---
title: "moderated and unmoderated usability testing | Skills We Assign For | Azendo"
description: "Usability testing — moderated versus unmoderated, task design, plus the Azendo roles assigned for it."
url: "https://azendo.co/skills/moderated-and-unmoderated-usability-testing/"
---

[Skills](https://azendo.co/skills/) Design and research 

# moderated and unmoderated usability testing.

Usability testing observes people attempting realistic tasks with a product. Moderated sessions allow follow-up questions; unmoderated sessions are completed independently and scale to larger numbers.

## Where moderated and unmoderated usability testing fits on a long engagement.

The two formats answer different questions. Moderated testing explains why someone struggled, because the researcher can probe; unmoderated testing establishes how often something happens, because it scales. Treating them as interchangeable produces either shallow depth or unreliable frequency.

Task design determines whether results mean anything. A task describing the steps tests whether people can follow instructions; one describing a goal — "find out how much you spent on this last month" — tests whether the product supports what they came to do.

## What an assigned team does with moderated and unmoderated usability testing.

Small numbers find most problems. Five participants will surface the majority of serious usability issues, and teams that delay testing until they can run a large study usually run none at all.

Making testing routine at small scale is more valuable than occasional large studies, and it is what a standing design assignment enables, as agreed in [how the monthly fee is built](https://azendo.co/pricing/).

## What we use moderated and unmoderated usability testing for.

* Depth and frequency from the right format Moderated for why, unmoderated for how often.
* Tasks framed as goals What someone came to do, not the steps they should follow.
* Small tests run often Five participants regularly, rather than a large study nobody schedules.

## How moderated and unmoderated usability testing capacity is assigned.

Usability testing is assigned inside design capacity, run at small scale frequently rather than saved for occasional large studies.

## Roles we assign moderated and unmoderated usability testing for

* [UX Researcher UX/UI design](https://azendo.co/services/ux-ui-design/ux-researcher/)

## Service lines it sits in

* [UX/UI design](https://azendo.co/services/ux-ui-design/)

Capacity is agreed as a committed monthly capacity across a discipline, not per skill.

## Related in design and research

* [Storybook — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/storybook/)
* [Maze — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/maze/)
* [Hotjar — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/hotjar/)
* [usability testing — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/usability-testing/)
* [design systems — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/design-systems/)
* [design tokens — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/design-tokens/)
* [component libraries — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/component-libraries/)
* [Figma Dev Mode — skill we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/figma-dev-mode/)

## Tell us what your roadmap needs moderated and unmoderated usability testing for.

A service delivery manager replies with the disciplines we would assign, the monthly capacity and what the first month looks like.

[All skills we assign for](https://azendo.co/skills/)