I've had the honor to conceptualize, build, and launch multiple physical usability labs in my career. Recently, I updated and relocated the Progressive Usability Lab with its continuing mission to deliver timely insights that drive software development and support business growth.
What are some benefits of a physical usability lab?
- It can provide a unique opportunity to collaborate together to build end-user empathy and improve a product, system or environment.
- Usability testing with physical devices can illicit authentic interactions that are missed virtually identifying opportunities for improvement.
- The lab captures additional body language from participants that is unseen with virtual tools.
Usability Testing is a popular UX research methodology that asks a user to perform tasks on an interface without guidance. A physical usability lab is an additional tool on a user researcher’s belt that can identify invaluable insights into behavior and experience that drive design improvements. The majority of gathering feedback these days is done virtually through remote usability testing tools because it is efficient and cost effective. However, there are times depending on the research goals where the option to have people come into a physical location can lead to innovation.
