User experience testing is the process of making sure that users have the best experience possible on a website, by searching for flaws on the site (often using a large group of everyday users of the site).
7 Things To Know About User Experience Testing
- You probably know exactly how your website is organised, but do your users? What may seem intuitive to you might not actually make much sense to others. Always test your assumptions.
- According to a study by Nielson Norman Group, the ideal UX Testing setup is to have 3 test groups with 5 people in them each. Statistically, 15 people should find *all* of your useability problems.
- Selecting the right people for your test group is a critical part of UX Testing. Friends, Family, & Employees are all too knowledgeable (or kind) to make good testers.
- Moderated UX Testing involves getting a test group and asking them to complete tasks while being observed. This type of testing is usually of higher quality but can be expensive.
- Unmoderated UX Testing involves getting a test group & asking them to complete tasks remotely then collecting results. This type of testing is cheaper but less controllable.
- Surveys, polls, heat maps, recording user sessions, & even just giving people 5 seconds to answer a simple question about a site (“Where’s the menu?”) are all basic parts of UX Testing.
- The best way to know if your website works how you think it works is to get people to test it.