Usability reports are comprehensive documents that summarize the findings, observations and recommendations of usability testing. Researchers create them to provide valuable insights into how users interact with a product or service, identify usability issues and suggest potential solutions. Designers can then enhance a product’s or service’s usability and overall user experience.
A simple representation of a usability report, to illustrate the value of such reports.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Usability reports play a role that’s crucial in user experience (UX) design. When researchers or designers create them—and do it properly—these provide valuable insights into how usable a digital product is for the target audience. So, these reports help designers and researchers spot usability issues and address them.
Usability reports come from usability testing—that’s when users test a design solution or prototype. The reports present a comprehensive analysis regarding how users interacted with a digital product—like a website or an app. They also highlight areas for improvement, and they suggest actionable solutions. These reports are an essential means to inform design decisions, validate user needs and ensure a positive user experience. Above all, reports on usability are an essential check to ensure the design team and product manager have a strong sense of empathy with users in the target audience.
This video explains the importance of empathy for users in design:
A usability report typically includes sections like a background summary, methodology, test results, findings and recommendations. It may feature visual content like screenshots and video clips, too—to illustrate specific points. These reports present the data and insights in a way that’s structured and organized. So, they let stakeholders understand the user experience—and so make informed decisions for product design improvement. These reports are particularly valuable since they show:
Usability issues: Usability reports show up specific issues and problems that users encountered while they were interacting with a product or website. These problems can range from navigation difficulties, to confusing layouts or unclear instructions.
User behavior: Usability reports show how users navigate, interact and engage with a product—like an app or a website. This includes their pathways, actions and patterns of behavior that turned up during usability testing.
Success rates: These reports show the users’ success rates in completing specific tasks or scenarios. This metric indicates the effectiveness of the design—and how well it supports users as they make their way to achieving their goals.
Task time: Usability reports give insights into the time it takes for users to complete tasks or scenarios. This metric helps determine the efficiency of the design—and whether users can accomplish their goals quickly.
User satisfaction: Usability reports include user satisfaction ratings—ratings which researchers obtain through questionnaires or interviews. This feedback helps gauge user satisfaction levels and identify areas that need improvements, such as in terms of a product’s visual design.
Some key benefits to UX designers, researchers and stakeholders are:
Usability reports provide objective data and insights that really inform design decisions. When designers base decisions on user feedback and observations, they can create more user-centered and effective solutions, and gear them around more accurate tools such as user personas.
Good user personas help designers build around accurate visions of their target audience, which can translate to better results when they get to usability test their designs.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Usability reports help identify and address usability issues—and that leads to an improved user experience. If designers understand user needs and behavior—and thoroughly so—they can make informed changes that improve usability and satisfaction through a greater sense of empathy.
Usability reports both highlight areas of improvement and suggest actionable recommendations to follow. And when designers implement these recommendations, it improves the overall quality of their product. Another point is that it reduces user frustration and increases satisfaction, too.
Since they identify usability issues early in the design process, usability reports help save a great deal of time and resources. To address usability issues during the design phase is something that’s more cost-effective than to make changes later in the development cycle.
Usability reports are among common—and essential—UX deliverables, and are especially valuable aids to prevent unnecessary costs in product development.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Potential challenges for researchers, designers and design teams include:
Interpretation of data: If a designer or a design team misinterprets the data that comes from usability testing, it can lead to incorrect conclusions and misguided design decisions. This data can be hard to analyze and interpret accurately—and it’s crucial to adopt a user research mindset and thoroughly analyze and understand the data, to avoid drawing conclusions that are erroneous.
Communication of findings: It can be hard to present the findings and recommendations clearly and concisely. It calls for effective communication skills to make sure that stakeholders understand the implications—and importance—of the usability issues that arise.
A balance of objectivity and subjectivity: Usability reports have a firm grounding in objective data. Even so, they call for subjective interpretation as well. And it’s essential to strike the right balance between objectivity and subjectivity—to provide accurate and actionable insights.
Overemphasis on usability testing: To rely just on usability reports may result in a narrow focus on usability issues. The risk is then that a design team might neglect other aspects of the user experience, such as how users feel in their emotional engagement with the design solution or its aesthetic appeal. It’s important to consider a holistic approach to UX design and the right types of usability tests for the project.
Author and Human-Computer Interaction Expert, Professor Alan Dix explains the connection between emotion and usability:
Resistance to change: Usability reports may reveal issues that challenge stakeholders' preconceived notions or that call for major changes to the design. It’s something that can lead to resistance to change and a reluctance to implement the improvements recommended. Notions of this sort come from real-world constraints—like budget, the inability to see what the design focuses on ideally, or an array of other matters.
Limited sample size: Usability reports typically have their basis resting on a small sample size of participants. While this does give valuable insights, it mightn’t capture the full range of users’ perspectives and behaviors. It’s important for designers to think about the limitations of the sample size when they interpret their findings.
Usability reports are at their most effective in these contexts:
Usability reports play a crucial role here. For product teams, these reports bring insights that inform design decisions, guide improvements and validate the user experience.
Usability reports are particularly valuable here—as they help identify usability issues early on, which allows for iterative improvements and makes sure a user-centered design approach is a reality.
Usability reports are vital in a user-centered design approach—and they provide evidence-based insights into user behavior, needs and preferences. This helps designers—including user interface (UI) designers—create products that really meet user expectations.
Usability reports make cross-functional collaboration easier—and that’s because they provide a common language and understanding of the user experience. They help bridge the gap between designers, developers and stakeholders—and so nurture collaboration and goals that they share.
UX Designer and Author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups, Laura Klein explains the value of cross-functional teams in this video:
Good usability reports provide clear and actionable insights—ones that drive improvements in the user experience. Here are a few examples of elements that make a usability report particularly effective:
Good usability reports clearly define and articulate the problems that users really encounter. The problem statements are specific and concise, and stand on evidence from the usability testing. A problem statement is also called a Point of View (POV) and appears like the following:
__(User)__ needs to __(user’s need)__ because __(insight)__.
So, for example, a usability report could reveal that:
“Mobile users need to have larger buttons because 23% of them accidentally pressed two at the same time.”
Usability reports prioritize recommendations based on the severity and impact of the identified issues. This helps stakeholders understand which problems need immediate attention and which ones design teams can address later.
Recommendations clearly capture what to do, so team members can act.
© User Interviews, Fair Use
Good usability reports include visuals such as screenshots or video clips to illustrate specific problem areas. These visuals make it easier for stakeholders to understand the issues and visualize potential solutions.
Usability reports follow a structured format, with sections that provide background information, methodology, test results, findings and recommendations. This format is something that makes the report easier to navigate and make sense of.
Usability reports call for a clear structure, so they can transmit important data quickly and easily—as this UXtweak overview shows.
© Daria Krasovskaya, Fair Use
It’s important to note that usability reports can sometimes call for improvements—and the earlier, the better. Ineffective reports often lack clarity. Or they fail to provide actionable insights, or they might show their information in an unstructured way. And if they do have vague problem descriptions, a lack of recommendations, unorganized data or a lack of visual support, their report writers should revisit them—and correct these flaws as soon as they can.
It takes careful planning and execution to make a report that’s well-structured and informative. Here’s a step-by-step process to the report-writing process:
Before usability testing begins, UX designers or researchers should clearly define the study’s scope and objectives. They need to determine the specific research questions they want to answer and the metrics they’ll use to measure usability.
Now it’s time to test with representative users and use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It’s vital to collect data on success rates, task time, error rates and user satisfaction ratings. What’s more, it’s essential to record observations, problems and participants’ comments.
Designers or researchers now need to carefully analyze the data they collected during usability testing. They should look for patterns, trends and common issues. It’s important to categorize the problems by severity and consider their implications for the overall user experience.
Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at University College London, Ann Blandford explains pitfalls to beware of in analysis.
Next comes the structuring of the usability report—and doing it in a format that’s logical and easy to follow. Here, it’s vital to include sections such as background summary, methodology, test results, findings and recommendations. Tables, visuals and examples to present data and illustrate problem areas are invaluable tools for this activity.
Now it’s time to clearly communicate the findings and recommendations based on the data analysis. Researchers or designers should provide specific problem statements—and suggest actionable solutions. It’s important to think about the severity and wider impact of each problem—to prioritize recommendations.
Next comes the incorporation of visuals—like screenshots and video clips—to make the usability report even better. These visuals help stakeholders visualize specific areas of concern and understand the user experience more thoroughly.
Last—but not least—it’s time to use the findings and recommendations from the usability report to make improvements to the product or website. It’s vital to prioritize the recommendations based on their severity and wide—or global—impact. Designers or researchers should remember to retest their design’s usability after they’ve implemented the changes—so they can validate the improvements.
Issues about accessibility—an often-overlooked but essential part of design—can frequently crop up in usability reports. Design teams and stakeholders really need to make sure that their products are usable for everyone.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Consider the following tips:
Define the scope and objectives of the usability study before testing—it’s crucial. This makes sure that the usability report actually does address the specific research questions and provide valuable insights.
Base findings and recommendations on objective data that comes in during usability testing. It’s vital to keep personal biases and subjective opinions from getting in the way when analyzing the data.
The Pratt Institute’s Usability Report on PEN America’s Freedom to Write—a fine example of a thorough, yet readable report.
© Pratt Institute, Fair Use
It’s vital to prioritize these according to their severity and impact. So, researchers or designers—or report writers—should address those critical and serious usability issues first. Clear and actionable recommendations should be specific and feasible, and they must have a solid basis in data-driven insights.
Clear and concise language is critical—the only way to communicate findings and recommendations in the usability report. The report writer should incorporate visuals and examples to raise the levels of understanding and engagement. Stakeholders, design team members, members of the development team and anyone else involved in the design project need a clear point of reference to turn to in a report. It’s also important to tailor the report to the audience’s specific needs and knowledge level.
Design teams should use usability reports as a starting point for design improvements that are iterative—and it’s critical to implement recommendations, retest and continuously collect user feedback to refine the user experience.
The area to aim for with design solutions, and the improvements design teams implement, should be in this spot.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Usability reports should reflect a user-centered design approach. They should focus on the needs, preferences and behaviors of the target users. A report should prioritize user feedback and make sure that design decisions run in line with user expectations across all aspects—like a mobile app’s information architecture, for example.
Usability reports should consider the holistic user experience. That includes emotional engagement, aesthetic appeal and overall satisfaction. A narrow focus solely on usability issues may overlook other important aspects of the user experience, such as the wider expanse of the user flow and the various touchpoints of a user journey.
An example of a customer journey map reveals key areas to watch, to meet user expectations in a design.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall, usability reports can be challenging but are highly rewarding, essential parts of the design process. The more clearly they transmit accurate findings to everyone concerned in a design project, the better placed a design team will be to make the best iterations possible, and so ensure a digital product or service that will truly resonate with the target audience.
Usability is a core part of design, but it’s important to remember the desirability factor too.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Take our User Research – Methods and Best Practices course.
Read How to Write a Usability Testing Report (With Templates and Examples) by Xtensio for more in-depth information.
Consult Usability Test Report – A guide to make and present by Sugata Chaki for valuable insights.
Read How to analyze and report usability test results by Maze for additional tips.
Go to How to Become Great at Usability Reporting by Anna Rubkiewicz for more valuable insights.
Consult UX Research Report by Daria Krasovskaya for additional important points and more.
Project managers, UX designers, developers and business stakeholders commonly read usability reports. These professionals seek to understand user interactions with products so they can find areas for improvement.
Marketing teams also benefit from usability reports, and they use these insights to tailor marketing strategies and raise the levels of customer engagement. The data from usability reports guide teams so they can make truly informed decisions about product design, development and marketing strategies.
For designers and developers, usability reports serve as a roadmap for them to refine their products to meet user needs better. Business stakeholders use these insights for strategic planning—and so make sure that product development runs in line both with market demands and with user expectations.
Take our Master Class How to Get Started with Usability Testing with Cory Lebson, Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC.
Yes, you can automate the data collection for usability reports. Automation tools and software track user interactions on websites and applications, capturing data on clicks, scrolls, navigation paths and time users spend on various elements. This technology allows teams to gather vast amounts of data without manually observing each user session. Tools like heatmaps, analytics platforms and session recorders automate the process—and show insights into user behavior patterns and potential usability issues.
While automation helps to collect quantitative data, qualitative insights such as user feedback and interviews still call for a human touch to understand the context behind the behaviors.
UX Strategist and Consultant, William Hudson explains the value of analytics in this video:
Author: Stewart Cheifet. Appearance time: 0:22 - 0:24. Copyright license and terms: CC / Fair Use. Modified: Yes. Link: https://archive.org/details/CC1218greatestgames
The length of a usability report varies—it depends on the project’s complexity and how much data gets collected. Generally, aim for a report that’s concise yet comprehensive—typically between 5 and 20 pages. Be sure it includes an executive summary, key findings and actionable recommendations—and focus on clarity and brevity to make sure that stakeholders can quickly understand and act on the report's insights. To include visuals like graphs and heatmaps can also help convey information efficiently, and allow for a shorter, more impactful report.
Take our Master Class How to Get Started with Usability Testing with Cory Lebson, Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC.
The best formats for sharing usability reports include PDFs, slide presentations and interactive dashboards. PDFs offer a universal format that’s easy to distribute and makes for consistent viewing whatever the device. They work well for comprehensive reports that detail findings, recommendations and visuals like graphs and heatmaps.
Slide presentations—using tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides—allow for a more visual and succinct summary of key findings. They’re ideal for presenting to stakeholders in meetings, and they focus on high-impact insights and actionable recommendations.
Interactive dashboards give a dynamic way to explore data—and tools like Tableau or Google Data Studio enable stakeholders to interact with the data, filter results and drill down into specific areas of interest. Dashboards are especially useful for ongoing projects where data regularly updates. They offer a real-time view of user behavior and usability metrics.
Each format has its advantages, and the choice depends on the audience's needs, the report's complexity and the intended use of the findings. It can also be effective to combine formats, and ensure that the report reaches and engages a wider audience.
Watch as CEO of Experience Dynamics, Frank Spillers explains the value of user research in our course promo for User Research: Methods and Best Practices:
If stakeholders ignore the usability report, first ensure they understand its value. Schedule a meeting to discuss the findings and emphasize how these insights can improve the product, increase user satisfaction and potentially lead to higher revenue or reduced costs. Use language that’s clear and concise—and focus on the most critical issues, ones that directly impact business goals.
Offer a summary or presentation that highlights key points if the report’s lengthy or technical. Visual aids—like graphs and videos—can also help convey the message more effectively.
Think about asking for feedback on the report format and content. Stakeholders might need information presented in a different way to engage with it better.
If the report indicates urgent issues, stress the potential consequences of inaction—like decreased user engagement or negative feedback. This can motivate stakeholders to take the findings seriously.
Last—but not least—build relationships with stakeholders by involving them in the usability testing process. This inclusion is something that can increase their investment in the results and encourage them to pay more attention to the report.
Take our Master Class How to Get Started with Usability Testing with Cory Lebson, Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC.
Follow these steps:
Set clear goals: Before making changes, define what success looks like. Goals could include to increase user engagement, reduce error rates or improve task completion times.
Use metrics: Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that are related to your goals. If your goal is to improve navigation, metrics might include the number of pages users visit or the time they spend on each page.
Conduct A/B testing: Implement changes in a controlled environment where some users see the original version (A) and others see the new version (B). This method lets you directly compare the performance of each version.
Collect user feedback: Beyond quantitative data, qualitative feedback from users can give insights into the user experience. Surveys and interviews can show how changes affect users' perceptions—and how changes affect their satisfaction.
Analyze data: Compare the metrics from before and after implementing changes—and look for trends and improvements in user behavior and feedback.
Iterate: If the changes don’t achieve the desired impact, analyze the data to understand why. Use these insights to make further adjustments.
When you set clear goals, use appropriate metrics and continuously iterate based on feedback, you can gauge the success of your efforts—and effectively so.
Take our Master Class Design with Data: A Guide to A/B Testing with Zoltan Kollin, Design Principal at IBM.
At its core, the report contains an executive summary, methodology section, findings and recommendations.
The executive summary gives a concise overview of the report's purpose, key findings and suggested actions to take. It lets stakeholders quickly grasp the report's significance and not need to delve into the details.
The methodology section details the procedures and tools that saw use in the usability testing, and it includes information on participants, testing scenarios and data collection methods. This section makes sure that the report is transparent and reproducible.
Findings present the data and observations that arose during testing. They highlight usability issues—like navigation difficulties or unclear instructions. Visual aids like screenshots or graphs often support these insights, and make them easier to understand.
Recommendations propose solutions to those problems identified. They prioritize issues based on their impact on user experience—and they suggest practical steps to address them. These recommendations guide designers and developers as they make informed decisions to improve the product.
Take our Master Class How to Get Started with Usability Testing with Cory Lebson, Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC.
Researchers use various methods to collect data for usability reports, and to make sure they capture how users interact with a product and identify areas for improvement.
Usability testing participants complete tasks using the product while observers note any difficulties or barriers that these users encounter. This method directly assesses how well users can actually navigate and use the product.
Surveys and questionnaires let researchers collect quantitative and qualitative feedback from users about their experiences. Users answer specific questions—and provide insights into their satisfaction and areas they find challenging.
Interviews offer a more in-depth understanding of user experiences. Researchers conduct one-on-one sessions, and ask open-ended questions to explore users' thoughts and feelings about the product in question.
Eye tracking technology tracks where and how long a user looks at different parts of a product interface. This data helps find out which areas attract the most attention and which ones go unnoticed.
Heatmaps generate visual representations of where users click, touch or scroll on a digital interface. They highlight the most and least engaging elements.
Together, these methods provide a comprehensive view of user interaction with the product. They form the basis of a detailed usability report. This report then guides designers and developers as they work to boost the product's user experience.
Take our User Research – Methods and Best Practices course.
Common mistakes in the creation of usability reports include to overlook the importance of clear, concise communication and to fail to prioritize findings based on their impact on the user experience. To avoid these, try to follow these guidelines:
Avoid technical jargon: Use simple language that stakeholders from various backgrounds can understand.
Be specific and actionable: Instead of vague statements, provide specific examples of usability issues and actionable recommendations for improvement.
Prioritize findings: Rank the usability issues based on their severity and impact on the user experience.
Include visuals: Use screenshots, videos and diagrams to illustrate usability issues.
Summarize key points: Begin with an executive summary that highlights the most important findings and recommendations.
If you follow these strategies, you can create a usability report that communicates effectively, focuses on actionable insights and guides teams as they work to improve the product's user experience.
Take our Master Class How to Get Started with Usability Testing with Cory Lebson, Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC.
Friess, E. (2011). Discourse Variations Between Usability Tests and Usability Reports. Journal of User Experience, 6(3), 102-116. Retrieved from:
Erin Friess' publication on "Discourse Variations Between Usability Tests and Usability Reports" explores the language discrepancies between usability testing sessions and the subsequent reports generated by novice usability testers. This ethnographic case study delves into the linguistic differences between usability participants during testing sessions and how novice testers present their findings orally in reports. By conducting comparative discourse analyses, Friess investigates the consistency and integrity of usability data as it transitions from testing to reporting stages. The study highlights potential biases in reporting, challenges in data fidelity and the need for broader investigations to enhance the reliability of usability reports in user-based testing scenarios.
Gray, W. D., & Salzman, M. C. (2009). Damaged Merchandise? A Review of Experiments That Compare Usability Evaluation Methods. Human-Computer Interaction, 25(3), 203-261.
The publication—by Gray and Salzman (2009)—titled "Damaged Merchandise? A Review of Experiments That Compare Usability Evaluation Methods" critically examines the design of experiments comparing usability evaluation methods (UEMs) in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). The paper highlights the importance of understanding how small features in experimental design can significantly impact the results and conclusions drawn from usability evaluation studies. By reviewing five experiments comparing UEMs, the authors reveal flaws in experimental design that challenge the validity of conclusions drawn from these studies. This work emphasizes the necessity for researchers and practitioners to carefully consider experimental design to ensure reliable and valid guidance for usability evaluation methods in HCI—ultimately aiming to enhance the quality and integrity of evaluations in interface design.
Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. Morgan Kaufmann.
Jakob Nielsen's book Usability Engineering published in 1993 has been highly influential in the field of usability reports. This book provides detailed insights into usability testing and heuristic evaluations. It emphasizes how important quantitative research and data are to support usability methods. Nielsen's work is renowned for its practical guidance on usability practices. This makes it a cornerstone resource for professionals who seek to enhance user experience through effective usability engineering techniques. By combining theoretical frameworks with practical applications, this book has significantly contributed to shaping the usability profession. It remains a valuable reference for individuals involved in designing user-friendly interfaces and systems.
Do you want to improve your UX / UI Design skills? Join us now
You earned your gift with a perfect score! Let us send it to you.
We’ve emailed your gift to name@email.com.
Do you want to improve your UX / UI Design skills? Join us now
Here’s the entire UX literature on Usability Reports by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:
We believe in Open Access and the democratization of knowledge. Unfortunately, world-class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.
If you want this to change, , link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge!
