# Usability Testing

> Plan and run usability tests that reveal friction, validate design decisions, and produce actionable findings. Use when evaluating prototypes or live product experiences with real or representative users.

- Skill: `itsual/usability-testing` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/usability-testing`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/usability-testing/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/usability-testing

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# Usability Testing

## Overview

Usability testing observes people trying to complete tasks. It answers whether the design works for users, not whether stakeholders like how it looks.

## When to Use

- Validating prototypes before build
- Diagnosing problems in live product flows
- Comparing design alternatives
- Building evidence for design changes

## Core Practices

- Define goals and priority tasks
- Recruit participants who match target users
- Use realistic scenarios and tasks
- Observe behavior; limit leading prompts
- Capture success, errors, time, and qualitative friction
- Synthesize findings into prioritized issues and recommendations

## Principles

- Test early with rough prototypes — perfection is not required
- Five users often reveal the majority of major issues for a given flow
- Focus on critical tasks tied to business and user outcomes
- Separate observation from interpretation in notes
- Share findings in a form teams can act on quickly

## Verification

- [ ] Tasks map to real user goals
- [ ] Findings are evidenced by observed behavior
- [ ] Recommendations are prioritized and actionable