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Usability testing observes how people interact with a product in controlled conditions. Participants attempt realistic tasks while a facilitator watches and listens. This method reveals where designs break, where users get stuck, and where mental models differ from designer assumptions. Testing works best when focused on specific questions–does a new checkout flow reduce abandonment, can users find the settings menu, do labels make sense–rather than undefined exploration. Even testing with five participants typically uncovers the majority of major problems. A retailer testing a redesigned filter panel might discover within three sessions that shoppers overlook a collapsed sidebar entirely, a finding no amount of internal review would have surfaced. Testing is not about proving a design is perfect; it is about learning where it needs improvement.Planning and RecruitingDefine tasks that reflect real usage goals. Instead of asking participants to “explore the website,” ask them to “find the return policy and check if they can return items purchased two months ago.” Recruit participants who represent your actual audience–demographics, technical skill, domain knowledge all matter. Five to eight participants are usually sufficient for qualitative insight; larger numbers are needed if results will be statistically analysed. Screening questions help ensure recruits fit the target profile. For a business tool, recruit operations staff who use spreadsheets daily rather than general consumers, since their mental models differ substantially. Schedule one-hour sessions; longer durations exhaust both participant and facilitator. Offer modest incentives–£20 to £40–to respect participant time.Running SessionsBrief participants on their role: they are helping evaluate the design, not being evaluated. Ask them to think aloud–narrate their thoughts, reactions, confusion–but avoid leading questions that suggest correct paths. Silence after a participant gets stuck is uncomfortable but necessary; jumping in with help prevents you learning where design clarity fails. If a participant abandons a task in frustration, note the exact step where confidence dropped rather than only the final outcome, since that moment of hesitation often reveals the real flaw. Record sessions (video, screen, audio) so you can review later. In-person testing captures body language and environmental factors; remote testing is faster and reaches geographically dispersed participants. Both reveal usability problems equally well. design audit Analysis and DocumentationReview recordings and note where participants succeeded, struggled, or diverged from expected behaviour. Group similar problems and prioritise by frequency and severity. A participant unable to complete a core task signals a critical flaw; minor hesitations about wording are lower priority. Document findings with specific examples: rather than “navigation is confusing,” write “three of five participants looked for the settings menu in the top-right corner but it was in a hamburger icon on mobile.” Tagging each observation with the task and participant number makes it far easier to revisit raw footage later when stakeholders ask for supporting evidence. Recommendations follow from evidence. Watching participants teaches you faster than reading a report. When possible, show video clips to stakeholders–seeing real confusion changes minds better than summarised data.