SUMMARY
Purpose: Usability testing uncovers how real users interact with your product, surfacing usability issues and opportunities through observation and qualitative feedback.
Design Thinking Phase: Test
Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
When to use:Before launching a new product or feature to validate the experienceWhen redesigning an existing journey or improving conversion flowsTo compare multiple design directions based on real user behaviour
What it is
Usability testing is a qualitative research method where real users perform tasks using your product while researchers observe and take notes. The goal is to identify usability issues, understand user behaviours, and gather direct feedback to inform design decisions.
📺 Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.
Why it matters
Qualitative usability testing reveals the “why” behind user behaviour — the confusion, delays, and drop-offs that analytics alone can’t explain. It empowers product teams to create more intuitive, accessible, and satisfying experiences by grounding decisions in real-world interaction data.
When to use
- Low-fidelity wireframe evaluations to validate early decisions
- Prototype walk-throughs during design sprints
- Live product reviews for identifying post-launch refinements
Benefits
- Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that aren’t visible in metrics.
- Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
- User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.
How to use it
1. Define clear research goals tied to the current product lifecycle stage.
2. Recruit 5–8 participants who reflect real user personas. Prioritise diversity in experience level and device usage.
3. Draft essential task scenarios relevant to your UX hypotheses (e.g., “Find and share a product page link”).
4. Facilitate 1:1 sessions remotely or in person. Let users speak aloud as they complete tasks with minimal guidance.
5. Observe and note behavioural patterns, confusion, unexpected paths, or misinterpretation.
6. Synthesise findings using affinity mapping, prioritise issues, and connect insights to design actions.
Example Output
Session Summary (fictional)
- “Edit profile” flow on a mobile banking app
- Key Issue: 3 of 6 testers failed to locate the 'change phone number' option — buried under two nested settings screens
- Observation: Users searched top and bottom navigation first, then gave up after ~25 seconds
- Insight: Info architecture doesn’t reflect user mental model of common account edits
- Recommendation: Relocate high-frequency edits (phone, email, password) to top-level menu with clear labelling
Common Pitfalls
- Leading the participant: Avoid hinting or steering responses — stay neutral and curious.
- Too many tasks: Limit sessions to 3–5 core flows to avoid fatigue and maintain focus.
- Lack of synthesis rigour: Convert raw notes into themes and actionable design decisions, not just a transcript of sessions.
10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for Usability Testing – UX/UI Edition
How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)
Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method — a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.
C.S.I.R. stands for:
- Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
- Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
- Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
- Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)
Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders — no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First one’s free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.
Prompt Template 1: “Uncover Usability Test Tasks and Scenarios:”
Uncover Usability Test Tasks and Scenarios:
Context: You are a UX researcher preparing a qualitative usability test for a [new feature or flow] on a [mobile app/web dashboard].
Specific Info: Users must complete [main job-to-be-done], and you suspect issues around [navigation/discoverability/form inputs].
Intent: Generate 4–6 realistic user tasks that prompt exploration and highlight key pain points.
Response Format: Return a numbered list of brief, scenario-style tasks written in natural language.
Ask for clarification on feature scope or device type if not clear.
Prompt a next-step idea after each task suggestion.
Prompt Template 2: “Analyse and Cluster Usability Findings:”
Analyse and Cluster Usability Findings:
Context: You are a UX designer who has just completed 5 moderated usability sessions for a [checkout flow] on a [retail website].
Specific Info: You've captured notes with quotes, behaviours, and reactions from users who completed tasks.
Intent: Group findings into usability themes and prioritise by severity and frequency.
Response Format: Output an affinity map-style table with columns for Theme, Notes, Severity, and Recommendation.
Ask for clarification if qualitative or quantitative notes are missing.
Suggest one framework (e.g., Jakob Nielsen's heuristics) for tagging each issue.
Prompt Template 3: “Rewrite Overcomplicated Task Instructions:”
Rewrite Overcomplicated Task Instructions:
Context: You're facilitating usability testing with mixed-experience users on a [multi-step signup process].
Specific Info: Existing task instructions are too technical and cause confusion during sessions.
Intent: Rewrite the instructions to be simple, task-oriented, and neutral while keeping core scenario context.
Response Format: Offer the revised instruction and explain the change made.
Ask for clarification on user reading level or technical familiarity before rewriting.
Suggest one tactic for making instructions more relatable to end users.
Prompt Template 4: “Identify User Hesitation Moments in Session Notes:”
Identify User Hesitation Moments in Session Notes:
Context: You’re analysing session notes from a usability test focused on a [settings feature] that has multiple configuration paths.
Specific Info: Notes include timestamps and observed actions per participant.
Intent: Surface moments of hesitation, confusion, or backtracking that signal usability friction.
Response Format: Return a timeline summary marking each hesitation moment with possible cause and suggested UI change.
Ask for clarification if timestamps or behaviours are ambiguous.
Propose one visualisation to align the insights with design conversations.
Prompt Template 5: “Create a Post-Test Stakeholder Summary:”
Create a Post-Test Stakeholder Summary:
Context: You need to present usability test outcomes to a cross-functional team (product, dev, design).
Specific Info: The test covered a [beta version of onboarding], with 6 users completing 3 tasks.
Intent: Generate a digestible summary that frames findings into business impact and priority fixes.
Response Format: Return a bulleted one-pager with 3 sections: Top Issues, User Quotes, and Next Steps.
Ask for clarification on the team's familiarity with usability tests.
Recommend one visual aid to bring findings to life (e.g., highlight reel).
Prompt Template 6: “Summarise User Behaviour Patterns Across Sessions:”
Summarise User Behaviour Patterns Across Sessions:
Context: You ran usability tests with multiple personas using different device types on a [responsive web interface].
Specific Info: You need to detect consistent behaviour patterns across users despite path and device variation.
Intent: Extract common strategies, mental models, or unexpected workarounds used by users.
Response Format: Provide a comparison table by persona detailing navigation patterns and usability surprises.
If data is incomplete, ask which personas or screens to focus on.
Recommend one follow-up research question based on patterns found.
Prompt Template 7: “Prioritise Usability Issues by Impact and Effort:”
Prioritise Usability Issues by Impact and Effort:
Context: After a usability test, your team has documented 12+ usability issues for a [financial product dashboard].
Specific Info: Each issue has supporting quotes, frequency count, and initial fix ideas.
Intent: Use the data to sort issues by user impact and dev effort to guide sprint planning.
Response Format: Return a 2x2 priority matrix with concise labels and descriptions.
Ask for clarification if impact or effort data is vague.
Suggest one collaborative method for validating the prioritisation with the dev team.
Prompt Template 8: “Craft Interview Follow-up Questions from Session Notes:”
Craft Interview Follow-up Questions from Session Notes:
Context: After initial usability sessions, you’re scheduling follow-ups to dig deeper into users' thought processes.
Specific Info: Session notes highlight friction in [goal setting UX], but reasons remain unclear.
Intent: Create 5–7 open-ended interview questions to explore user expectations and decision-making.
Response Format: Return a list of plain-language questions aligned with observed behaviours.
Ask for clarification on any jargon or UI elements mentioned.
Recommend one moderation tip to increase insight depth during follow-ups.
Prompt Template 9: “Redesign a Flow Based on Key Usability Issues:”
Redesign a Flow Based on Key Usability Issues:
Context: Your usability test exposed major friction points in a [3-step scheduling flow] on desktop.
Specific Info: Users stalled at step 2 due to copy ambiguity and unclear visual hierarchy.
Intent: Generate a design improvement proposal for the flow that addresses pain points.
Response Format: Output a step-by-step design suggestion with rationale for each change.
Ask for clarification on user goals at each step.
Suggest an annotation format to present this to your design team visually.
Prompt Template 10: “Generate 'Think Aloud' Starter Prompts for Testing Sessions:”
Generate 'Think Aloud' Starter Prompts for Testing Sessions:
Context: You're moderating usability tests with participants unfamiliar with think-aloud protocol.
Specific Info: Participants are interacting with a [prototype with limited functionality].
Intent: Create verbal cues to encourage users to share thoughts naturally without coaching.
Response Format: Provide a short list of prompts the moderator can use if users go silent.
Ask for clarification on test environment or device constraints.
Propose one reminder card format the moderator could use in sessions.
Recommended Tools
- Maze – Remote usability testing and reports
- Lookback – Real-time and recorded session observation
- Useberry – Test prototypes directly with users
- Otter.ai – Auto-transcribe and tag research sessions
- FigJam – Fast affinity mapping with your team
