Did you know that 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a website after a bad experience? Asking the right usability testing questionnaire questions is a vital part of UX research – so much so that we’ve written a guide to explain why asking them is so valuable for obtaining rich and reliable UX data.
Ultimately, there are two main components of gathering info and data through usability testing: tasks and questions. Today we’ll focus on the questions you ask.
Questions are especially great for adding all sorts of useful context to your findings and discovering more about the users themselves – who they are, what they like, etc.
Let’s dive a little deeper. We’ll also share some user testing questions examples to ask before, during, and after the main user test task.
What is usability testing?
Well, it’s a type of research method that gauges how effectively users interact with a product – with the overarching goal of improving the overall user experience. With the addition of ux user testing questions, you can get to know the human behind the participant and enrich your hypothesis with extra details on what they want and need from your product.
Take a read of another blog where we clarify the differences between user testing and usability testing. It may help you know which ux testing questions to ask!
Why should you ask usability testing questions?
The nature of asking questions is simple! The more you ask, the more you understand the who, what, and whys of your product’s usability. Beyond observations and tasks, extra questions are integral to UX research because they:
- Paint a bigger picture of your audience
- Provide feedback and opinions
- Validate your hypothesis
- Uncover issues, bugs, and pain points
- Show how user-friendly a product is
- Help you understand more about how users interact with a product
- Demonstrate whether a product works as intended
Questions to ask during usability testing
Here are a few types of user experience testing questions you might ask:
- Background questions on user demographics
- Questions that ask for an overall opinion about the brand/experience
- Reflective questions about the test itself
- More specific questions regarding the product design, function, visuals, language, etc.
These questions can be divided into three stages: pre-test questionnaire usability, post-test debriefing, and core questions asked during the test itself.
Our UserQ platform allows you to add what we call introductory and conclusion questions. We recommend always including these before and after the tests.
Before the test (introductory questions)
This stage aims to break the ice and gather background/demographic info on test participants. Examples of pre-test questionnaire usability questions include:
Demographic questions:
- What age group are you in? (Provide range options, e.g., 18-24, 25-30…)
- What is your current occupation?
- What is your household income?
Background questions:
- Do you already use X product?
- What is your average daily screen time?
- How experienced are you in using X product?
During the test
The ux testing questions during usability testing focus on the user’s interaction with the product. Examples include:
- What made you click on X?
- What are your thoughts on X design?
- How easy or difficult was X?
After the test (conclusion questions)
The post-test phase allows for debriefing and feedback. Examples of post usability test questions include:
- What’s your overall opinion on X?
- Did any tasks confuse you?
- Do you have any additional comments?
Best practices for asking the right usability testing questions
Lastly, here are a few tips to achieve best practice results with your usability testing questions.
#1 Prepare natural usability interview questions
In moderated usability tests, ask specific follow-up questions that feel natural and logical. Avoid disrupting the participant’s thoughts.
Avoid disrupting the participant’s thoughts.In moderated usability testing like interviews and focus groups, you can ask specific follow-up questions that prompt the user to explain their behaviour a bit more. Just make sure you keep the usability interview questions as natural, logical and free-flowing as possible to avoid disrupting the user’s thoughts.
Use your initiative as a moderator and see the questions as a guide rather than a script. Sometimes the observation itself is enough.
#2 Avoid leading questions
Ask unbiased questions, Leading questions like “Do you prefer X over Y?” or “Did you like X more?” can yield inaccurate and biased results. Instead, pose questions like “What do you prefer: X or Y?”
#3 Don’t ask too many
Stick to a smaller number of ux user testing questions to avoid overwhelming participants.
a maximum of three easy ones as you don’t want any type of test to last any longer than 45 minutes to an hour (preferably much shorter!).
#4 Use scenario-based questions
Use scenarios to frame ux testing questions
For example, if you’re investigating online shopping behaviour you might write something like “You’re looking for a special item of clothing for your three-year-old daughter, where might you look?”. With this style of open-ended question, you avoid triggering a specific action so you can simply observe their autonomous behaviour instead.
In the meantime, check out our latest blog on more best practices for remote research methods in general. You can use it as a blueprint for all the remote tools we have across our platform.
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