What is it? Usability research is a specific facet within user experience research. It focuses on defined tasks (e.g. comprehension of an instruction manual, or ease of navigating a website to find something, etc.,) that contribute to the ease and effectiveness of using or interacting with something (e.g. loading a dishwasher), and its broader implications to achieve its intended function. Does it satisfy the need for which it was intended, or not?  

Some people interpret usability to include functional qualities only (e.g. using filters on an e-commerce site) and others include emotional qualities and attributes such as satisfaction, frustration and usefulness,

When is it best used? It seeks to understand the ease, usefulness and or level of satisfaction when the target audience is interacting with something.

What does it entail? It is a descriptive term commonly defined by six components:

1. Learnability: How intuitive is it for people to complete a task on the first attempt. 

2. Efficiency: How quickly and easily can people perform tasks when familiar with a design.

3. Memorability: How well can people recall how to navigate a design/use a product after not using it for a while.

4. Error Recovery: If errors are made, how easy are they to recover from.   

5. Satisfaction: How enjoyable and/or fulfilling is the experience of using it.

6. Engagement: How compelling is the experience and/or will it inspire the audience to return.

Usability research can be moderated or unmoderated. 

Interchangeable terms: N/A

Use in a sentence: We conducted usability research to learn how easily our audience could accomplish the tasks they were assigned on our MVP prototype.

Related Terms: Usability test, usability testing, usability study, user research, user experience research, prototype, problem identification, click test, contextual inquiry, eye tracking

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