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The People Nerds Guide to Usability

Usability tests are a powerful way to understand how users interact with a service or product. This guide shows you how to avoid common pitfalls.


What is the ideal sample size for usability testing? How should you write your tasks? And what are the best metrics for your team to measure?

From overarching goals and best practices to metrics and analysis, this guide will lead you through all the basic concepts to prepare you for your next study.

More than just a one-time read through, this guide offers checklists and field reports that you can keep coming back to for tactical tools and inspiration.

What you'll find inside:

Usability goals and best practices

Learn when it's best to use this method—and when it's best to steer clear.

Usability testing metrics

Pinpoint the best metrics that tell a story and create actionable insights.

Usability test checklist

Pull up this checklist time and again when you're ready to start a new mission.

Case studies and examples

See how Dropbox approached usability testing and the impact it had on their study.


Usability Testing Primer

Keep it handy for future reference

Return to this small (but powerful) guide time and again when you need an instant template, reference point, or brush-up on your skills.

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