Usability testing is one of my favorite ways to gather design feedback.
Usability testing consists of coming up with a series of tasks. Then running multiple people through the same series of tasks to see how well they perform.
Usability testing is most valuable when you have a clickable prototype or working code that you can run someone through.
I’ve also found it handy to do multiple rounds of usability testing on the same set of tasks. With each progressive round, you’re making new observations and you’re making updates to your designs before retesting.
Platforms like userbrain.com make usability testing really easy. UserBrain makes it easy to use your own testers or to use their pool of testers. I tend to prefer platforms like UserBrain over, enterprise platforms because pricing. It’s going to be much more flexible. For instance, you can, pay a la carte for each individual test instead of having to commit to a yearly contract.
Watching people use your product and attempt to follow the tasks that you outlined can be very valuable, but also very frustrating! You may find yourself yelling at the screen, “The button right there! Just click the button!”.
But then when you watch multiple people not see the button, you realize the problem is not with the user. The problem is likely with your design.