Usability Testing Services
Usability testing is our core service. Every day, our small team moderates UX testing of websites, apps and software. And every week, we help teams align and act on their user testing data — through super-productive 1-day workshops. We test it all: mobile to desktop, wireframes to live sites, mass consumers to enterprise pros.
Our Process
While we customize each project, most of our usability projects follow this 5-step approach. Each step takes about 1 week.
Plan
We get up to speed and align on your project goals, audiences and KPIs.
Report
We deliver a summary report with all findings, solution ideas and recordings.
Workshop
We facilitate a 1-day on-site workshop with research observation, analysis, and ideation.
Recruit
We conduct a rigorous recruiting and screening process to find representative users.
Research
We moderate 1:1 usability sessions, and often supplement this with quantitative research.
2019 Usability Project Examples
UVA Health System
Mobile/desktop testing of primary public website for patients and caregivers. 7 moderated sessions plus quantitative research with 500+ users. 1-day workshop with marketers in Charlottesville.
“Super eye opening. We’ve wanted to have this kind of usability testing done for a long time.”
— Digital Strategist | UVA Health System
Thales
2 rounds of moderated testing of software prototypes for enterprise digital security pros. Each with a 1-day analysis workshop (one in Austin, one remote) with UX and product teams.
“Great interviews and foundation work.”
— Tony Dosen, UX Designer | Thales
GEICO
10+ qualitative UX testing projects so far in 2019 — 6 with analysis workshops. Spanning many digital products and teams, from GEICO’s mobile app to its call center applications.
“So helpful to watch live customers using the app and see where they struggled.”
— Lead Software Engineer | GEICO
"A fantastic little agency that does amazing work."
On-Site Workshops — The Critical Step
Most usability consultants work in a black box: they disappear to conduct testing and analysis before returning with a big report. This “expert report” approach fails to drive UX innovation.
What does work? A “team sport” approach that exposes your team directly to your users and empowers them to analyze and act on the data. Here’s what you’ll do in your 1-day on-site workshop:
1. Observe UX Testing
The morning: Watch full usability research sessions (live or recorded) with your team. Capture findings like a UX researcher.
2. Align on Problems
Early afternoon: Go through a series of collaborative steps to analyze findings and reach consensus on your top UX problems.
3. Generate Solutions
Late afternoon: Break into small groups to brainstorm, sketch, combine and critique ideas. Converge on the most promising solutions.
Pricing
Our usability projects typically cost in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. This cost includes the 1-day workshop.
Key pricing variables include:
- Complexity of the project, site/app, and recruiting
- Number and length of moderated sessions
- Type of quantitative research included, if any
A 2nd round of testing — where we test the design changes you make after the 1st round — typically costs about 60% of the 1st round’s cost.
Why Our “Team Sport” Approach Works
Seeing is believing
Watching users struggle has a huge motivating impact on designers, developers and stakeholders. But a few clips in a report doesn’t cut it. Watching full sessions throughout a morning does.
Alignment is really hard
Watching users and analyzing data together has a magical power: it builds a shared, objective understanding about the biggest problems worth solving. This saves you a ton down the road by reducing rework, delays and failed launches.
You are the experts
We see it over and over … your team’s solutions beat a UX consultant’s ideas. But only if you watch users in depth and go through a rigorous analysis and ideation process. That’s the biggest value we bring — not our solution ideas.
Data to deadlines in a day
We know how hard it is to turn research into changes that launch. That’s why our workshops don’t end until every top solution has a next step, an owner, and a deadline. Going from messy data to clear next steps in 1 day builds excitement and momentum.
Organizations We've Helped with User Research & Design Thinking
