By Owen Fay . Posted on March 1, 2022

Have you ever created a prototype in Figma and thought it looked great, only to have someone else take a look and find all sorts of problems with it? Usability testing can help you avoid this issue by identifying potential problems with your design before they become actual problems. This post will explain why usability testing is essential and how you can use it to improve your Figma prototypes. So, Keep reading to learn more!

Prototyping is an Integral Part of the Design Process.

Prototyping is an important part of the design process. It helps designers visualize their ideas and test them out before committing to a final design. Depending on the project, prototypes can be as straightforward or as complex as needed.

Some prototyping tools are easy to use, making it simple for anyone to create a prototype. These tools can be used to create paper or digital prototypes. Paper prototyping is a great way to test out ideas with users quickly. Digital prototyping can be used to create more realistic prototypes, which can be tested with users or stakeholders. It’s important to remember that prototypes are not always perfect. They are meant to help designers explore different ideas and get feedback from others. As designs evolve, so should the prototypes. Prototyping is an essential part of the design process and can help designers create better products by utilizing it in the following ways.

  • design process
  • paper prototyping
  • digital prototyping
  • user feedback
  • design evolution

Usability Testing Helps Identify and Fix Usability Issues With Your Prototypes.

As we know, Prototypes are essential for testing out new ideas and designs, but they can also be plagued with usability issues. By running a usability test on your Figma prototypes, you can identify and fix these issues before releasing your product to the public. This will help ensure that your users have a smooth and enjoyable experience when using your product.

There are a few different ways to go about usability testing Figma prototypes. One option is to use a service like Poll the People. This service will provide you with real users who will test out your prototypes and give you feedback on their experience. It can help test your prototype’s look and function on different screen sizes and devices.

Whichever method you choose, usability testing Figma prototypes is a valuable step in the design process that can help ensure that your product is usable and enjoyable for your users.

So, if you’re looking to create a great user experience with your Figma prototypes, don’t forget to run a usability test! Poll the People is one of the best options, the platform provides you with the opportunity to run usability testing on Figma prototypes and help you find and fix any potential usability issues.

Usability testing can be performed in several ways but typically involves using test subjects to try out your design and providing feedback. This feedback can help you understand how well your design works, where it is confusing or difficult to use, and what changes can be made to improve it.

Performing usability testing is a great way to improve your designs and ensure that they are effective and user-friendly. By finding and fixing problems with your designs, you can make them more accessible for your users to use, resulting in a better overall experience. Usability testing should be performed early and often during the design process to ensure the best results.  

When to Run a Usability Test on Figma Prototypes?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as when to run a usability test will vary depending on the project and its specific needs. However, some general guidelines can help you determine when the time is right for your Figma prototype.

If you’re creating a new product or revamping an existing one, it’s generally advisable to run a usability test early on in the design process. It will allow you to catch any potential problems with the interface before too much development work has been done.

If you’re working on an existing product and making small changes, running a full usability test may not be necessary. Instead, you could perform a quick check of the new design to make sure it’s working as intended. If you’re unsure whether or not to run a usability test, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

In most cases, it’s better to spend a little time on testing and fixing any potential issues early on in the design process rather than dealing with them later on when they may be more difficult and expensive to fix.

Use an online tool like Poll the People to help you run a successful test and get the most valuable feedback. With Figma, you can easily create prototypes that look and feel like the real thing, so you can be sure your users will have a positive experience when trying out your product.

How to Run a Usability Test On High-Fidelity and Low-Fidelity Figma Prototypes?

As we know, Usability testing is an important part of the design process, and it’s imperative to test prototypes early and often. But how do you know when a prototype is ready for usability testing? And what should you do if you have both high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototypes?

In general, you should test the highest-fidelity prototype that is feasible. It means that if you have a high-fidelity prototype and a low-fidelity prototype, you should test the high-fidelity prototype. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

If the low-fidelity prototype is more accurate than the high-fidelity prototype, then you should test the low-fidelity prototype. For example, if you’re testing a website and the low-fidelity prototype is a paper prototype, it will be more accurate than the high-fidelity prototype, which might be a digital prototype.

If the low-fidelity prototype is more user-friendly than the high-fidelity prototype, then you should test the low-fidelity prototype. For example, suppose you’re testing an app and the low-fidelity prototype is an early version simplified for ease of use. In that case, it will be more user-friendly than the high-fidelity prototype.

If you’re unsure which prototype to test, it’s often a good idea to test both prototypes. It will give you a better sense of how the design progresses and which prototype is more accurate or user-friendly. So, how do you run a usability test on a high-fidelity Figma prototype? And how do you run a usability test on a low-fidelity Figma prototype?

Here are some tips:

  1. Choose your participants wisely. When testing a high-fidelity Figma prototype, be sure to choose participants who are familiar with Figma and have experience using similar software. When testing a low-fidelity Figma prototype, be sure to choose participants who are new to Figma and have no experience using similar software.
  2. Run a pilot test. It’s always good to run a pilot test before starting the primary usability test. This will help you test the usability logistics and make sure that everything is running smoothly.
  3. Start with an introduction. When testing a high-fidelity Figma prototype, start by introducing the prototype and explaining what you will be testing. When testing a low-fidelity Figma prototype, start by introducing it and explaining how it works.
  4. Ask questions about the design. When testing a high-fidelity Figma prototype, ask questions about the design and get feedback from participants. When testing a low-fidelity Figma prototype, ask questions about how easy it is to use and get feedback from participants.
  5. Collect feedback. When testing a high-fidelity Figma prototype, collect feedback from participants about the design’s usability. When testing a low-fidelity Figma prototype, collect feedback from participants about how user-friendly the design is.
  6. Analyze your results. Once you’ve collected all your data, analyze your results and make conclusions about the usability of the high-fidelity Figma prototype and the user-friendliness of the low-fidelity Figma prototype.

Common Mistakes While Running Usability Testing on Figma Prototypes.

Usability testing is a great way to improve the usability of your Figma prototypes. By identifying and correcting common mistakes, you can ensure that your prototypes are as user-friendly as possible. In this section, we’ll look at some of the most common mistakes made while running usability tests on Figma prototypes.

One of the most common mistakes is not allowing users to complete tasks. It’s important to give users enough time to experiment with the prototype and answer your questions as best they can. Otherwise, you may not get accurate feedback.

The second mistake is that we do not provide clear instructions to users. Users need clear instructions to understand what they’re supposed to do. If they don’t know what they’re supposed to do, they won’t be able to provide accurate feedback.

The other mistake is that we do not provide enough context. Users need to understand the context of the prototype to give helpful feedback. If they don’t know why a particular feature is being tested, they won’t provide helpful feedback.

Finally, another common mistake is not utilizing consumer insights. It’s important to dive into the feedback and opinions of the respondents to fully understand the results of the test. By fully understanding the feedback you can identify and correct usability issues before they become a problem.

Avoiding these common mistakes will help you run more effective usability tests on Figma prototypes.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, prototyping is one of the most essential parts of the design process, but it’s not enough to just create a prototype and hope that it works well. You need to usability test your prototypes to identify and fix issues. When should you run a usability test on Figma prototypes? How can you run a usability test on high-fidelity and low-fidelity Figma prototypes? What are some common mistakes people make while running usability testing on Figma prototypes? We’ve answered all these questions and more in this article. Now that you know how to use Figma for prototyping and how to run a usability test, why not try out Poll the People’s usability testing tool for user feedback during the testing phase? 

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