User Testing - Immediate insight & opportunities
Ask your customer and receive valuable feedback - every time.
User Testing is a service that allows you to observe real users interacting with your product or website, gaining valuable insights into their experiences. By conducting user testing, we identify pain points, understand user behaviours, and make informed decisions to improve your product. Whether in the initial design stages or refining a developed product, user testing provides actionable data to help you create a more user-friendly experience.
Client spotlight
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Client - Testing the proposed navigation and functionality for the Danone Nutricia Dietetic App delivered significant insight before design and development commenced.
This process is straightforward
We ask real users to complete tasks and provide feedback on their experience. We collect qualitative and quantitative data through various methods, analyse it, and harness it to inform how best to proceed. These results inform design, usability, and functionality and always significantly benefit our clients' projects.
User testing is not only about finding issues; it also helps validate design choices and ensures that the product aligns with customers' needs and expectations. The team can quickly and confidently plan a path forward by understanding what customers find helpful and what they find frustrating.
Can we help you plan and conduct user testing
User testing always delivers opportunities
- Improved usability - Testing identifies and resolves usability issues quickly before website development.
- Enhanced satisfaction - Understanding expectations and needs leads to higher satisfaction.
- Reduced costs - By catching issues early, we minimise the need for costly redesigns or fixes later.
- Data-driven - The team can make informed choices based on real user feedback rather than assumptions.
- Increased conversion - As we learn, we can optimise user flows to enhance conversion and improve effectiveness.
- Competitive advantage - Gaining insights helps differentiate your product from competitors, as customers love to provide feedback.
- Increased retention - A more satisfying user experience encourages users to return, boosting retention rates.
- Better accessibility - Identifying accessibility barriers early ensures a more inclusive experience for all users.
Customers we have supported
Our Partners
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FAQs - The questions customers ask about User Testing
Q: What is user testing?
User testing is a structured process where real users interact with prototypes, designs, or live features to evaluate whether the experience is clear, intuitive, and aligned with user needs. It helps validate assumptions and identify usability issues early.
Q: Why is user testing important?
It ensures that real user behaviour, rather than assumptions, guides decisions. User testing reduces the risk of usability problems, improves accessibility, and increases the likelihood of a successful launch.
Q: What types of user testing do you provide?
Depending on the stage and objectives, testing may include:
- Moderated usability sessions (remote or in-person)
- Unmoderated task-based testing
- Prototype and concept validation
- Content comprehension testing
- Accessibility and assistive technology testing
- A/B or preference testing
- Post-launch experience evaluations
Q: When during a project do you conduct user testing?
Testing is conducted during early design and again during development, whenever new journeys, interfaces, or features are ready for evaluation. It also takes place after launch to support continuous improvements.
Q: How are participants recruited?
Participants are selected based on agreed-upon user profiles or customer segments. They may be:
- Sourced from client-provided user lists
- Recruited through trusted research partners
- Reached via targeted online outreach
All recruitment processes comply with GDPR and consent requirements.
Q: How many participants do you typically test with?
Most usability rounds involve 5–8 participants, which is sufficient to uncover the majority of usability issues. Larger or more diverse audiences may require broader testing samples.
Q: How are testing sessions run?
Sessions can be:
- Moderated, with a facilitator guiding participants through tasks
- Unmoderated, where users complete tasks independently
Sessions follow a structured script with clear objectives and success criteria, ensuring reliable and consistent results.
Q: What do you test?
Typical focus areas include:
- Navigation and structure
- Key user tasks and journeys
- Layouts, components, and interactions
- Content clarity and tone
- Forms and transactional flows
- Accessibility and device responsiveness
- Browser and device compatibility
Q: How do you incorporate accessibility into testing?
Accessibility is built into the testing approach by:
- Including participants who use assistive technologies
- Applying WCAG 2.1 AA standards
- Testing with screen readers, keyboard navigation, and device-level tools
- Conducting expert accessibility audits alongside user testing
Q: What do we receive after a testing round?
You receive a structured insight report containing:
- The key findings
- Demonstrated usability issues
- Severity ratings and prioritised recommendations
- Optional anonymised video clips or transcripts
- Suggested improvements to journeys, content, or interface design
Q: How are findings incorporated into the project?
Insights are reviewed with the design and development teams and are used to refine navigation, user journeys, layouts, and content. The goal is to make meaningful improvements before proceeding with further work.
Q: Do you test prototypes or only completed features?
Yes, we do both, and this is advised:
- Prototype testing validates concepts early and helps steer the design direction. This can save a significant amount of time, budget and stress as the project evolves. Ignore this at your peril.
- Functional testing evaluates real interactions and behaviour before launch to ensure the experience performs as expected.
Q: How often should user testing be carried out?
At minimum:
- Once during the initial design to validate direction - As above, always recommended before development commences.
- Once before launch to confirm usability and accessibility.
Additional rounds may be carried out whenever major changes, new journeys, or new features are introduced.
Q: Can user testing be done remotely?
Yes. Remote testing is widely used because it is efficient, cost-effective, and gives access to participants from different locations and backgrounds. It's quick to set up and activate.
Q: How do you protect user data during testing?
All testing complies with GDPR and ePrivacy requirements. Personal data is minimised, securely stored, and anonymised for reporting purposes. Participants provide consent before participating, and only necessary information is collected.
Testing with customers benefits everyone
For the Business and Strategy teams, understanding user experience directly contributes to strategic decisions. Here are the benefits:
- Strategic insight - Make informed decisions based on user feedback.
- Increased customer loyalty - Align products with user needs to boost loyalty.
- Reduced churn - Minimise user frustration, decreasing customer turnover.
- Product-market fit - Validate that the product meets market needs.
- Increased market share - Use insights to develop a competitive edge.
User testing offers operational efficiencies and financial benefits that can contribute to your bottom line. Here’s how:
- Cost savings - Identify cost-effective solutions by understanding user needs.
- Operational efficiency - Streamline processes by reducing unnecessary rework.
- Optimised resource allocation - Invest in features that matter most to users.
- Improved ROI - Get the most out of your development budget by reducing errors.
- Increased scalability - Build a scalable product by addressing user concerns early.
User testing provides a unique window into how customers perceive your product, helping you craft messages and strategies that resonate. Here’s why it’s beneficial for your marketing and comms team:
- User insight - Understand customer needs and preferences.
- Enhanced targeting - Tailor messaging based on real feedback.
- Improved brand perception - Refine product messaging to align with user expectations.
- Optimised campaigns - Test and validate campaign strategies.
- Better content development - Craft content that directly addresses user challenges.
User testing enables your team to build products that are technically robust and user-centric. Here are some technology-focused benefits:
- Early issue detection - Identify bugs and technical issues before launch.
- Improved product stability - Gather data on potential performance issues.
- Better feature validation - Ensure new features meet user needs.
- Reduced rework - Address issues early to save on costly rework.
- Enhanced product quality - Build a stable, user-friendly product.
Get in touch to discuss the benefits of testing your services
Frequently asked questions about User Testing
User Testing – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is User Testing?
User Testing is the process of evaluating a product, service or idea by observing real users (customers) as they interact with it. It uncovers usability issues, validates design decisions, and reveals how they actually behave when using your product. We run both qualitative and quantitative testing sessions, capturing feedback that’s grounded in real-world use.
Q: What can you test?
We test all digital services and products, for example
- Product usability testing
- UX Usability testing
- Website usability testing
- Testing of application processes, e-commerce flows and functional processes
- Accessibility testing for target users
- Campaign designs and flows prior to development
- Mobile apps and services
Q: When should we run User Testing?
User Testing is valuable at every stage of your project:
- Business case - Test your existing services and products to uncover issues and opportunities as you develop your business case for redesign or development.
- Discovery phase - Test early concepts, wireframes, or prototypes to guide our direction and quickly determine sentiment. You would be amazed at what you will learn - the earlier the better.
- Design phase - Validate navigation, layout, and visual hierarchy, flows, and labelling. Again, the insights are incredible.
- Pre-launch or post-launch - If the team has a concern, quickly test to identify usability barriers and opportunities for refinement.
Overall, early testing reduces the risk of costly design changes later.
Q: What does the process involve?
In summary, our testing process has the following steps:
- Setting the goals - Defining key user tasks and goals.
- Recruitment - We have a complaint register from which we can quickly recruit to attend testing.
- Testing - Observing and recording their interaction with the product. We record these sessions, so you can also watch live. You learn so much. We have a testing lab to do in-person interviews and testing, as well as a range of online services for virtual testing.
- Reviews - Analysing behaviours, bottlenecks, and feedback.
- Recommendations - Delivering actionable insights and design recommendations.
All findings are prioritised and sized.
Q: What are the key benefits of User Testing?
User Testing delivers:
- Improved usability - Identifies friction points earlier in the design and development process, allowing for the catch and fix of issues early.
- Increased satisfaction - Creates experiences that align with customers' needs and expectations.
- Reduced costs - Helps to minimise (or remove) the risk of rework, additional development, and unhappy customers.
- Higher conversions - Ensures your journeys and features are tailored for better results.
- Data-driven decisions - Reduce (or remove) internal bias and guesswork.
- Long-term retention - Create better experiences that enable your team to maintain momentum, rather than relying on endless tweaking and rework.
- Competitive edge - Differentiate your digital services through superior UX.
- Higher retention - A considered and customer-first experience boosts return visits.
Q: Who benefits from User Testing?
Everyone - The entire team gains value from the insights and results of the testing.
- Business & Strategy - Aligns product direction with user needs.
- Marketing & Content - Refines messaging, tone, and structure.
- Technology & Development - Surfaces bugs, pain points, and technical gaps.
- Operations & Customer Support - Reduces user confusion and support queries.
Q: Can we run tests before anything is built?
Absolutely. You should always be testing, and the earlier the better. This allows you to validate ideas before investing heavily in design or development. We can test:
- Sketches or wireframes.
- Interactive prototypes.
- Mock-ups or staging environments.
- Working functional features
- Existing products before redesign/development
Q: What deliverables do we get?
We provide results that are easy to digest and set out clear recommendations for the next steps, and include:
- A comprehensive findings report.
- Highlight reels or session recordings (if applicable).
- Key pain points and usability issues.
- Strategic and tactical recommendations.
- A prioritised action list for your team.
Q: Can you give an example of how this helped another client?
Yes. For Danone Nutricia, we ran testing on a new specialist dietetic app. The insights gathered on navigation, functionality, and content directly shaped the design before build, ensuring a smoother and more intuitive experience for everyone once launched.