8 User Testing Tips to Get Real Feedback

User testing is a great way to get customer feedback to discover the strengths and weaknesses of your website, app, product or service.

Whatever it is, the reaction of the real users is the most reliable data to decide if you are ready to launch or not, or what to improve next.

And that is why user testing is so important.

What is user testing?

User testing is the process that allows the real users to share their opinion about your website, app, product, or service. The process is supposed to be conducted in realistic conditions through specific steps. These steps make the user testing easy to measure for useful analysis.

Five common user testing methods can be summarized as:

• Problem detection: to be aware of the common issues.
• Benchmark: to see how the changes impact the usability and attraction.
• Competition: to evaluate the status of your competitive material.
• Eye-tracking: to find out where users interact to provide an attractive design.
• Learnability: to make sure that the users can understand and use your material.

What are some user testing tips?

User testing is common, but not easy. You need to draw a controlled path, which feels natural so that the test gives efficient results.

These user testing tips are a great beginning for a seamless process. Consider how you can apply them to your own case. How to do user testing and how to succeed are a matter of well-thought steps. If you have any further questions, we are here to share our experience and opinions.

Below you will see some user testing tips to use while drawing your path to get some real feedback:

1- Define your targets

Before rushing into preparing the questions, define the demanded benefits of the user testing. Every other step will be determined to help you achieve your targets. So take your time until you make your need concrete. The methods above can give you an insight.

2- Keep it simple

It is better to focus on a few points rather than to try to figure out everything with just one user testing. Eliminate the less crucial details and prepare a simple survey. This allows you to come up with a short test, which means the users will enjoy sharing their opinions before they get bored.

3- Find a natural language

While preparing your survey, try to stay away from being over-sophisticated. Find a natural language so that the users will understand you easily and feel comfortable. They volunteer to help you when they are not struggling to grasp the main idea.

4- Start with the easy questions

First things first. Starting with easy and everyday questions will serve as an icebreaker. When you gain trust and the tester feels closer to you, the testing process becomes more fruitful. 

5- Detailed questions come next

After you build a nice and strong communication, you can start asking more detailed questions. At this point, people feel free to open their mind and heart. 

6- Let them speak for themselves

Closed questions are easier to analyze; however, the most useful data is probably taken through open-ended questions. Also, you cannot predict everything. Open-ended questions that allow the users to speak for themselves are a good source to discover more than you have ever thought before. 

7- Practice

When you start your user testing, you should monitor how the process is going. Every other test is a practice to take the chance to improve your survey.

Are there common questions that the user find hard to answer? What about the moments of long silence or the irrelevant answers in certain parts? These points are the knots to untie to help the participant begin to talk.

8- Emergency planning

You prepared a perfect survey. Everything seems spotless. During a live or face-to-face communication, there may happen undesirable surprises. Make sure to be prepared for them. Is there any information you prefer not to share with the participant? What happens if the digital tools you use collapse? You need to have an emergency plan.