Usability & UX testing

What aspects cause problems for users? Do they interact in the way you expect? What changes will improve your product most?

Usability & UX testing will give you the basis for making key design decisions...

• Testing is a central element of any user-centred development process - early and continuous testing with users is the key to a more successful product.
• Testing will identify the problems with your product's interface and we can recommend and discuss design solutions with designers and developers.
• Usability Partners offers independent usability & UX evaluation services in Sweden and abroad.
• We are experienced in testing a variety of different products - be they Windows software, web sites, intranets, mobile phones or consumer products.

Usability labs

Our modern usability labs are located together with our office in central Stockholm. They're equipped with 1-way glass and state-of-the-art solutions for testing with a range of devices/products. Here, on 'neutral territory' for our client's customers/users, we conduct the majority of of tests.

Our portable labs are used in projects where the fixed labs are inappropriate - e.g. for field studies, or where testing needs to be done at a client location in order to access the product (e.g. an intranet). Our portable labs can, in principle, be set up and used anywhere.

Remote testing and live streaming

Sometimes it can be difficult or very costly to meet users face-to-face. We have several online solutions for remote testing with users. Whether in a lab, in the field, or online, we encourage project members to observe tests (video streaming links can be used where observing locally isn't possible).

What will a test give you?

• A breakdown of interface design problems with the product.
• Recommendations for solving problems and improving the product.
• An objective analysis of the ease of use of the product.
• Formal assessments provide measures of the effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction with the product.
• Input to any user documentation, training or support/helpdesk planning.
• Information that can be used to help market the product.
• An invaluable insight for developers into how users interact with their product.

How is a test organised?

Both existing products and prototypes can be tested. Typical users are recruited to the test and each user tests the product individually. During the main part of the test the user conducts realistic tasks which have been developed in advance together with you.

Other evaluation services

• Expert evaluation can be used when time and resources are very restricted. Experienced consultants inspect the product and identify usability & UX problems, which are then ranked in order of severity and suggestions for improvement are provided.
• Participatory evaluation is suited to iterative testing during development, often with early prototypes. An experienced usability & UX expert works together with typical users testing the product. Problems are identified and suggestions for improvement are provided.
• User surveys are a quick and efficient means of gaining subjective data - what users think of a product or service. They can be conducted electronically and some survey types (e.g. WAMMI for web sites, SUMI for software) allow comparison with international databases.
• Eye tracking to measure and analyse eye movements - where users look. Provides additional insights into how users interact the with the interface.
• Accessibility testing can be done in conjunction with user-based usability testing, or as a separate expert-based activity, to ensure your interface design is inclusive.
• Medical device testing to support the development of MedTech user interfaces. We conduct both formative and summative evaluations to assess usability and mitigate risks in use, e.g. as part of a development process to meet the needs of the EU Medical Device Regulations and ISO/IEC 62366.