Usability testing tools are often overlooked by businesses too keen to launch an internally tested and approved product. UX professionals have an extended toolkit stretching from low-fidelity prototyping to usability testing and other forms of stakeholder collaboration. Along with internal user testing, these steps provide invaluable feedback before a potential misdirected product launch.

This wouldn’t be possible without the user testing platforms that enable businesses’ usability testing processes without the need for specialist skills or highly trained experts. Let’s dive into some of the top usability testing tools available today, and how they can change your UX workflows.

 is when you invite real users to test your prototype by interacting directly with part of, or the entire prototype. Usability testing allows the product team, including the UX designers, to gather invaluable data from verbal and non-verbal feedback.

User testing has evolved from gathering test users in a room and taking notes, to a modern scientific process. Different vertical specific usability testing best practices are appearing, with subcategories such as mobile usability testing leading to the creation of specific usability testing tools.

UX professionals will want to make the most of usability testing to evaluate how potential paying customers will use the product, and if it meets the targeted needs, or replies to a whole different use case that you didn’t anticipate. A usability test is the perfect moment to identify any overlooked UX design issues, giving you the insight at the right time to go in and make modifications to your prototype before moving on to production.

Usability testing can target part of the prototypes’ functionality, or the entire product. Best practices suggest setting specific goals for each usability test, preferring multiple small usability tests over a shotgun approach.

Different usability testing methods for great results

By using different types of usability tests, you will receive key feedback that will shape your end product. Before diving into the different usability testing tools out there, let’s take a quick look at a few different usability testing methods available.

Set up a stall in a busy location and ask random participants to test your product. Guerilla usability testing provides some feedback, such as emotional responses you can gauge from the test users’ expressions. However, this is a purely randomized test, meaning that you may not be hitting your target demographic. The risk is receiving a great amount of irrelevant information.

Lab-based usability testing in a controlled environment, it’s the opposite of guerilla testing. When you’re ready to deep-dive into acquiring specific feedback, this is how you want to do it. Lab usability testing is a supervised process with a moderator who controls the test environment and steers the experience in the direction you need.

All of the above make this method a potentially costly exercise, with the amount of potential test users limited by the size and scope of the lab environment used.

This method can be used long after a product goes to market. Interviews and surveys are the feedback gathering tool by excellence, allowing you to gather potentially massive amounts of feedback in a short amount of time.

The caveat with this method is that you will spend more time sorting through information than organizing the usability test.

Encouraged by the recent digitalization of all things business, remote usability testing is more popular than ever. Thanks to solid innovation in prototyping processes and 

, you can run both unmoderated and moderated usability tests with a few clicks.

Depending on your choice of usability testing tools, you will be able to:

Record verbal and/or non-verbal reactions

Record the user testers' interactions with the prototype

Guide the user tester through tasks, or leave them completely free to explore

Provide specific questions to gather feedback

Have a moderator accompany them through the usability test

Meta use high-fidelity prototypes in their remote usability testing.

We’ve put together our favorite usability testing tools that we think you should consider including in your UX design workflows.

This top usability testing tools list is segmented between the simpler options, established names, tools that work great with leading prototyping solutions, and some honorable mentions.

: remote video usability testing made easy for ProtoPie prototypes

Running usability tests through Lookback is a great way to test the waters when user testing your first prototypes. The solution is built with simplicity in mind. This means that you can run moderated and unmoderated usability tests, and receive amazing video feedback.

Video is a key strength of Lookback, which goes beyond simple video recordings to provide functionality such as livestreams with hidden observation rooms for multiple stakeholders to gather feedback in real time.

One of the best parts of Lookback is that they remove the need for a third party platform to gather and organize your thoughts. Feedback is saved directly against the video, with timestamped notes and a chat functionality that allows your team to collaborate in real time.

Lookback is a BYO (bring your own) test users solution, which means that they do not provide a marketplace or panel for you to find prospective usability testers. This is neither a pro or a con, it boils down to personal preference, although it does require a bit more planning.

It’s not all plain sailing for UX designers using Lookback’s user testing platform though. The barriers to entry can make it counterintuitive and difficult for some to grasp. Each user is required to download apps or plugins, depending on the platform or web browser they are connecting from.

Performance has also been an ongoing issue, with periodic connection issues resulting in connectivity drops in the middle of a usability test. To add to user woes, there was a time where the iOS app had dire performance.

Powerful video functionality such as high quality livestreams as well as recordings

Observation rooms for multiple stakeholders simultaneously

Save feedback directly in the video, with timestamps

Collaborate with your colleagues through a built-in chat functionality

Accessible remote usability testing with both moderated and unmoderated options

Amazing video feedback as well as livestream functionality

Great file management keeping all your usability test feedback in one place

Your user testing events may be forfeited due to connection issues

Onboarding testers is not always straightforward due to the required browser plugins and apps that must be downloaded

Lookback works on an annual subscription model with different plans offering quotas of usability test sessions (starting at 100 tests per year for $99).

But the real cost doesn’t stop here. Using Lookback will also require you to invest extra time and resources into finding test users, and managing them outside of the platform. Furthermore, the potential connectivity issues that are known on the platform could cause some disruption and extra costs.

If you choose to use Lookback, do so with plenty of foresight, and avoid tight deadlines.

: the industry leading usability testing platform with rich functionality

Wherever you look, UserZoom appears to have great reviews and overwhelmingly positive feedback. One of the original usability testing solutions, UserZoom started-out offering moderated usability tests. They have since grown into what can be described as a powerful user experience platform, and one that any UX designer should be familiar with.

UserZoom has cemented its position in the user testing marketplace by offering a plethora of functionality. When searching for prototype feedback, you can carry out interviews, conduct surveys, and of course, run moderated and unmoderated usability tests for valuable UX insights.

If the above paragraph is giving you functionality anxiety, you’ll love the way UserZoom has built its product offering. They’ve split their solution into two distinct platforms: UserZoom and UserZoom Go.

UserZoom is the complete package, rather complex, replying to those big project needs with bucket loads of feedback and data. UserZoom Go, on the other hand, is a great solution built for qualitative studies. The latter is a leading user testing platform in its own right, and you’ll be able to gather all the UX insights you require when testing your prototypes.

UserZoom’s strengths remain in quantitative testing, with functionality such as card sorts and tree tests that really take your complex user testing requirements to the next level. The solution is growing fast, and is being used by around 50% of the fortune 100 companies in the US.

This solution is often compared to our next entrant, UserTesting, which appears to be a preferred choice for qualitative testing. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as UserZoom Go is the result of the company acquiring Validately and rebranding the product.

Long standing solution with years of experience

Diverse functionality options and usability testing methods

UserZoom Go perfect for smaller scale, qualitative focused tests

Acquired alongside UserTesting, potentially providing the best of both solutions in the future

Extensive quantitative user testing functionality

The only company that offers a large variety of testing options and methods for complex testing

Is known to prioritize larger customers both at a product and a service level

Expensive with regular price increases as once you start using it can be hard to switch

Their UserZoom Go product lacks the cutting edge that other providers specializing in UX prototype testing offer

As with any product targeting big contracts, the pricing is opaque and custom per client. It factors in a number of requirements, and requires interaction with the sales team to obtain a quote.

The solution is not a subscription model, but per-seat licensing, which again can be very expensive as the number of users in your organization multiply.

Finally, due to the complicated nature of user testing that the platform is designed for, obtaining results can take an extended amount of time. Storing the vast amounts of feedback and data can also be difficult, due to the lack of integrated solution..

Although an interesting option and a pillar of user testing, UserZoom clearly caters more to the larger enterprise-sized customers with complex needs.

: streamline your information gathering with the highlight reel king

Here’s an interesting fact about UserTesting and UserZoom: they were both acquired in 2022 by Thoma Bravo. Regardless of the solution you choose between UserTesting and UserZoom today, you may eventually be able to get the best of both in a new combined product soon!

As a standalone platform for usability testing, UserTesting is one of the original unmoderated solutions that was made available. Having so much experience and time to build, they are a force to be reckoned with and are the usability testing case study solution.

Not only do they offer an intuitive workflow to set up your useability testing environment on a per project basis, but they have also created usability testing templates. You can simply jump in and create a test for a Prototype or an App in a few clicks.

Offering mobile usability testing out of the box is not the only arrow in UserTesting’s quiver. They’ve built one of the largest user panels in the world, with over 1.5 million participants in their tester pool. With a ranking system incorporated, product designers can easily find quality test users in ample numbers on demand.

These test users can be provided with a set-by-step process for their usability tests, provided through UserTesting’s own UsabilityHub functionality. As a UX designer, we’ve noted in the previous article the importance of testing specific functionality. UsabilityHub is a great tool to achieve the levels of granularity you need when searching for specific UX insights.

The feedback can either be in video or written format, and there is a fun live conversations option that allows you to see the testers reactions and intonation in real-time, which can be a huge giveaway!

The pinnacle of UserTesting’s functionality comes in the form of their highlight reel. Being able to highlight key moments during a usability test and then share them directly with other stakeholders is both a timesaver, and a way to avoid missing something important.

A well-known name in the industry for unmoderated usability testing

Simple workflow functionality for easy testing set-up

Mobile usability testing as part of the core product

Our usability testing “who’s who” to help you test your products in 2023.

Top 5 Usability Testing Tools in 2023

The Differences Between UX and Product Design

With technology now taking over much of the world, businesses are looking for ways to make products more user-friendly and accessible with the help of UX and product design. But, what’s the difference between those two design disciplines?

In the age of digital marketing, UX designers help companies create more user-friendly websites or software applications. Product designers, on the other hand, work on improving consumer experience and next-generation technologies.

While these two types of design might sound very similar at first, 

UX and product design have some significant differences in how they operate.

Let's look at UX and product design and the contrast between the two disciplines.

 refers to the method design teams employ to develop products that offer meaningful and pertinent user flow experiences. UX design includes branding, 

, and functional components in obtaining and integrating the desired result.

UX designers work to create an environment for users that provides value and delivers a positive experience to users.

UX design combines various elements that determine how effectively products provide relevant user experiences. The following five steps of UX design help UX designers turn an idea into a working product.

Here are the different elements of UX design:

 At the surface level, user interface design includes all visual elements of an application. It consists of the images, buttons, and text on a web page or programming interface.

 The skeleton is the underlying structure of the product's static interfaces, such as a website, software program, or device, and is the structure that holds an interface together. UX designers must understand how to create a skeleton that doesn't decrease functionality.

 The structure defines how the various features and functions of the product fit together. User experience designers consider how their products interact with users. They look at how people perceive a product's usability and understand what elements need to get created for user navigation.

 The purpose of the scope of a product includes anticipating potential functions users will want and designing a product's structure based on its strategy that stays focused on those specified needs.

: At the strategy level, UX designers figure out how to align all the product's functionalities with a company's strategic vision. They must consider what the people running the product hope for and what the consumers hope to gain.

The goal is to create a practical, efficient, 

The UX design process also aims to increase customer happiness and loyalty by enhancing a product's interaction's utility, usability, and enjoyment.

Other advantages of UX design include that it increases the conversion rate for a business. UX is important no matter what product you’re creating, be it a 

If you have a bad UX, then it will result in fewer website visitors and fewer purchases. A lack of sales means your business will struggle to thrive and grow.

Next to UX design, there’s also UI design. UX and UI (user interface) designers use similar methods and techniques to create web pages and apps or other interfaces that are functional, easy to use, and aesthetically pleasing.

While UX design focuses on the user's experience when using a product, UI design primarily uses attractive images, graphics, and text to make it easy for users to interact with the sites or products. UX design looks at how well users can navigate a web page or application, while UI design is more concerned with aesthetics and how well the site performs.

One similarity between the two is that they both make use of 

 in a bid to ensure all the bugs are ironed out before launch.

The user experience of Amazon's website is great because its navigation has unique functions that enable you to expand the navigation panel, remove items from a shopping cart, or add an item to a wish list. The simple design of their toolbar helps Amazon users browse products, create lists, and check for prices.

Product design refers to how companies create products that solve consumer problems and satisfy user needs. Product designers interact with people, products, and the environment in the design thinking process.

The following three elements of product design help create products that meet consumer needs:

 Product designers consider how people will use a product and which features will help them accomplish the goals they set out to achieve. In designing products, product design teams focus on how well their products meet the user's needs. They also try to anticipate what functionality users are willing to purchase.

 On top of considering functionality, product designers try to create aesthetically pleasing products. They may incorporate 

, color schemes, and graphics into the product.

 Product designers must consider how much a product costs and determine whether the price is fair for customers. They look at how well a product could compete against similar products that are already available for purchase.

Product design focuses on creating a successful product that meets client needs with specific features and functions. Designers must consider the constraints of economic, legal, marketing, and user interfaces in the design process when creating a digital product.

Product design is important because it helps to shape the entire product experience into a positive one and triggers interest in the product. Having a great product design helps you to make sales and encourages customer loyalty.

Apple iPhone is an awesome product design example. Apple created a smartphone that brought a functional experience to the market and has dominated the market share since its launch.

The iPhone's user-friendly features include a simple interface, advanced features like Siri voice control, advanced security features such as FaceTime video chatting, easy access to email attachments via the mail app, and multitasking capabilities. Apple's focus on making smartphones intuitive has led to high customer satisfaction. 

UX design vs. product design: the differences

UX and product design are closely related and often use the same approaches to 

. However, there are numerous disparities between the two disciplines.

Here are the differences between product design and UX design in terms of:

UX designers are primarily concerned with 

 and interactivity features for websites, apps, and digital interfaces in the entire design process. They aim to create a user experience that functions well and allows users to navigate the product quickly.

 job focuses on meeting consumer needs by creating tangible products tailored to client needs.

UX designers are primarily concerned with how people interact with products, while product designers are concerned with how the product looks and its overall design. UX focuses on the practicality of a product and leads teams to create solutions.

Product design is more involved with aesthetics and style.

UX designers work to improve the user's experience with the product, while product designers must consider the design's cost, function, and overall usability. UX designers work closely together with other teams to create an end product.

Product designers usually work alone or as part of a team to create a design for a specific product.

UX designers must have design skills to create visually appealing and user-friendly designs. Product design requires technical skills in manufacturing, 

UX designers must have experience with graphic design software, prototyping tools (such as 

Product designers need to have experience with 3D modeling software, CAD (computer-aided design), or industrial design tools. CAD creates digital files of products that are ready for manufacturing.

UX designers learn about user experience design via digital web design programs and by attending a UX 

. Qualified UX designers often need a bachelor's degree in UX design or a related field and adequate experience in the design career.

Product designers gain expertise in product development from industrial design, mechanical engineering, or software development. Product designers must have a degree and technical training in engineering, manufacturing, or product development.

A UX designer's average salary is around 

 In contrast, a product designer's average salary is about 

The use of technology has influenced UX design, and we’ve seen a trend toward rapid and 

New tools designed for web design have made the process more efficient and attainable. Mobile apps and e-commerce sites continue to develop rapidly, creating a high demand for UX designers.

 in product design is the shift from a physical focus on making products to creating intangible digital products, such as websites or apps.

Product and UX design help create a product that satisfies the end user's needs in the ever-changing business world. Although the two may have similar goals, the differences between the two are huge and need to be taken into account when deciding between the two.

The main differences between the two are job responsibilities and the focus of the work.

UX designers are responsible for usability, whereas product designers ensure the product meets the consumer's needs. UX designers focus on the interactions within the product, and product designers focus on the overall aesthetics of the product.

Both the UX designer and the product designer roles are important for successful product development.

Looking to improve your UX design process? 

Some differences between UX and product design are subtle. Knowing them is vital if you want to break into the design industry or hire a designer for your company.

Smartwatch UX design has been steadily gaining in importance in recent years. As Apple's 

 such as the recent Apple Watch 8 have exploded in popularity, so has the need for powerful wearable apps. Prototyping plays a huge part in smartwatch UX design. It can arguably be more important for newer devices which require more care throughout the design process.

Let's take a deep dive into prototyping for the Pixel Watch, and any other WearOS device, and find out how to successfully create smartwatch prototypes.

What makes prototyping for smartwatches different?

Smartwatch UX design as a whole is quite different from web app or smartphone oriented processes. There are a number of restrictions to take into account when working on a smartwatch interface and the UX interactions. These restrictions do not only limit your potential smartwatch UX designs on the wearable device. In fact, they also open up new opportunities for smart UX designers to get creative:

Smartwatches have less than a third of the screen size of a smartphone

These wearable devices are powered by smaller chips providing less power for intricate UX designs

Wearable device users are generally looking for extended battery life

Smartwatch UX doesn't stop with the watch, it extends onto the paired smartphone app

How do smartwatch UX design restrictions impact prototyping for the Pixel Watch?

 and is submitted to the same restrictions, even if it is the only WearOS device made by Google themselves. This nuance may give them a slight advantage when it comes to Google's own apps and their performance, but that's about it.

 is a crucial part of the UX design process. In fact, Google uses third party prototyping tools to make sure their smartphone and smartwatch applications work as intended. The Pixel Watch has remained shrouded in secrecy since it's announcement in May of 2022. All the more reason to have some solid smartwatch UX design processes in place for your new apps.

What we do know is that the device will have a small, rounded screen, and will be powered by Google's WearOS. How well it performs compared to other leading WearOS devices such as Samsung's range of smartwatches remains to be seen. As does how your smartwatch UI designs will fit in the rounded screen.

There is a smart way to get around smartwatch UX design restrictions, especially the small screen size and limited power potential. In fact, this is the only realistic way to build smartwatch UX designs that will not leave your users dissatisfied by the performance, or the smartwatch UI.

Starting your design process with the mindset that your smartwatch and your smartphone are not two distinct screens, but a pair that work in tandem, is a game changer. This allows you to not only optimize the user experience, but to provide a sense of satisfaction that comes from having two devices work seamlessly together.

The Pixel Watch is no exception. In fact, you will not be able to get the most out of a Pixel Watch without pairing it with a smartphone. Google has decided that this device will carry the same limitation as the Apple Watch 8: you will only be able to pair it with an Android device (against an iOS device for the Apple Watch).

Smartwatch prototypes need to be tested across devices

By treating the smartwatch and smartphones as a pair, cross-device testing becomes a necessity. The interactions between devices need to be fluid and logical, as they are most often initiated from the smaller device.

Whether prototyping the Pixel Watch, or any other Android smartwatch, you’ll need to specifically test at least the following:

Navigation between screens including cross device navigation

Your smartwatch UX design meets specific use cases

How the smartwatch UI fits on the specific screen format

Responsiveness and performance - especially when using media and animations

Some of these prototyping elements may seem obvious, but when working within the restrictions of smartwatch UX design, the tiniest of tweaks can make a huge difference.

Focus on the core functionality for your smartwatch UX

Before even talking about Pixel Watch prototyping, you need to make sure your Pixel Watch UX design process is adapted. You can read more about 

. In the meantime, we need to talk about core functionality.

When building your UX designs for smartwatches you need to design with purpose. Smaller screens, less power under the hood, and a need to preserve battery life are a handful of the reasons why smartwatch UX design is crucial. Go back to your initial ideation phase and ask yourself why. Why did you decide to explore creating this product? If you haven’t already, run some early stage usability tests on early prototypes and see if your ideas match with the users’ intuition.

Realistic prototyping for the Pixel Watch - test and iterate from day one

Does the idea of running early usability tests send shivers down your spine? If you’re trying to DIY your testing, then the idea of extra workload alongside your UX design is definitely a scary thought. You can change things up for your Pixel Watch processes, benefit from realistic prototyping, and never look back.

? Simply put, you take all of the benefits of high-fidelity prototyping, and execute them in a rapid prototyping environment. How? Magic. Well, software magic, and some great UX design workflow changes. ProtoPie allows you to build new UX design processes that drastically change your output. Instead of working in low-fidelity, and then moving onto high-fidelity prototyping, you’ll be empowered to build your dream UX designs early on.

By building realistic prototypes for your Pixel Watch, you can test sooner and with better prototypes. Your testers will provide real feedback, as they can test your smartwatch UX designs on the wearable devices themselves. In fact, you can set-up 

, and provide users with a Pixel Watch and a paired smartphone. They will get the full intended experience from your smartwatch UX designs, and you will get the feedback you need to identify the core functionality to focus on.

Watch out for information overload when building your Pixel Watch UX

You’ve identified your core functionality and are testing and iterating regularly. You understand what your target audience wants out of your product, and have established the core functionality you must build. How do you make this work within the restrictive environment of a smartwatch UI?

This is where being smart with information and how you present it within your Pixel Watch UI designs comes into play.

The great thing about ProtoPie is that you can test these designs on a real Pixel Watch, and not a simulation. Not only does this mean you get a real sense for size and scale, but you can also accurately judge the impacts on performance that your Pixel Watch UX design changes cause.

Displaying information is the most crucial part of your future Pixel Watch UX flows. Most popular WearOS apps either display or record data in a convenient way. This data then needs to be made readily available for the user, either on the smartwatch’s UI or on the paired smartphone app. Delivering great apps for your Pixel Watch users means:

Being able to choose which information is crucial

Displaying crucial information without distractions

Being able to put convenience ahead of everything else (sometimes)

Making the right decisions for your Pixel Watch UI designs

How can you test information display when Pixel Watch prototyping?

Depending on the app that you are building for your Pixel Watch, your test parameters will vary. But there are always some best practices to abide by when building smartwatch UX designs, which should translate into your Pixel Watch prototypes:

1. Evaluate if your smartwatch app is glanceable

We talk about interaction cost in more detail in our 

. If your Pixel Watch prototype is glanceable then, for the core information, you’ve managed to keep your interaction cost low. When seeking information on our wrist, we do not want to twist and turn or spend forever waiting for the right information to appear.

Make sure your Pixel Watch prototype displays core information that takes a few seconds to process. For any further information that can be judged as superfluous, do not display it on the Pixel Watch UI. Save it for the paired smartphone app, or keep it on a second screen that you can scroll to on the watch.

2. How many interaction layers does your Pixel Watch UI have?

When building a smartwatch app you want to be efficient and convenient. This also means keeping the number of layers low. Create a single purpose for each screen, and use scrolling or swiping to add extra information.

When prototyping your Pixel Watch app, run usability tests that specifically target these interactions and see just how well your Pixel Watch UX does. If you find your testers swiping for their lives in a bid to find some core information, your UX design may need more tweaking.

3. Use notifications to deliver time sensitive information without being too intrusive

Whether informing you of a payment you just made with your Pixel Watch, or letting you know you’ve managed to run 3 miles in a record time, notifications should always have a purpose. They are a great way to deliver core information in a timely way, and an amazing resource when building your smartwatch UX flows to gamify things.

A well timed notification will provoke a bit of a dopamine high, and have your users keen to repeat the process. There is also a great sense of satisfaction that comes with receiving expected notifications, such as a payment alert (especially when receiving a payment). When setting-up your usability tests make sure to include notifications as part of the experience. You can ask:

If the notifications were too often or not often enough

If the notifications were easily dismissed

If they felt any personal information was displayed

If the haptics accompanying the notification were useful or an unnecessary distraction

Pixel Watch Prototyping with the right UX design tools

UX designers and creatives who want to design amazing products deserve the best tools. At ProtoPie, we’ve built a solution that takes prototyping your designs to the next level. This includes Pixel Watch prototyping which you can take to the next level using ProtoPie for wearables and smartwatches.

Are you ready to tackle Pixel Watch prototyping?

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