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name: usability-testing description: Master usability testing with test planning, moderation, analysis, and actionable recommendations.

Usability Testing

Conduct effective usability tests to validate designs, identify issues, and gather user feedback for improvement.

When to Use This Skill

• Validating designs
• Identifying usability issues
• Comparing alternatives
• Pre-launch testing
• Iterative improvement
• Feature validation
• Accessibility testing
• Competitive analysis

Core Concepts

1. Test Plan

Copy# Usability Test Plan: Checkout Flow

**Objective**: Validate checkout usability and identify friction points

**Participants**: 8 users
- 4 first-time users
- 4 returning customers
- Mix of mobile (4) and desktop (4)

**Method**: Moderated remote testing
**Duration**: 45 minutes per session
**Tool**: Zoom + UserTesting.com

**Tasks**:
1. Find and add product to cart (Success: <2 min)
2. Apply discount code (Success: <30 sec)
3. Complete checkout as guest (Success: <3 min)
4. Create account during checkout (Success: <4 min)

**Metrics**:
- Task completion rate
- Time on task
- Error rate
- Satisfaction rating (1-5)

**Questions**:
1. How would you rate the checkout process? (1-5)
2. What was most confusing?
3. What would you improve?
4. Would you use this again?

2. Test Script

Copy## Usability Test Script

**Welcome** (5 min):
- Thank you for participating
- We're testing the website, not you
- Think aloud as you complete tasks
- No wrong answers
- Any questions before we start?

**Background** (5 min):
1. How often do you shop online?
2. What devices do you typically use?
3. Any accessibility needs?

**Tasks** (25 min):

**Task 1**: "You need a wireless mouse for your laptop. Show me how you would find and purchase one."

*Observe*:
- Navigation path
- Search usage
- Product selection criteria
- Hesitations

*Follow-up*:
- What made you choose that product?
- Was anything confusing?

**Task 2**: "You have a coupon code 'SAVE20'. Apply it to your order."

*Observe*:
- Can they find coupon field?
- Understand where to enter it?
- Notice discount applied?

**Wrap-up** (10 min):
- Overall impression (1-5)?
- Most challenging part?
- What would you improve?
- Anything else?

**Thank and compensate**

3. Findings Report

Copy# Usability Test Results

**Date**: January 15, 2024
**Participants**: 8 users
**Product**: E-commerce Checkout

## Executive Summary
Overall checkout usability is good (avg 4.2/5), but 3 critical issues identified that impact conversion.

## Key Findings

### Critical Issues (Fix Immediately)

**Issue #1: Coupon Code Not Discoverable**
- **Severity**: High
- **Frequency**: 6/8 users missed it
- **Impact**: Lost discount opportunities
- **Evidence**: "I had a code but couldn't find where to use it"
- **Recommendation**: Make coupon field visible above payment section

**Issue #2: Guest Checkout Confusing**
- **Severity**: High
- **Frequency**: 5/8 users
- **Impact**: 3 users abandoned checkout
- **Evidence**: "Do I need an account to purchase?"
- **Recommendation**: Clearly label "Continue as Guest" button

### Medium Issues

**Issue #3: Mobile Form Fields Too Small**
- **Severity**: Medium
- **Frequency**: 4/4 mobile users
- **Recommendation**: Increase touch target to 48px minimum

## Metrics

| Metric | Target | Actual |
|--------|--------|--------|
| Task completion | >90% | 75% |
| Avg time on task | <3 min | 4.5 min |
| Error rate | <10% | 25% |
| Satisfaction | >4.0 | 4.2 |

## Recommendations
1. Move coupon field above payment (Priority: P0)
2. Improve guest checkout CTA (Priority: P0)
3. Increase mobile form field size (Priority: P1)
4. Add progress indicator (Priority: P2)

Best Practices

1. Recruit representative users - Match target audience
2. Test with 5-8 users - Identify 80% of issues
3. Think aloud protocol - Understand reasoning
4. Don't lead participants - Let them struggle
5. Record sessions - Review and clip highlights
6. Take detailed notes - Quotes, observations
7. Prioritize findings - Severity and frequency
8. Test iteratively - Continuous improvement

Resources

• Don't Make Me Think: Steve Krug
• Rocket Surgery Made Easy: Steve Krug
• UserTesting.com: Remote testing platform
• Maze: Rapid testing tool