User Experience Research vs. Usability Testing

• “User experience”
• “Usability”
• “User experience research”
• “Usability testing”

New designers often use the terms interchangeably.

That’s because all of these terms are related. But, they are not identical:

• User experience (UX) research and usability testing are both critical research methodologies in digital design
• But, they are conducted at different stages of the design process and they serve different purposes
• Similarly, it is vital for a digital product to offer both good UX and usability
• But again, UX is not usability

In this article, we’ll list the differences between these terms.

We’ll explain:

• What is user experience (UX)?
• What is usability?
• What is UX research?
• What is usability testing?
• Differences between UX research vs. usability testing

What is User Experience?

User experience (UX) refers to all aspects of a user’s interaction with a digital product and the brand behind it:

• How users feel about using the product
• How easily users can access and use the product
• How users feel when using the product — do their experiences feel meaningful or personally relevant
• The range of features in the product and how well they meet user needs
• The visual appeal and design quality of the product

The goal of UX design is to make a product exciting to interact with before, during, and after using the product

Since it is not easy to create comprehensive experiences that effectively meet all user needs, UX research and research-based iterations are huge parts of the UX design process.

What is Usability?

Usability is an aspect of the user’s experience (UX) that focuses on how easily users can interact with the product and accomplish specific goals.

A product’s usability is defined by its:

• Learnability: How quickly users can perform basic tasks the first time they encounter the product and its interface and UX design
• Efficiency: How quickly can users perform essential tasks within the product?
• Memorability: How easily can users return to the product after not using it for a while?
• Error-Handling: The frequency of errors users face within the product and their ability to recover from them

Usability is just one of the many components of UX — albeit a critical component.

UX covers a broader range of components that contribute to how users perceive ALL of their interactions with the product.

It even covers things like how meaningful, valuable, or personally relevant the product feels to users.

What is UX Research?

• User Experience or ‘UX’ research covers various qualitative and quantitative research methods
• All of these research methods aim to capture a user base’s needs and expectations regarding a product or service

UX research can be conducted at all stages of product development:

• Most teams perform it in the initial concept exploration phase to gauge audience needs and expectations regarding the digital product or service they are proposing
• UX research can also be conducted after product development to find ways to improve the product’s overall UX

UX research can be broadly categorized into two types: qualitative and quantitative:

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding user attitudes, motivations, and experiences through methods such as:

• Interviews that dive deep into users’ thoughts and feelings about a product
• Focus groups where researchers explore collective user perspectives
• Observational studies where researchers observe users in their natural environment to see how they interact with a product or prototype
• Card sorting helps researchers understand how users naturally categorize information and navigate through digital product

Usability testing also falls under qualitative UX research as it involves evaluating how easily users can complete specific tasks within a product.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research involves collecting numerical data that can be analyzed statistically via methods like:

• Surveys and structured questionnaires that gather data from larger user bases
• Tools like Google Analytics provide insights into user behavior on websites
• Heatmap analyses, eye-tracking studies, click map studies, etc.

Usability Testing

• Usability testing is an important user research method within the broader scope of User Experience (UX) research
• It focuses on evaluating how effectively users can interact with a product to complete specific tasks
• The emphasis is on understanding how users interact with the product, what confuses them, and where they experience difficulties
• This process gives designers invaluable insights into user behavior
• It helps designers identify areas for improvement in their work and create product designs that meet user needs more effectively

Components of Usability Testing

Usability testing involves:

• Real users who are not familiar with the product
• The users are recruited and asked to complete specific tasks within the product that reflect real-world scenarios
• These tasks are designed to mimic how users would naturally interact with the product
• Researchers observe users (either in-person or remotely) as they navigate through the product
• They take note of their behaviors, frustrations, points of joy or confusion
• After completing tasks, users also provide subjective feedback on their experiences in interviews

By the end of a usability test, the design team will have:

• Real, observed data on how different types of users operate within the product
• Anecdotal data regarding the product’s usability

After the tests, researchers review the data collected to identify the most prevalent usability issues. They use the findings to strategically refine the product’s design and maximize its usability.

Differences Between the Research Methods

By now, it is probably clear that:

• UX research = a comprehensive process with a broader scope
• Usability testing = a specific type of evaluation that is a part of UX research

Here are all the other major differences between the two methods:

Purpose

• UX Research: To gather insights that inform design decisions and improve overall user experience
• Usability Testing: To identify specific usability issues in a product and assess its effectiveness

Scope

• UX Research: Interviews, surveys, and observational studies
• Usability Testing: Primarily involves task-based assessments where users interact with the product

Timing in the Design Process

• UX Research: Conducted early in the design process to shape concepts and ideas
• Usability Testing: Typically performed later, often on prototypes or final products, to refine specific usability-related issues

Outcome Focus

• UX Research: Provides insights that shape product direction and overall user experience
• Usability Testing: Identifies specific usability issues that need urgent resolution before product launch

Iterative Nature

• UX Research: This can be an ongoing process throughout the product lifecycle as new features are developed
• Usability Testing: Usually conducted in rounds during later stages of development to ensure usability improvements are implemented effectively

Feedback Type

• UX Research: Feedback is often open-ended and exploratory
• Usability Testing: Feedback is usually structured around specific tasks and scenarios

Conclusion

UX research and usability testing complement each other. Together, they help design teams create products ready to be adopted by the masses.

Here’s a recipe for maximizing your product’s chances of succeeding by integrating both methods:

• Start by performing UX research at the very beginning of the project
• Use methods like interviews, surveys, and observational studies to gather qualitative data about user preferences and pain points
• Use all of that information to guide your design direction and to develop prototypes
• Create high-fidelity (interactive) prototypes based on the UX research
• Plan for usability testing once you have a prototype ready
• Select participants who match your target audience and conduct usability testing
• Review both qualitative feedback (user comments) and quantitative data (task completion rates to iterate on the product’s design
• Make necessary adjustments to the design based on user feedback
• Resolve all identified usability issues before the final product launch
• After launch, conduct periodic UX research to guide future design decisions

To get the best of these two methods, find user experience research services that include usability tests. Give both methods equal importance.