You’re planning a new feature for your product; you need to know that it will work for your customers and meet the needs of your business. Navigation, layout, messaging and styling are only some of the hidden dangers which could render your product dead in the water. These types of usability issues can only be identified through some form of usability testing, but by taking an iterative approach to the design, you have the opportunity to fix them long before your feature is released. ‘Iterative usability testing’ is the process of conducting usability tests, on a regular basis, throughout the design and development lifecycle. It differs from more-formal testing because customers are involved at every stage of the project, rather than just at the end; it causes the design direction to change gradually, rather than in a huge panic at the end. Here are 5 tips for running usability testing sessions.

1. 5 tips for running
usability tests
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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction
Iterative usability testing
is an extremely useful tool
when it’s baked into the
design process.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction
Real feedback from users will give the
design team the valuable insights they need
to shape the product into something your
customers will love.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction
Here are 5 tips for
running usability tests.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
You need to thank
people for their time and
opinions.
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
The usual way to do this is with incentives...
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
On average, you can pay
upwards of £50-£100 to
be given to people upon
completion of the test.
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
However, with the preparing of the designs
and scripts, it’s easy to forget the cash to
pay your participants.
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Put a reminder in the
calendar and get the
incentives organised
beforehand.
1. Remember the incentives

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
2. Make people feel welcome

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Get to know them a little, thank them for
their time and generally make them feel
comfortable.
2. Make people feel welcome

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Remind them that you aren’t testing them,
rather the experience.
2. Make people feel welcome

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Encourage them to ‘think
aloud’.
2. Make people feel welcome

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
3. People are late (and early)

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Make sure to plan plenty
of time between sessions
to reset.
3. People are late (and early)

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
While participants have to wait, they need
a place to sit if there’s an issue with the
scheduling.
3. People are late (and early)

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
4. Be mindful of existing customers

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Using existing customers might be cheaper,
but they will skip over usability issues which
new customers might struggle with.
4. Be mindful of existing customers

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5. Be wary of the seasoned tester!

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
5. Be wary of the seasoned tester!
It’s possible that some people have already
attended their fair share of testing sessions
and are just going through the motions to
get their incentive.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
5. Be wary of the seasoned tester!
Watch out for participants
who are too eager to please!

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
5. Be wary of the seasoned tester!
Or have an unusually
impressive grasp of
technical language!

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Thinking about embarking on a digital
product design piece? Talk to us about how
audience research can help to make it a
success.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
+44 (0) 203 7738175 hello@100shapes.com
I00 SHAPESUX & design for broadcast and media brands

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
For advice and inspiration on effective
UX & Design strategies visit:
100shapes.com/blog