Usability testing
Watching representative users complete tasks.
Mandatory for 0 of 46 product types. Usually run by a product manager.
What it catches
- confusing flows
- hesitation points
- wrong labels
What it misses
- functional defects
- performance
Which product types need it and why
| Product type | Status | Reason or condition |
|---|---|---|
| e-signature service | recommended | Becomes mandatory when signers dispute what they signed in a recorded case. |
| government services portal | recommended | Becomes mandatory when abandonment is high on the main form. |
| kids app | recommended | Becomes mandatory when parents report they cannot find the controls. |
| software as a medical device | recommended | Becomes mandatory when the regulator's submission requires human factors validation for this device class. |
| clinical trial management software | optional | May help: site coordinators make fewer query-generating entry errors on clear forms. |
| dating app | optional | May help when onboarding drop-off is high before the first match. |
| ecommerce store | optional | May help: shows where shoppers abandon checkout. |
| electronic health record system | optional | May help where clinicians build workarounds for slow ordering or medication workflows. |
| fleet and logistics tracking | optional | May help: drivers skip proof-of-delivery steps that are hard to reach. |
| identity and access management service | optional | Optional: helps when recovery calls to support rise. |
| smart home or IoT app | optional | May help: onboarding is where new devices get returned. |
| language learning app | optional | May help where onboarding drop-off is high. |
| LLM-based assistant | optional | May help: users who cannot find the report button leave wrong answers unflagged. |
| online marketplace | optional | May help: shows whether new sellers finish document verification and list an item without help. |
| mental health app | optional | May help find where users abandon onboarding or cannot find cancellation and crisis resources. |
| messaging app | optional | May help when users miss group privacy settings in research sessions. |
| mobile banking app | optional | Optional: may cut support calls about card freeze and disputes. |
| neobank | optional | Optional: may lift sign-up completion for an app-only account. |
| peer-to-peer payment app | optional | Optional: may reduce accidental public payments. |
| patient portal | optional | May help when patients phone the clinic because they cannot find results or the message form. |
| social network | optional | May help: safety tools nobody finds do not protect anyone. |
| subscription box service | optional | May help: shows whether subscribers find skip without help before they reach cancel. |
| video conferencing tool | optional | Optional: helps when hosts miss controls during an intrusion. |
| wearable companion app | optional | May help: first pairing is the first step a new user completes without help. |
| accounting and invoicing SaaS | not needed | Not needed for risk control: no attached risk depends on comprehension testing. Becomes recommended when onboarding of non-accountant owners is a tracked goal. |
| buy now pay later service | not needed | Not needed for risk control: disclosures are checked under compliance. Becomes recommended when checkout conversion of the widget is a tracked goal. |
| crypto exchange | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk depends on usability. Becomes recommended when order-entry errors drive support tickets. |
| data pipeline | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from users misreading screens. Becomes recommended when business users configure jobs themselves. |
| desktop application | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from users misreading screens. Becomes recommended when support tickets cite confusing settings. |
| email marketing platform | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from users misreading the editor. Becomes recommended when the campaign builder is redesigned. |
| ERP system | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from users misreading screens. Becomes recommended when a self-service portal redesign changes how claims are submitted. |
| EV charging app | not needed | Not needed: no evidence ties harm to first-use confusion here beyond the accessibility case. Becomes recommended when a new start flow ships. |
| expense management tool | not needed | Not needed for risk control: no attached risk depends on comprehension testing. Becomes recommended when report completion rate is a tracked goal. |
| grocery delivery app | not needed | Not needed: fee disclosure is covered by the end-to-end and compliance tests. Becomes recommended when slot booking abandonment data points to confusion. |
| insurance app | not needed | Not needed for risk control: no attached risk depends on comprehension testing. Becomes recommended when quote abandonment is a tracked goal. |
| lending platform | not needed | Not needed for risk control: no attached risk depends on comprehension testing. Becomes recommended when application drop-off is a tracked product goal. |
| loyalty program app | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from members misreading the app. Becomes recommended when support tickets show members missing earned rewards. |
| machine learning model service | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from users misreading screens. Becomes recommended when operators review alerts in a console. |
| mobile game | not needed | Not needed: purchase confirmation and chat defaults are checked by the payment, compliance and end-to-end items. Becomes recommended when tutorial drop-off is high. |
| pharmacy delivery app | not needed | Not needed for release: no evidenced risk depends on it. Becomes recommended when support logs show patients abandoning prescription upload. |
| ride-hailing app | not needed | Not needed: no attached risk comes from riders misunderstanding the booking flow. Becomes recommended when support tickets show riders booking the wrong vehicle class. |
| SDK or client library | not needed | Not needed: the SDK has no end-user interface. Becomes recommended when it ships UI components. |
| telemedicine app | not needed | Not needed as a separate study while booking and joining are covered by end-to-end and accessibility tests. Becomes recommended when patients abandon the waiting room before the clinician joins. |
| event ticketing platform | not needed | Not needed: price display is covered by the end-to-end and compliance tests. Becomes recommended when seat map abandonment data points to confusion. |
| stock trading app | not needed | Not needed for risk control: order disclosures are checked by e2e and compliance. Becomes recommended when the order ticket is redesigned. |
| travel booking app | not needed | Not needed: fee and ranking disclosures are covered by the end-to-end and compliance tests. Becomes recommended when checkout abandonment data points to confusion. |
Done conditions used on playbook pages
Each mandatory cell has its own done condition, written for that product type.
Tools
Alphabetical. Not recommendations.
No tool in the list serves this test type.