Why is it recommended that designers avoid conducting usability or user experience (UX) testing on their own designs

Why is it recommended that designers avoid conducting usability or user experience (UX) testing on their own designs


Here are a few key reasons to consider!

01 - Bias and Subjectivity

  • Designer Bias: As a designer, you are closely attached to your design. This proximity can make it challenging to view it objectively, which might lead to unconscious bias in how you interpret user feedback or conduct the testing.
  • Over-familiarity: Designers often know the ins and outs of their own design, so they might unintentionally guide users through it, overlooking critical usability issues that new users may encounter.


02 Influencing Participants

  • Subtle Influence: When users know they are talking to the person who designed the interface, they may be reluctant to offer negative feedback or point out flaws.
  • Leading Questions: Designers might ask questions that lead users to certain answers, rather than allowing the user to freely explore and express genuine thoughts.


03 Objectivity of Insights

  • Having an independent UX researcher or facilitator conduct the testing allows for a more objective analysis of the design's strengths and weaknesses. They will observe things that the designer, with their deep involvement, might overlook.
  • While the designer’s primary role is to create the solution, the focus of UX testing is to observe how users interact with it. Having a separate person conduct testing allows the designer to focus on iterating and improving the design based on objective insights rather than interpreting the test themselves




Reference :

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/designers-developers-doing-usability/

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回复
Sherif Amin

Senior UX Researcher | B2B & FinTech Expert | Teaching UX by Bridging Theory and Practice for Aspiring Professionals

5 个月

Thanks for highlighting this. Few tips to reduce this bias if a designer has to test their own designs: 1. Try to test designs early to reduce the attachment to it and over familiarity. 2. Avoid mentioning that you are the designer to participants to make them more comfortable to share their feedback. I hope this can help ??

Kausar Jahan

Lead UX/CX and Product Design, UX Strategist

5 个月

Agree that it could give a biased opinion as the designer's emotions may get involved during moderating his own design's usability testing. But can be done as an exception if you don't have enough resources in the team.

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