User Testing Methods Comparison Chart

At some point in your career, you may need to test the effectiveness and desirability of a product you are designing. Whether it's a software product or not, there are seven user testing methods will be your arsenal for ensuring that you build a successful product. Rather than explaining each in-depth via text, I've created a succinct comparison chart including each method's advantages, disadvantages, and whether they have any of five attributes (Reliability/Precision, Generalizability, Realism, Ease, and Comparison).

This chart condenses information I gathered while participating in Coursera's Human Computer Interaction course. Click on the image for a larger version.

Notes:

• Evaluation is both a science and an art.

• You should employ multiple methods because each one answers different questions.

• Some methods are more effective at certain times in the design cycle.

• The use patterns of your product can be context-dependent and evolve over time.