversion

There is a great deal that stands between the user and the actual conversion of that customer. Creating a pleasant experience for the user is a major factor in converting them. If we want to lead the user in a specific direction, we need to make it easy for them to choose that direction. Usability testing can tell you how long it takes a user to complete a key task. If there are too many steps, or if the task is too difficult to complete, there is a good chance a user will bounce. A user who doesn’t find the information they want will go find it somewhere else.

An engaging interface is another important element when it comes to user experience. A product’s interface provides the initial, gut reaction a user has to the product. According to ConversionXL, “It takes about 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion about your website. This determines whether they like your product or not and whether they’ll stay or leave.” Testing uncovers product opinion so iterations can improve user perception.

Saves times for the company and the end-user

Usability testing can identify bugs early on in the process, saving development time. When a company decides to skip user testing, it is easy for issues are either overlooked. This leads to them surfacing after the product is being developed. Fixing issues during the development phase is expensive and time-consuming.

If a UX designer catches issues early on it is less time consuming to solve the issue. The designer can iterate the current design and test again to measure improvement. It is more cost-effective to test the prototype first. Then improve the product based on user feedback. Implementing user testing early in the process saves your team time and money. Testing allows for decisions based on facts, rather than assumptions, improving user experience.

Usability testing creates a better product

Teams should integrate testing as an ongoing process throughout the design phase. Doing so will allow building the product will be more streamlined. The more usability testing you do, the better grasp you will have on how your users think. Which leads you to give them what they want and need.

User Testing Group Photo

Common problems that can be avoided:

  • Common errors on the page
  • Grammar and spelling errors within the content
  • Inconsistent branding message
  • Poor design layout
  • Potential user errors
  • Ineffective tasks that require too much user effort

The five benefits:

  1. Finding out if users are able to complete the tasks at hand successfully without any issues
  2. The amount of time it takes to complete specific tasks
  3. Identifying user satisfaction scale
  4. Discovering changes to improve user performance and enjoyment
  5. Test the performance to see if it meets your usability goals

Components of successful testing

Testing should consist of real-world scenarios. Therefore, the test moderator should replicate how the product would actually be used. You want to make sure that the user can go through the tasks without help. It is important to see how a user would react in the product’s live environment.

User testing should always be worked into a project scope to ensure a successful website or application. To learn more about usability testing, visit the websites listed below.

Resources

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