UX Design is a very distinct field in technology in that it allows the users of technology to decide what they want. We have had eras of physical and digital products that look like something you’ll have to study for years before you get a good hold of.
Things Have changed now, and even a 3-year-old child knows how to type cocomelon on YouTube. The ingredient behind this upgrade is the UX Testing strategy that technological companies have imbibed in their UX Design.
User testing acts as an instruction manual for creating your product. It also provides valuable insights into how users interact with it, allowing you to modify anything that is not serving its purpose.
UX design is not a linear process, and it extends to user testing. It can be conducted at any time during the design and production phases. The most important ingredient is that users are at the centre and that it is conducted periodically.
There are so many branches and divisions of user testing. It could get mismatched, but the one thing you should focus on as a business owner is the right approach and the right time for your design.
You don’t want to be found using UX Audit when the website is not even live. It’ll just be a wasted effort. Let’s start with the “Whys” of user testing before you get the cherry on the icing!
Benefits of User Testing
Identifying Hidden Usability Issues: Some usability issues are systemic, and internal teams might not be able to spot them for an extended period of time. These issues can hinder user adoption, engagement, and conversion rates. User testing conducted by experts would identify usability problems that internal teams might miss due to their familiarity with the product.
Validating design decisions early enough: This is especially important for start-ups. Instead of entering the market with an idea or innovation first, user testing will help you determine the prospect of your product. Thus, you’ll be able to enter the market with confidence and data about your users.
Increasing Conversions and ROI: A user-friendly product leads to higher conversion rates, increased sales, and a better return on investment. What makes a user-friendly product? The one and only user research! It’s inevitable; you just need the data to build a successful product.
User loyalty: The fastest way to get to a user’s heart is speed. The digital system has somehow prioritised speed among users; everyone wants to complete their tasks instantly. A good app/website is enough to make users stick with your product and even become your brand ambassadors.
Best in competition: User Testing puts you ahead in the industry. You can learn about your competitors through your users, learn about the latest trends, and be surprised at the innovative ideas your users can offer you.
Do not take user testing lightly; it should be done meticulously by expert UX professionals.
Categories of User Testing
You have to understand these categories to know how to choose the most appropriate UX testing strategies for your specific research goals and stage of product development. You may also need to combine some of these approaches to gain an in-depth understanding of users and their interactions with your product.
Moderated and Unmoderated: This is based on whether a researcher or moderator is present during the test. The moderator’s presence or absence can affect the level of control, depth of insights, and cost-effectiveness of the testing.
Choose moderated research if you want
- Rich qualitative data
- Advanced exploration of user behaviour
- No need for further clarification of ambiguous details
Choose Unmoderated user testing if you want
- A cost-effective means
- To attend to a large number of participants
Remote or Physical : The location of all the parties involved matters a lot. Technology has made it easy to conduct tests for users in India while living in Australia. If the user test does not require physical interaction, like eye tracking, remote testing is an option. If you have the opportunity to conduct physical user testing, go for it. However, if remote testing is your only UX testing strategy, make the best of it.
Qualitative or Quantitative : It is important to focus on the type of data collected and the focus of the user testing. Qualitative tests focus on understanding why users behave in certain ways and their motivations, opinions, and experiences. Then, the quantitative test has to do with measuring the activities and progress of a user’s design based on specific metrics.
Extra tip: There’s also a mixed method which combines both qualitative and quantitative UX testing.
Formative or Summative : This UX testing category is based on the stage of product development at which the testing is conducted and the purpose of the testing. Although this has more to do with the QA testers, it still involves the activities of UX Designers. A formative testing is done in the early stage of development, and summative testing is done after the product has been launched.
7 Different Types of UX Testing that Will Retain Users
Are your users coming back for more, or are they abandoning the ship after a single interaction? There are so many apps and websites, so why do you think your users will stick to yours if you are not doing justice to the UX Testing Strategy? Let us increase your user retention with these must-do User Testing you should conduct.
A/B Testing
It involves comparing two versions (A and B) of a webpage, app screen, or other design element to see which performs better based on specific metrics (e.g., click-through rate, conversion rate, time on page). This is a quantitative approach, and so it should be combined with a qualitative method.
Your design team should be strategic about the variations, which should stem from users’ top choices. In the end, your team should convert the data into actionable information.
A B2B brand can conduct an A/B Test with one with tiered pricing and one with usage-based pricing. Then, you decide which has more sign-ups. To give actionable tips for the designers, you should give room for users to explain the reason for their choices.
Usability Testing
It is okay for your design to be functional and aesthetically pleasing, but is it usable? Users are not concerned with the number of functions or how extensive the function is; they simply want to use the product. Usability testing observes users interacting with a product or prototype to identify and evaluate usability issues and areas for improvement.
It should start with creating a detailed test plan outlining the research objectives, target audience, tasks, and metrics. This should involve realistic scenarios and tasks that reflect how users would actually use the product. It should be moderated but allow users to behave freely without fear or favour.
Heatmapping
Heatmaps use colours to visualise users’ activities on an app or a website. The heat comes from the red part of the map, which denotes hot engagement. Then, it spreads through different hues like yellow, green, and blue, which denotes cool engagement.
Using software to visually represent user interactions on a webpage or app screen, showing where users click, scroll, and move their mouse. It shows the areas of interest and confusion so you can document the features in that area and make amends.
It should be combined with the context of user behaviour and design principles. If the result doesn’t give insights to influence design changes, such as content placement or call-to-action placement, another strategy should be used.
Examples of tools used are Hotjar and Crazy Egg.
UX Audit
This UX Testing Strategy does not necessarily have anything to do with the users. It comprehensively evaluates a product’s user experience based on established usability principles and best practices.
The team you will use or the agency should consist of external members to be as objective as possible. The heuristics and metrics should align with the industry and the users. The researcher/ research team should write a comprehensive report with recommendations and visual examples.
User Survey
Another strategy you should consider before implementing a feature is a user survey. This method involves collecting feedback from users through questionnaires to gather quantitative and qualitative data about their needs, preferences, and experiences.
The user survey opens you up to the possibility of user interviews or any other UX testing strategy you will implement. You should ask the participants if they’d like to be a part of further research.
The questions should use various formats to enable users to express themselves properly since the forum is mostly unmoderated. Your audience should mainly consist of existing users, and minorities should come from competitors in the market.
Eye tracking
It is more technical and complex, but the result will blow your mind. It comes with clarity about the user’s behaviours, activities, and psychology. It uses an eye-tracking tool to monitor users’ eye movements while they interact with a product.
The tool will show information about eye movement, pupil dilation, and time spent on a screen or content, as well as where their visual attention and focus are. It focuses more on the communicative and engaging elements of a website or app.
Examples of the eye-tracking data that create the visualisations are heat maps, gaze plots, and fixation maps.
Accessibility Testing
This is the crown of UX Testing strategies! It is a review against global accessibility standards. Accessibility is fundamental to creating inclusive digital experiences for everyone, so you can’t afford to gamble on this.
If your product does not use assistive technologies, it is time to consider them. Your team should test the product with various assistive technologies, such as screen readers, keyboard navigation, and voice recognition software.
Finally, your UX Testing Team should document all accessibility issues and provide a remediation plan with specific recommendations for fixing them.
5 Important UX Testing Tips You Need in 2025
Users in 2025 will be even more discerning, demanding seamless and personalised experiences across all digital touchpoints. These tips would help you rediscover how to make user testing even more approachable and successful.
Create a Testing Outline
Any UX Test you want to conduct requires strategic thinking. You need to be clear about the goals, the process, the KPIs, etc. So, your outline is a reflection of the brain work you are about to undertake.
The ideal outline should consist of research objectives, target audience, testing methodology, tasks, metrics, and timeline. A clear outline will ensure that the testing is efficient and delivers actionable results. You will need the help of a team or group of experts; trying to wing it alone might lead to wasted time and effort.
Recruit your ideal users.
If you are testing the usability of a period tracker app and the majority of your users are men, then you are just pouring water into a basket. There is no UX Test without the ideal users. If you don’t know the primary ideal user, then you should go back to the drawing board or seek professional help.
Make sure to use various methods (e.g., online panels, social media, user databases) to recruit and screen participants who match your specific demographics and psychographics.
Get an engaging moderator.
It is the moderator that determines the mood of the participant. He/she has to be lively; the moderator determines the mood of the participants. They have to be lively, friendly and engaging. You should pick someone who is a people person and knows how to manage any situation.
Beyond a receptive personality, he should be an expert in follow-up questions and know how to direct questions to the participants to help your team understand the reason behind certain phenomena.
Listen, don’t lead
Apart from the moderator, an observant researcher should be present. Sometimes, it’s best to let the users do what they know, and then you can channel your questions appropriately.
Focus on the task rather than the Question.
Even you will get bored if your users just keep asking questions. To save them stress, create task scenarios relevant to their real-world context and goals. Give them clear instructions and provide any additional materials they might need, and they will be ready to go.
Then, you can complement your questions with your observations rather than always asking for their opinions.
Quality over quantity
This is probably going to be a problematic discourse. In user research, you don’t want to get mixed with generalised data available everywhere. If you are going to conduct user research, make it worthwhile.
Even with quantitative research, you can still prioritise quality. The research is to quantify, not to be generic. If your app is based in South Korea, you don’t need a survey audience from South Africa, so you have to make it clear: “For South Koreans only!” It won’t reduce effectiveness.
Quality also has to do with the analysis of the findings. Make sure it is well-detailed, and always end a research report with recommendations and actionable tasks. Quality doesn’t have to do with the number of pages or the aesthetics of the graphics; it will show in the iterations you will make on the product.
Involve the team during the test.
Involving the team members, such as stakeholders or the product team, is the UX testing strategy you need in 2025. It doesn’t have to be all the team members, but a representative of the teams involved is fine.
Their involvement helps to facilitate post-test debriefing sessions to discuss the findings and generate ideas for improvements. There is also the need for shared understanding to ensure everyone is on the same page.
How Yellow Slice Helped Origa to Ace their UI/UX Design
Origa is a leading solution for all equipment needs. The company wanted to revamp the website to serve branding purposes and attend to the users without overwhelming them with the service they offer.
The Problem
Origa’s customers needed a more efficient and user-friendly way to lease the process online. Their existing website lacked responsiveness and intuitive design, making it difficult for users to find information, complete tasks, and ultimately achieve their leasing goal.
So they came to YellowSlice, a UX Testing agency in Mumbai. We have been following a four-stage process for nearly two decades, which we call STEP (Soak, Think, Execute, and Proof) for designing UX design. The four stages are further divided into a seven-step process that we swear by, as it has delivered fantastic results in the past with brands that can vouch for us.
The Solution
- A UX Research to identify usability issues
- We conducted proper UX testing, including competitive analysis, user persona, and journey, which laid a solid foundation for the solutions.
- We included a design to help users raise queries and assist with issues.
- Machines need regular servicing, so we created a section to remind users about their maintenance routine.
- The platform was redesigned with simplicity to allow different kinds of leasees to operate it efficiently.
Let Your Business Experience a Slice of Excellence
We have worked with big names like Make My Trip, NPCI, Axis Bank, and Croma (and the list is long) and have picked up the best UX design practices. We take pride in advancing the human experience and deriving results for business with intuitions and facts.
Ready to get a slice of digital experience? Visit our service page, and let’s start designing your success today.
FAQs
1. What is the rule of 5 in usability testing?
The “rule of 5” in usability testing suggests that testing with five(5) users is enough to discover about 85% of the usability problems in an interface. This rule is based on research by Jakob Nielsen and Thomas Landauer, which showed diminishing returns in finding new issues with every additional user tested.
While testing more users can uncover more subtle issues, the first five users provide the most significant insights for a relatively low cost.
2. What is the goal of user testing?
The primary goal of user testing is to understand how real users interact with a product, service, or design and identify areas for improvement. More specifically, user testing goals can vary from business to business.
Some of these can include:
- Identify Usability Issues
- Improve User Experience
- Validate Design Decisions
- Reduce Development Costs
- Increase Conversions and ROI
- Understand User Needs and Behaviors
- Inform Product Strategy
- Ensure Accessibility
