Usability testing for websites, apps and prototypes: we watch real people complete real tasks, record their gaze, paths and clicks, and then ask them why they did what they did.
0taps recorded · orange marks repeated taps on the banner
A session, step by step
Ana’s story
Usability testing evaluates the customer and user experience through typical tasks on a website, app, online store or prototype. Here’s how it works in practice.
01
Meet Ana
34, shops on her phone every week. She was recruited to match the profile defined for the study.
02
Welcome and consent
She gets instructions and consents to having the session recorded and to eye tracking.
03
The task
“Find a gift under R$ 100 and add it to your cart.” Her gaze and every tap are recorded.
04
The stumble
Ana taps the deals banner three times. It doesn’t go anywhere, so she goes back to search.
05
Retrospective Think Aloud
At the end, Ana watches the recording of her own session and explains what she was thinking.
I thought the banner went straight to the deals.
06
The questionnaire
She rates the task’s ease at 3 out of 7 and answers questions about clarity and trust.
07
The report
The banner is flagged as a critical issue, with a recommendation to link it to the deals.
Fictional character and scenario.
Toolbox
What we evaluate in each study
Navigation paths
We compare each participant’s path with the expected one and show where people give up.
Takeaway: most people drop off at the cart.
Clicks and taps
Click and tap maps show what people expect to be clickable, including elements that don’t go anywhere.
Takeaway: lots of clicks on the product photo, which doesn’t zoom.
Concept evaluation
We test sketches, screens and clickable prototypes with your audience, who rate each option on clarity, appeal and ease of use.
24%Concept A58%Concept B18%Concept C
Why: in concept B, the button appears next to the product image.
A/B testing for websites
We compare two versions of a page or flow with participants from your target audience, measuring success, time and clicks, and explaining the difference.
58%Version A · success86%Version B · success
Why: in version A, the button sits below the fold and has low contrast.
Illustrative data.
Retrospective Think Aloud
First, people do. Then they explain.
In Retrospective Think Aloud (RTA), participants complete the tasks in silence, just as they would at home. Afterward, they watch a recording of their session with their gaze path overlaid and talk through what they were thinking at each moment.
Natural behaviorSince they don’t have to talk while browsing, participants behave as they normally would.
Time and gaze intactTalking doesn’t skew the task measures.
Video as a memory aidWatching their own path helps them explain each decision.
▶
Session 07 · recording reviewAna talks through her task
First I went to search, but I didn’t know what to type.
And what did you expect to find on this screen?
That banner looked like the button to see the deals.
I tapped three times and nothing happened. I thought the app had frozen.
Illustrative quotes.
Post-test questionnaire
The experience translated into numbers
After the tasks, participants fill out a post-test questionnaire covering how easy each task was, an overall rating of the experience and questions about clarity, trust and intent to use.
Intent to use
5/8
Attention
participants would use the app again. The rest said the deals were hard to find.
Ease by task (1 to 7)
Task 16
Task 23
Task 35
Task 46
Client case
60+
participants in eye tracking tests on the portal of an organization that supports entrepreneurs. The portal was redesigned based on the study.
Usability tests use small groups per user profile, because the most important issues tend to surface again and again in the first few sessions. When there are different profiles, such as new and long-standing customers, each gets its own group. Checon recommends the right number in the proposal, based on your objectives and the profiles involved.
It’s a technique in which participants complete the tasks naturally and then watch a recording of their own session, with their gaze path overlaid, describing what they were thinking at each moment. Because they don’t have to talk while browsing, their behavior, timing and gaze aren’t affected, and their comments are more complete.
What’s the difference between usability testing and A/B testing?
An A/B test compares two versions and shows which performs better. A usability test shows why: where people get confused, what they look for and what they miss. Checon tests versions A and B with participants from your target audience, measuring success, time, clicks and preference, and explains what drives the difference.
Yes. Testing prototypes and concepts before development is one of the most cost-effective ways to avoid rework. We can test anything from sketches and static screens to clickable prototypes, comparing layout and flow options.
After the tasks, participants fill out a post-test questionnaire. It covers how easy each task was, an overall rating of the experience and specific questions about clarity, trust and intent to use.
A report of the issues found, prioritized by severity, with recommendations, plus videos of key moments, click maps and heatmaps, navigation paths and the post-test questionnaire results.
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