Table of contents
1. When should you conduct UX testing?
2. Why UX testing is important for digital products
3. How to present UX research findings
4. Conclusion
1. When should you conduct UX testing?
UX testing should take place regularly throughout the design and development process. It should be ongoing, using different assessment and testing methods for each new feature or design tweak.
Here are some key moments you might choose to run a usability test:
- Before designing a new product. This helps you base design decisions on genuine user insights and prioritise what users seek.
- Before developing and launching a new product.
- Once you’ve designed and prototyped a new product, you can conduct UX tests to spot usability issues before you develop and launch it to customers.
- After launching a product. Once you’ve launched a product, you should continue to run UX tests to identify areas for improvement and innovation.
There are several usability testing methods, including eye tracking and card sorting, but this article highlights the importance of UX testing for digital products in 2024.
2. Why UX testing is important for digital products
#1: It helps you spot and fix problems before it’s too late
Even the most diligently considered design concepts will present unexpected usability issues, damaging the user experience. Through UX testing, you can spot problems with the user experience and fix them before the product reaches the targeted end-users.
UX testing is a proactive approach to identifying and addressing any usability issues within the designs at the earliest stage possible. This saves time, money, and potential damage to brand reputation further down the development lifecycle.
#2 It enhances the user experience
UX testing places digital product prototypes in the hands of real users. UX researchers observe test participants while they navigate the design of a product to gain valuable feedback on the user’s experience with the product.
This feedback allows designers to discover and address friction points and align their creative decisions to enhance the user experience when the product is released to the public.
A good user experience is proven to:
- boost customer loyalty and retention,
- contribute to a positive brand reputation,
- drive higher conversion rates, sales and revenue and
- help to remain competitive in the market.
#3 Supports ease of use and accessibility
Most digital products aren’t used by just one target persona, especially when they become a success. They are used by a wide variety of people, each possessing diverse backgrounds and differing levels of technology knowledge.
Through UX testing, designers ensure that their interfaces and experiences are user-friendly and accessible. Web usability testing involves evaluating how easy it is for users to use your software by running multiple tests to check if any errors were missed, the website’s efficiency, and ease of use.
For example, designers might see how people with impairments use and navigate a prototype of their digital product and decide whether changes need to be made to adhere to accessibility standards.
#4 It helps you gain a better understanding of your target users
In combination, UX testing and UX research provide deep insights into users that inform the design process at every stage. Understanding the needs of your target users ensures that your designs function as intended.
A usability test helps developers, researchers, and the wider team gain a deeper understanding of their target users, including how they behave when interacting with the product or service and what they expect from the experience.
As mentioned, one product is likely to be used by multiple personas with different behaviours, needs, and motivations. However, UX testing provides an understanding of these through observation, task analysis, and other feedback methods.
3. How to present UX research findings
Together with UX testing, user research is an indispensable component of user-centred product design and development.
The primary goal of UX research is to learn what end users of the product need and want and then employ those insights to enhance the UX design process.
Here’s how to present your UX research findings:
#1 Engage those you are presenting to
Humans tend to focus best on three to four things at a time. So, to keep the stakeholders engaged, limit your presentation to just the significant findings that will interest and benefit them.
Anything interactive will keep your audience engaged, so ask them questions throughout the presentations. If you want to avoid engaging with them through questions, try including videos, audio, or visualisations in your research findings.
Any extra information can be sent later in a repository or report with more detailed insights so your stakeholders can read further findings as and when it suits them.
#2 Combine qualitative and quantitative data
When you present your research findings, the qualitative data (text or images) is usually visual or easier to understand, but it is verified by the results of the quantitative data (numbers).
Quantitative data answers questions of how many, how often, and how much through task completion times, mouse clicks, errors, and success rates.
Meanwhile, qualitative research takes a deeper dive into the why through user surveys, interviews, observations, and focus groups.
Using both data types allows your stakeholders – designers, developers, or executives – to understand and act upon the insights.
#3 Turn findings into insights
You also need to think about how to present the most essential parts of your findings as insights. Insights are a solution to a specific user problem, which stakeholders can fix or adapt from.
Founder of tst ink, Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki, said:
“Findings are based on hard and fast observations, and things we observe, that help us put all the data in buckets, and people in categories. But findings alone don’t lead to the Why. They just call out and help us categorise the What. Insights are penetrating, discerning understandings that unlock an opportunity. They cut to the chase and get to the Why.”
#4 Include shortcomings
When you present your findings, your audience of stakeholders may need more clarification regarding the participants interviewed, competitors analysed, audience size, or specific questions from your survey.
Stakeholders aren’t researchers, so it’s your job to explain your methodology to them and be upfront about UX research’s limitations. When your reasons are on the table, stakeholders are more likely to trust you.
4. Conclusion
Now that you know the importance of UX testing for your products, when to conduct it, and how to present your UX research findings, you can stay competitive in the digital product marketplace in 2024.
Remember that all elements of the design and development process should be carried out with users in mind. This not only provides an enjoyable experience for users but also fulfils the business goals of the digital product owner.