21 Questions to Ask About the Usability Test in an Interview (Plus Example Answers)
Preparing for a job interview can help you answer the interviewer’s questions with confidence and show off your skills, which could give you an advantage in the hiring process. If you’re looking for a job in user experience (UX) or software development, learning about common tech interview questions can help you think about your past experiences and prepare answers with details and examples. The person in charge of hiring might ask you about your experience with usability testing during an interview for a job as a developer or designer.21 Questions to Ask About the Usability Test in an Interview (Plus Example Answers)
This article has a list of 21 usability test interview questions, and some of them have sample answers to help you prepare for your own.
What is an easy-to-use test?
A usability test shows how easy an app or other piece of software is to use. UX designers, software engineers, video game developers, and other tech pros use these tests to make their products better and fix problems. Most of the time, a user does a set of tasks on a product while a developer watches and asks questions. A developer might run usability tests at different stages of a product’s development because the results can help them add new features and improve the product’s infrastructure.
Why would a job interviewer ask about usability tests?
Usability testing is often an important part of a developer or designer’s job, because the results show them how to make apps and websites better. If you are applying for a job in software development or user experience (UX), the interviewer might ask you questions about usability tests to see how well you know how testing works. They might also ask these questions to find out about your past jobs and see if you have what it takes to be a leader. For example, if you are good at usability testing, you might be able to get a job as a team leader or senior UX developer.
Here are some answers to 9 interview questions about the usability test.
For a usability test, the interview questions could be about testing features, types of data, or other parts of the process. In a software development or user experience (UX) interview, you might be asked nine questions about usability testing. Here are some sample answers to help you get ready:
How often have you done usability testing in the past?
The interviewer might ask you this question to see how well you understand how usability testing works. If the job requires you to test usability every day or every week, knowing the basics of this process could help you get hired. When you answer this question, say how familiar you are with the process and, if you can, give an example of a project you’ve worked on in the past.
Example: “I did some usability testing at my last two UX jobs, especially for Sunforce Application Development. It was my job in that position to come up with questions to test how well different apps worked. We made consumer applications for small e-commerce businesses, so I worked with customers to test how they browsed, put things in their carts, and paid for their purchases.
How are quantitative and qualitative data different in a usability test?
This question tests how well you know a key part of testing usability. If you can confidently explain this idea, it can show a hiring manager that you know a lot about how usability testing works. When you answer this question, give examples of both types of data and explain why each one is important.
Example: “As part of a test, a user gives us numbers that can be used to measure something. For example, to rate how easy it is to use, they might use a scale from one to five. During testing, we can learn about data trends by getting this information from many different users. Qualitative data are the answers that users give to open-ended questions, like “I think the help button could be bigger” in response to “What could you add to this app?” This information can help us figure out what the user values most when using our product.”
What could you say to start a usability testing session?
The interviewer could ask you this question to find out how well you know the steps of usability testing. Each part of the testing process is there for a different reason, and telling a hiring manager how you might handle each step can show how flexible you are. Give some examples of questions or statements you might make during this step when you answer this question.
Example: “The introduction to the usability testing helps the user understand the purpose of the exercise and makes sure that both the assessor and the user are focused on the same things. I might start by going over the steps we need to take to prepare for this test. For example, if I’m doing a usability test for a photo editing app, I might tell the user that we’re going to upload a picture, resize and crop it, add a filter, and share it online. Then, before we begin, I always ask the person if they have any questions.”
4. What are three reasons to test usability?
This question wants you to think about how usability testing can be used in business. An interviewer might ask you this question to see how well you can describe where you work, which could affect how well you work with others. When you answer this question, give an example for each goal you list.
“Usability testing has many goals, but here are a few that I think are particularly important. First, usability testing can help you figure out why a customer might choose your product over others. For example, what is better about your budgeting programme than another? This process can also show you ways to improve your product, like how your website works or what font you use. Last but not least, usability testing can show you what people like about your product. If your users like the chat feature on your app, you could add one to your website to get them more involved.
During the pre-test screening step, what kinds of questions could be asked?
Assessors can find out how old a user is and how well they know how to use technology during the pre-test screening. An interviewer might ask you about the pre-test screening to see how much you know about how to prepare for a usability test. When you answer this question, give some examples of things you might ask the user.
“In the section for pre-test screening, I might ask the user questions about his or her background, like “What do you do for a living?” I might also ask if the user is comfortable with technology. Some of these questions might be, “How often do you order groceries using an app like this one?” What could you do with this app? If I know the answers to these questions, I can figure out what the user’s test results mean. For example, if the app is hard to use for a certain group of customers, I might work with people from that group to make the product better.”
As part of usability testing, why is it important to know what a user already knows?
This question is part of the pre-test screening section, where the assessor finds out about the user’s background and technical skills. This is a question an interviewer might ask to find out how well you understand the different things that can affect test scores. Give an example of how a person’s knowledge of a product might affect how they feel about it when you answer this question.
Example: “If you know what a user already knows, you can make the testing process better for them. Users who already know about a certain type of product might have different goals than those who don’t. For example, during a test of a photo-editing programme, a test subject who uses this type of programme often might expect to find certain features or compare the programme to others they’ve used, which can help you set your product apart from competitors. Someone who has never used the product before might find it harder to use, which can help you find places to improve.
How much help can you give a user during a usability test?
An interviewer might ask you this question to find out how you test things. Hiring managers may like candidates whose testing methods are similar to those of the team they already have testing the usability of their products. When you answer this question, explain why you chose to give a certain amount of help during the testing process.
“When testing how easy it is to use a product, it can help to give the user very few instructions. This is because the point of the process is to see how well the product guides the user on its own. If you tell the user how to do something, like add an item to an online shopping cart or pay a bill through a mobile app, you might miss a chance to make the product better for the user. When a user asks how to do what they’ve been told to do, it’s a sign that the product could use some improvements.”
8. How is a moderated usability test different from one that isn’t?
This question asks you to explain two important ways to test how easy something is to use. An interviewer might ask you this question to see how much you know about testing conditions. Explain the two types of testing methods and why you might use each one when answering this question.
“What the person in charge of the test does in each method is what makes them different. In moderated testing, the tester talks to the user and shows them how to do certain things. You might use this testing method during the prototype phase because it can give you a lot of qualitative feedback. When testing is not monitored, the user can do a set of tasks whenever they want. You can test many users at once, so you can get a lot of quantitative data and answer specific questions about a nearly finished product.
Why are open-ended questions good for testing how easy something is to use?
The interviewer might ask you this question to find out how well you understand how tests are made. Each part of the testing process, which includes different kinds of questions, tells you something important about the product. When you answer this question, explain why open-ended questions are useful and give an example of a question you might ask.
“You can find out what people are thinking and feeling during the test by asking them open-ended questions. With this information, you can change the product to better meet the user’s needs. For example, you could ask a user, “Can you tell me how you set up a new account on this app?” to find out how easy or hard that task was for them. The user might tell you how you could improve some parts of the process or suggest other ways to reach the same goal. When a product is in its prototype stage, this information can be very helpful.”
12 more questions to ask in an interview for the usability test
Here are 12 more questions about usability testing that you might be asked during an interview:
- Why might you use an echoing method during a usability test?
- During usability testing, why can it be helpful to watch what people do when they don’t say anything?
- How could you make a ranking system based on how users feel about a product as a whole?
- Can you tell me why it’s important to ask questions after a test?
- How can you find out the best way for a user to use a product?
- How could you use demographic questions to test how easy something is to use?
- What do you think are the best ways to test language?
- Why do the interview or survey right before the test?
- How important are the users’ ages, genders, and other demographics when testing usability?
- Why is it important to ask questions as the user completes tasks?
- What are some things that can make a user feel a certain way?
- When have you tested how easy something was to use to make it better?
