Usability Testing
Watching people use the thing.
What It Is
Giving real users specific tasks to complete and observing what happens. Where do they get stuck? Where do they hesitate? Where do they give up or take a wrong turn? The interface tells you what it thinks is clear. Users tell you what actually is.
Moderated vs. Unmoderated
Moderated means a researcher is present — they can probe, ask follow-up questions, and explore unexpected behaviors. Better for complex flows and early-stage designs. Unmoderated means participants complete tasks remotely on their own — larger sample sizes, faster turnaround, better for quick validation of specific interactions.
Think-Aloud Protocol
Ask participants to verbalize their thinking as they go. "I'm looking for the settings button... I expected it to be up here... I'm not sure what this icon means." This reveals mental models and expectations that you'd never see from behavior alone.
What It Produces
A prioritized list of usability issues with severity ratings. Video evidence that makes stakeholders feel the pain directly. And specific recommendations tied to interface elements — not abstract principles, but "this button label should say X because participants expected Y."