← DictionaryUser Testing
also called usability testing
Watching real people attempt tasks to find where a design fails.
Watch someone use it and stay quiet.
What It Is
User Testing belongs to Website, specifically the Experience part of it. What it actually refers to is watching real people attempt tasks to find where a design fails.
It is a repeatable structure, which means it only pays off when it is actually followed through instead of quoted. Used with that meaning, it stays a working tool rather than a talking point.
How It's Used
Most of the time User Testing is used in site builds, page structure and the technical decisions underneath them. In real work it sits close to Usability, Prototype and Conversion Rate Optimization. The practical test is whether anyone can follow it without the person who wrote it in the room.
Why It Matters
Ignoring User Testing rarely fails loudly — it fails slowly. When it is unclear, the site still launches — it just quietly underperforms. Deciding it deliberately costs one conversation. Leaving it undecided costs several.
Think of a checklist that stops you skipping the important part. Watch someone use it and stay quiet.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Inside the industry, User Testing is used tightly and assumed to be understood: watching real people attempt tasks to find where a design fails.
Away from the jargon, it is watch someone use it and stay quiet.
The Bottom Line
The practical takeaway on User Testing: watch someone use it and stay quiet. Judge it by that, not by how it sounds.