Usability testing doesn’t have to be complicated. There are dozens of options for a design team that wants to remotely test their solutions. To prove that, we’ve redesigned Yelp, with the help of remote usability tests.
We ran remote usability tests because they’re fast and affordable. All of these tests were unmoderated, which means the users ran them in the comfort of their own homes. While this gives us less control, it provides for more natural results. Because their reactions were recorded, we encouraged them to think out loud.
It’s vital to understand that there is no single magic approach. There are a wide selection of tactics ranging from usability lab studies to simple email surveys, and they all have their time and place. We went with a remote usability test because it strikes a nice balance between speed, accuracy, and cost.
In this article we’ll explain why qualitative research matters, explain the insights, and show how they were built into the new design.
