Editing Usability testing (section)

==What it is not==
Simply gathering opinions on an object or a document is [[market research]] or [[qualitative research]] rather than usability testing. Usability testing usually involves systematic observation under controlled conditions to determine how well people can use the product.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/technical-writing/usability-testing/ | title=Usability Testing: What Is It? | work=Jerz's Literacy Weblog | date=July 19, 2000 | access-date=June 29, 2016 | author=Dennis G. Jerz}}</ref> However, often both qualitative research and usability testing are used in combination, to better understand users' motivations/perceptions, in addition to their actions.

Rather than showing users a rough draft and asking, "Do you understand this?", usability testing involves watching people trying to ''use'' something for its intended purpose. For example, when testing instructions for assembling a toy, the test subjects should be given the instructions and a box of parts and, rather than being asked to comment on the parts and materials, they should be asked to put the toy together. Instruction phrasing, illustration quality, and the toy's design all affect the assembly process.