User testing will give much-needed insight into the four key areas, which assist in providing the knowledge needed to enhance and develop these areas as necessary. User testing ensures higher user satisfaction, which creates a competitive edge in the developing market.

User testing allows for better and more advanced UX research, which provides more excellent and more useful insight and data into the responsiveness of the design. Due to changing customer requirements, an experimental approach is needed to suit the ever-changing design and development of the software. If a software project is done up-front, then it can be extremely challenging to modify later. Therefore the reason is that so many developers are moving over to user testing for UX because it makes the entire process easier in the long -run. User testing is the best method of test-driven development because it allows for a multi-faceted approach that ensures the success of the large-scale project.

The user experience – UX, when a person is interfacing with the system, is significant to give the insight needed to understand how to change, develop and advance the design for optimum success.

Various UX testing methods need to be considered when conducting user testing:

1. PERSONAS

Creating a user person means identifying your important audience to find a representation of the average characteristics that your target audience will have. To create a persona, you will need to consider your website’s analytics, and the demographic that you will be targeting. Evaluating aspects such as customer motivation, intention, personality, and status are all aspects to take into consideration when creating the user-personas.

2. USER SURVEYS

By interviewing pre-existing customers, as well as interacting with users, the best way to obtain information is to research what users are looking for within that specific category of design. Asking relevant questions in the survey, will allow greater insight into user-behavior, needs and wants, and more.

3. INTERFACE TESTING

Collecting usable data is essential to software testing, and evaluating the differences between various user interfaces gives an added advantage. Sometimes the most minor adjustments can have a significant impact on the functionality of a website. User-interface testing is critical and cost-effective, and therefore allows insight into necessary adjustments.

4. FLOW DIAGRAMS

Creating charts which present the data of how users navigate through the system is essential when collecting the data necessary to evaluate the results of the user-testing experience. There are various programs which will collect that data for your company which tracks and correlates how users are interacting with the software, in real-time.

5. WIRE FRAMES AND PROTOTYPES

Wireframes are visual guides to the framework of the websites UX. Whiteboards come in handy, to chart and map the progress of the user-framework testing. This is essentially creating a visual replication of the software that can be adjusted, without it affecting the actual software itself.

6. PATTERNS

Design patterns are essential for over-seeing the consistency of specific design, patterns, and frameworks, that allow for optimum user design. Some software packages focus exclusively on this. Patterns allow you to adhere to a specific user interface elements.

7. STYLE AND UX DESIGN

Consistency is very important to the final product, and that’s where style guides come in handy. Style guides provide a useful framework to work from, as it helps the team to stay focused on the overall theme and style of the UX design.

Business alignment and team structure will ensure success through quality collaboration, through whiteboard discussions and more, in order to have successful collective decision making. By creating an essential foundation to start with, the team can then add and evolve the design by reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of the results of the user testing data. While retrospective will give insight into the evolution of the design, it’s important to consider the future requirements. This is why user-testing is essential, because it allows for the smart evolution of the design, and pre-anticipation of future requirements, allowing for a better and more developed product. If a software project is done up-front, then it can be extremely challenging to modify later, therefore the reason being that so many developers are moving over to user-testing because it makes the entire process more manageable in the long-run. Successful companies make user-experience a top priority, as at the end of the day it is the user that needs to be convinced to engage with the software for it to be a success. Technical glitches mean lower customer conversion rates, which can thus cause decreased revenue and loss of sales.