The number of participants needed for a usability test varies depending on the type of study. Quantitative usability testing is best for collecting benchmarks.
Two of the metrics most commonly collected in quantitative usability testing are task success and time on task. Quantitative usability testing focuses on collecting metrics that describe the user experience. This form of usability testing is more common than quantitative usability testing. Qualitative usability testing is best for discovering problems in the user experience. Qualitative usability testing focuses on collecting insights, findings, and anecdotes about how people use the product or service. Usability testing can be either qualitative or quantitative. Types of Usability Testing Qualitative vs. The photo captures the moment after the participant’s task, when the facilitator is asking him followup questions. The facilitator listens to his feedback, administers tasks, and takes notes. The laptop has a webcam to capture the participant’s facial expressions and is connected to an external monitor for the facilitator. The participant uses a special testing laptop, which is running screen-recording software. In this usability-test session, the participant sits on the left, and the facilitator sits on the right. The goal of this approach is to understand participants’ behaviors, goals, thoughts, and motivations. The facilitator might ask the participants to narrate their actions and thoughts as they perform tasks. Participants are often asked to think out loud during usability testing (called the “think-aloud method”). Alternatively, in some cases, the participant might just have a similar background to the target user group, or might have the same needs, even if he isn’t already a user of the product. That might mean that the user is already using the product or service in real life. The participant should be a realistic user of the product or service being studied. This helps ensure that the participant reads the instructions completely, and helps the researchers with their notetaking, because they always know which task the user is performing. We often ask participants to read the task instructions out loud. Task instructions can be delivered to the participant verbally (the facilitator might read them) or can be handed to a participant written on task sheets.
Small errors in the phrasing of a task can cause the participant to misunderstand what they’re asked to do or can influence how participants perform the task (a psychological phenomenon called priming). Task wording is very important in usability testing. Use the intranet to find out where they are located.
The participant provides behavioral and verbal feedback about the interface while he performs those tasks. In a usability test, the facilitator gives instructions and task scenarios to the participant.