Conducting Usability Testing

Suited For: All to Intermediate
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Closes in
3
22
12
47
73 % booked

In This Course, You'll

  • Get excited to plan, run, and report on usability tests that help you deeply understand your users and make confident, research-backed design decisions. According to Baymard Institute, fixing documented checkout usability issues can lift conversions by 35.26%, recovering ~$260 billion in lost orders. Now put those same issues on a medical device, where a misread display or a skipped step isn't a lost sale but the wrong action taken at the worst possible moment. In this course, you'll gain a practical, end-to-end usability testing method that helps you reveal these exact kinds of flaws before your users do. You already test usability intuitively, such as when you ask friends for feedback. This course naturally builds on what you know: you'll learn what kind of test to run and when, how many people to test with, who to recruit and where, what to say (and not say) during a session, what data to capture, and how to analyze it. Whether you're just starting out, transitioning from another industry, or in a senior role and want to expand your UX toolkit, this course gives you a complete, repeatable process for conducting usability testing effectively.
  • Make yourself invaluable when you can turn what users actually do (not just what they say they do) into evidence that drives confident design and business decisions. You'll build a structured test plan grounded in user and business objectives and choose the right test type, including Jakob Nielsen's formative-versus-summative distinction. You'll write well-formed, scenario-based tasks in non-leading language so they never steer the user, and decide which metrics to capture (starting with success rate). To get the right participants, you'll screen for psychographics over demographics and balance current users with prospective ones. After testing, you'll prioritize your findings by severity and compile your results into a persuasive report. And when you bring developers and executives in to watch real users firsthand, you'll turn skeptics into advocates through genuine empathy and lay the foundation for a testing practice that lasts.
  • Build confidence and credibility as you learn to moderate sessions calmly and stay in control. You'll begin with a clear script that briefs participants and asks them to think aloud, letting you follow how they actually think rather than relying on your assumptions. Nielsen's minimal "aha/okay" protocol keeps you neutral and in control, so you can let users struggle on their own and observe what happens instead of what you expect. That discipline is what surfaces the real patterns and keeps your data clean and bias-free. In a world where AI can analyze transcripts and summarize faster than any human, it's your ability to sit with a real person, see how they respond, notice what they don't say, and turn that insight into action that keeps you indispensable. Just think of the competitive edge you'll gain when you identify and fix problems early. Greater user satisfaction leads directly to loyalty, business growth, and higher salary potential.
  • Craft your portfolio with an optional, hands-on project that takes you through the full usability testing cycle, resulting in a case study that shows hiring managers you can run a disciplined test end-to-end. And with downloadable templates, including tips for moderating and how to write a test report, plus real-world examples from instructor Frank Spillers' own consulting experience, you'll walk away with a repeatable process you can apply on day one.

Learn From Industry Leaders

Master complex skills with proven best practices and toolkits directly from industry leaders. Meet your expert for this course:

  • Frank Spillers: Service Designer and Founder and CEO of Experience Dynamics.

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Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

Industry giants trust our courses to train their teams, and prestigious universities integrate our content into their curricula. Add your certificates to your LinkedIn profile, résumé, and job applications.

Our clients: IBM, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, NASA, Adobe, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LinkedIn
Course Certificate Example

Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.
  • You want real-world design skills that translate directly into professional practice.
  • You want to earn industry-recognized credentials.
  • Your time is too valuable for scattered free content with no structure.
  • You want learning that leads to better roles and stronger earning potential over time.
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Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Tadinee Marsili
Tadinee Marsili
Tadinee Marsili
Director of Product Management and Design

The instructor is experienced in the field of usability testing, and has shared some of insights from his experience in conducting usability...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Tadinee Marsili for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course
View full testimonial from Andres Martinez
Andres Martinez
Andres Martinez
Android Developer

Frank speaks clearly, gives examples, gets to the point, and gives a lot of information not available on books, which can be learnt only fro...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Andres Martinez for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course
View full testimonial from Emerald Mosley
Emerald Mosley
Emerald Mosley
Visual design / UI / UX / art direction

It was great that you now include transcripts and worksheets as part of the course; I don't always have the ability to watch the videos, and...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Emerald Mosley for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course
View full testimonial from Nanci Gonzalez
Nanci Gonzalez
Nanci Gonzalez
Design Researcher

Frank offers a lot of useful metrics and the value of these metrics in real-world applications. He also remembers the emotional side of test...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Nanci Gonzalez for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course
View full testimonial from Caroline Keem
Caroline Keem
Caroline Keem
User Experience Designer & Researcher

Clearly knows what he's talking about, has a lot of experience, and can build a full picture of doing research. I came to get better test mo...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Caroline Keem for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course
View full testimonial from Lula Diaz
Lula Diaz
Lula Diaz
UX Researcher & Professor

I think the instructor of this course is very clear, the concepts and the advices he gives are very interesting and I consider them to be ve...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Lula Diaz for completing the "Conducting Usability Testing" course

How It Works

  1. Build High-Impact AI and Design Skills

    Industry leaders from companies like Adobe, Google, and NASA teach you real-world skills grounded in industry practice and research.

  2. Combine AI and Timeless Design Skills

    Learn both AI and the human-centered design skills that AI can't replace.

  3. Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

    Add IxDF Course Certificates to your LinkedIn profile and résumé to show you've completed an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.

  4. Turn Your Skills Into Career Opportunities

    Use your new skills to take on higher-value work, qualify for promotions or find a role that fits you better.

  5. Build a Network That Supports Your Career

    Connect with designers in 497 cities across 107 countries. Learn together, get mentored, and build relationships that open doors.

Course Overview

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.
  • 9 hours / 27 lesson items in 5 lessons.

What's Inside IxDF Membership?

  • High-impact design and AI skills

  • Learn from 211 industry leaders

  • 42 evidence-based courses

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  • Industry-recognized certificates

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  • Global community in 497 cities

  • $6,649 worth of premium tools

  • 276 ready-made templates

  • and much more

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Risk-free: 14-day money-back guarantee

Suited For: All to Intermediate
G2 Logo 5 Stars Google Logo 5 Stars
Closes in
3
22
12
47
73 % booked

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Ashok Balakrishnan
Ashok Balakrishnan
Senior Product Designer

I found the teachings and experience of Frank is amazing. The real world scenarios, experience are treat to watch. There is some tricky questions but it needs deep understanding to answer. Overall, its a great experience!

Tadinee Marsili
Tadinee Marsili
Director of Product Management and Design

The instructor is experienced in the field of usability testing, and has shared some of insights from his experience in conducting usability testing.

Andres Martinez
Andres Martinez
Android Developer

Frank speaks clearly, gives examples, gets to the point, and gives a lot of information not available on books, which can be learnt only from someone who has worked on usability testing.

Fabiana Di Lallo
Fabiana Di Lallo
UX/UI Designer

The instructor's strengths are his expressiveness, dialectic, and sympathetic manner of speaking. Of the course the ability to download all those forms and templates that will serve to plan my own tests.

Gabriela Cárdenas
Gabriela Cárdenas
UX/UI Designer

He explains in a very easy way to understand. Clearly, he has a lot of knowledge and an amazing way of transferring his ideas.

Mariana Bianchini Galuk
Mariana Bianchini Galuk
UX / Product Designer

He explains very well and brings his experience to the content he is giving. Especially for content as applied as that of this course, it is important to have an instructor with applied knowledge within real businesses.

Emerald Mosley
Emerald Mosley
Visual design / UI / UX / art direction

It was great that you now include transcripts and worksheets as part of the course; I don't always have the ability to watch the videos, and reading the information is very helpful as an additional way to learn.

Bjorn Schraa
Bjorn Schraa

He knows what he is talking about and can give very precise and focused explanations on this subject. Supported with practical knowledge and skills. Awesome!

Nanci Gonzalez
Nanci Gonzalez
Design Researcher

Frank offers a lot of useful metrics and the value of these metrics in real-world applications. He also remembers the emotional side of testing with people and the feels of stakeholders, engineers, and designers. So helpful to hear how he verbalizes certain questions or phrases so tactfully.

Caroline Keem
Caroline Keem
User Experience Designer & Researcher

Clearly knows what he's talking about, has a lot of experience, and can build a full picture of doing research. I came to get better test moderating skills, and that was covered.

Lula Diaz
Lula Diaz
UX Researcher & Professor

I think the instructor of this course is very clear, the concepts and the advices he gives are very interesting and I consider them to be very valuable for my education, I will absolutely use what I've learned on my day to day job.