Overview
Competitor Usability Testing involves conducting usability tests with one or more competitor products to gain insights for building your own product.
How to Use This in GLIDR
Within the GLIDR platform, conduct this as Research since you're generating open-ended observations rather than measuring specific metrics. Start your Research and connect ideas about your product that the competitor's usability test will involve. Each test can become its own Evidence - Interview, or combine multiple shorter studies into Evidence - Other. During the Analyze phase, determine how to apply learnings to your project.
In Brief
Observing your target market using competitor products or services reveals user mindset, common issues, and potential improvements. This differs from competitive usability testing, which compares products to determine which is "winning."
Helps Answer
- What is the minimum feature set to solve the problem?
- How important is design?
Tags
- Value proposition
- Key activities
- Generative product research
Description
Competitor usability testing applies usability testing methodology to competitors' or substitute products. While standard usability testing evaluates your own product, this generative approach creates solution ideas.
Example: Testing tax preparation systems in Sweden or India could inspire improvements to U.S. tax processes around comprehensibility and submission procedures.
How To
Follow standard usability testing procedures but test competitors' products or substitute goods. Use multiple different products for maximum idea generation.
Interpreting Results
Treat results as generative rather than evaluative. Ideas tend to be unstructured and incomplete, requiring integration into viable solutions. Validate generated ideas through solutions interviews or concierge testing before building.
Field Tips
"Don't reinvent the wheel, figure out what's wrong with walking to begin with."
Adapted from The Real Startup Book, edited by Tristan Kromer and published by Kromatic, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.