When User Testing Goes Wrong

‍

User testing is an essential part of the product design process — but only when done properly.

When it isn't, user testing can leave you wandering more than it helps you move forward.

Here are three of the most common mistakes, and the unwanted outcomes they can create.

‍

1. Testing Without a Clear Target

‍

It starts with preparation.

We often make one of two mistakes: we provide too much structure, or we provide none at all.

In the first case, we essentially dictate the steps the user should take. The user isn't experiencing the flow — they are replicating it. As a result, there is little personal experience for them to share afterwards. With no structure at all, the opposite happens. The user doesn't have a concrete goal or need to connect the interface to, so their actions may have little relevance to the actual use case.

What to Do Instead

‍

Give the user a task that is as precise and as close to a real-life use case as possible. Don't give them tips on how to accomplish it. Then sit back and observe. The goal is not to see whether the user can follow your instructions. The goal is to see how they naturally approach the task.

‍

2. Testing Too Early

‍

Don't test directly with users just because you finished your sprint. There is almost certainly still room for improvement.

If your UI contains too many obvious issues, the feedback you get from users can become overwhelming to process — while much of it will be predictable anyway. Users shouldn't have to discover problems that your own team could have caught beforehand.

What to Do Instead

‍

Test internally first. Ask your colleagues to use the product, UX people especially. Use your internal resources to identify and eliminate the obvious issues. Only after you've drained the internal feedback resources should you proceed to testing with actual users.

‍

3. Accepting Feedback Without Critical Thinking

‍

Your team is not a genie in a bottle, granting every wish your users have. A user asking for a feature doesn't automatically mean the feature should be built. Adding something might make a single user happy in the short term, but it could compromise the experience for other user groups, conflict with existing functionality, exceed your budget, or contradict your business strategy.

What to Do Instead

‍

Capture the user's need — but don't immediately turn it into a requirement. Understand why they are asking for it, then evaluate the pros and cons before deciding whether to act on it. User feedback is an input into the decision-making process, not a list of instructions.

‍