Defining user testing and usability testing
Let’s start with the basics, what is user testing in website terms? User testing is where you ask participants to complete tasks on your website. You may watch them do this in person, remotely, after the test, or not at all. Information about what users do is collected so that it can then be used to inform changes to your site.
So, if that’s user testing, what do we mean by usability testing? Well, I’m talking about the more classically scientific method of testing your site. In other words, counting how many times users make errors. It can also mean using a simple scoring method such as the system usability scale (SUS) to measure how easy your site is to use. Typically, usability testing is unmoderated and (if done more scientifically) doesn’t involve any verbalisation as this creates an unnatural environment.
The main marker of usability testing is that it is mainly measuring the functionality. Can users find a product and add it to cart? Can users navigate through a form successfully? The focus is on the reliability of the data as much as possible.
The think aloud method of user testing
Whilst usability testing certainly has its place, I can’t help but see it being a bit limited. It doesn’t manage to tap into why a user may or may not buy or why a user would or wouldn’t complete a form.
One commonly used approach that deviates slightly from a more scientific method is to have users ‘think aloud’ whilst they move through your site and complete a task. This somewhat unusual and unfamiliar process can give you greater insights than no verbal communication at all. But users are likely to self filter some of their thoughts, may forget to verbalise, or simply narrate what they are doing, not why they are doing it.
Unmoderated user research where participants think aloud is a bit of a half-way house. It aims to both discover usability issues and uncover the why behind the actions whilst leaving users free of external influence. But it doesn’t necessarily achieve either particularly well, as by its very nature it becomes less scientific whilst also failing to fully give insight into the user’s thoughts.
Moderated user testing
Moderated user testing is where a skilled professional sits with the user as they move through your site, asking questions when they see hesitation or a change in body language, something the user may not even be aware of consciously themselves.
The moderator is trained not to intervene too much, but to get to the core of why users behave the way they do. They discover motivations, perceptions, anxieties, and barriers to conversion. In moderated user testing, we are aiming for the most valid results we can get.
What’s more, moderated user testing enables the researcher to follow up on answers the users give in the moment, enabling you to learn things you never thought to ask in the first place.
Why we advocate for moderated user testing
We believe that the most unbiased data comes from analytics and user behaviour tracking. With these sources of truth there is no false environment to bias user behaviour in any way.
However, we also acknowledge the limitations of this. The data can tell us what, and we can infer the why, but we can’t be 100% sure. Moderated user testing is the opposite to the cold hard numbers, it is the softer qualitative side that reveals new deep insights, including things we were unaware were even an issue.
By combining the rigour of quantitative data capture methods with the deep insights that moderated user research creates we can gain the clearest picture of what needs to change, why, and what is likely to be the best change to carry out.
Going beyond user testing
Moderated user research of different types can also be a huge eye opener. Something as simple as concept testing a new idea can have a profound impact on understanding and strategy.
For this reason, we not only offer moderated user testing, but also customer and prospective customer interviews, and user journey mapping.
With interviews the researcher gets time to really build rapport with the participants, getting them to feel relaxed and open as the conversation flows naturally. With user journey mapping, we discover existing customer journeys from first interaction through to the post purchase experience to understand the emotional highs, lows, frustrations and ideations on how the journey overall could be improved.
If you have found this overview of user research interesting and want to learn more about how we run user research, get in touch with us today. We can’t wait to hear about your project.
Hi, I’m Charlotte. I love writing about user psychology and tips I’ve picked up from leading user research and CRO projects. Get in touch if you’d like to work with me to improve the user experience on your site or click here to learn more about your future CRO team.