Great questions! The terms user testing and usability testing are often used interchangeably, which may be confusing.Â
User testing is an umbrella term that may refer to:
Yes, they are. Surveys are an integral part of a user researcher's toolkit.
They won't provide the same amount of rich insights that moderated usability testing will. But they are great research tools for product designers who need to understand user behavior and back up their design decisions with quantitative data.Â
Usability testing surveys are also a great complement to unmoderated usability tests. UX researchers carrying out unmoderated testing can easily include them in experiment scenarios, making participants take a survey after they test a product.Â
UX researchers use surveys to collect quantitative data that complements usability testing insights.Â
They are helpful if you need to collect large amounts of data to back up your design decisions or gain the proper perspective when interpreting the results of the usability tests. (Having a larger volume of data helps you know how pressing an issue is.)Â
On top of that, running a usability survey systematically can help you connect the dots and prove how UX affects ROI. By running surveys after subsequent iterations and combining the survey feedback with the KPI metrics, you gain tangible proof that UX matters and should be invested in.
One of the methods of collecting usability feedback is the System Usability Scale survey* carried out post-test.Â
According to Norman Nielsen, SUS surveys should be 10 questions long and consist of 5-point Likert rating scale statements, which test participants agree or disagree with.Â
To give you an idea of what a usability testing survey looks like, here are 5 out of 10 SUS survey questions:Â
For more questions, check out the template on top of the page!
*SUS is just one of the surveys complementing usability tests. Depending on your context, you can also use an NPS survey or a CES survey to gauge the ease of use.
We recommend pairing the survey with either moderated or unmoderated usability tests - presenting the survey to users after they have been through an entire testing session.
If you don't have the resources to arrange proper usability testing, tweak the survey template to your needs and trigger it as a standalone research method at a user touchpoint of choice. By running the survey before and after every iteration, you can measure the effectiveness of the improvements.
Using all Survicate's survey templates is ultra easy:
1. Click the button above the page (next to the template's preview) and sign up with your business email. By doing so, you're signing up for a Flexible account. You can use our tool for free until you collect 100 responses.Â
2. Edit and customize the usability testing survey template to your needs.Â
If necessary, tweak the tone of the questions or add comments. You can also enable comments for users and encourage them to leave qualitative feedback.Â
Change the survey colors or background image to enhance your branding.
Do not change the order of the questions! Otherwise, you won't be able to calculate the usability score.
3. Connect the survey to 3rd party tools.Â
These could be Slack or Microsoft Teams if you want the notifications of the responses to flow directly into your team's communication channels.Â
Or, connect Survicate with Mixpanel or Amplitude to measure how the improvements affect user engagement by combining user feedback with product engagement metrics.
4. Distribute* the survey - copy and paste the survey link Survicate generated for you.Â
* The template above is a ready-to-use survey you distribute as a link. Start from scratch if you want to trigger the survey on your website or mobile app. Create a new survey by selecting either a "website/in-product surveys" or a "mobile surveys" field in the tool. Â
5. Measure usability regularly and analyze the feedback against your KPIs to see how effective you are at building an intuitive, user-centric product.
Interested? Feel free to check out our usability testing survey template and play around the feedback collection tool!
To calculate the SUS usability score:Â
For example, let's say that the total sum of odd-numbered questions is 23, and the total sum of even-numbered ones is 20:Â
23-5 = 18
25-23 = 2
20x2.5 = 50
Your usability score is 50, which is considered all marginal and is a sure sign the design needs iteration.
Usability testing surveys are an essential tool for assessing digital product user experience and identifying improvement areas. To ensure that your usability testing survey is effective and provides useful insights, follow best practices for designing and conducting the survey.
By following these best practices, you can design and conduct a usability testing survey that provides valuable insights into the user experience of your digital product.
Conducting a usability testing survey is a complex task that requires careful planning and execution to ensure that the results are valid and reliable. There are several common mistakes that researchers can make when conducting usability testing surveys, which can lead to biased or inaccurate results. Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to address them:
Asking leading or biased questions can skew the results of your usability testing survey. To avoid this, using neutral, non-leading language in your survey questions is important. Use open-ended questions that allow participants to share their experiences in their own words rather than asking leading questions that suggest a particular response.
Using vague or ambiguous language in your survey questions can lead to confusion or misunderstandings among participants, which can affect the validity of your results. To avoid this, use clear, concise language that is easy for participants to understand. Avoid using technical jargon or complex terminology that may be unfamiliar to your target audience.
Focusing too narrowly on a single aspect of usability can limit the insights you gain from your usability testing survey. To ensure that you capture a broad range of usability issues, include questions that cover multiple aspects of usability, such as ease of use, learnability, and efficiency.
Failing to pilot test your survey can lead to issues with survey design or wording that may affect the validity and reliability of your results. To avoid this, pilot test your survey with a small group of participants before launching it to a larger audience. Use feedback from the pilot test to refine your survey and ensure that it effectively captures the user experience.
Participant recruitment is a critical factor in the validity and reliability of your usability testing survey results. To ensure that your sample is representative of your target user population, use a diverse recruitment strategy that reaches a broad range of participants. Consider using online recruiting platforms, social media, or user research panels to recruit participants from different demographics and backgrounds.
By avoiding these common mistakes and implementing best practices for usability testing surveys, you can ensure that your results are valid, reliable, and provide useful insights into the user experience of your digital product.
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