Usability Testing Essentials

3 Big U and little u usability

Up to this point, I’ve focused on the essentials of usability testing. To do that, I started with some definitions to give us a common vocabulary for talking about usability and usability testing. And I reviewed testing options, which include testing in a lab, testing wherever you can grab a space, and testing remotely, with or without you present.

Now it’s time to fit usability testing into the big picture of user-centered design. This chapter opens up your toolkit to see where usability testing fits and what other tools you can use to support your understanding of your user’s experience.

Introducing big U and little u usability

If you think of usability testing as “little u” usability, then you know it’s the ...