Research Plan & Objectives Definition
We agree the questions to answer, methods and timeline up front so research results lead to clear decisions.
- Research plan
- Hypotheses list
Digital Experience & UI/UX Design
UX Research & Usability Testing Services
We recruit your real users, run interviews and moderated usability tests, and turn the observations into clear, evidence-backed recommendations your team can act on in the next sprint.
- User interviews
- Usability testing
- Participant recruiting
- Insight reports
- Years of delivery
- 8+
- Years of delivery
- Projects shipped
- 350+
- Projects shipped
- Clients across US, UK, AU & SG
- 200+
- Clients across US, UK, AU & SG
What’s included
Everything You Need to Understand Users and Fix Friction
We plan, run and analyse user research so your product decisions rest on real behaviour rather than assumptions.
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Participant Recruitment & Screening
We recruit participants who match your real customers, so findings reflect the people you actually sell to.
- Screener survey
- Recruited participants
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User Interviews & Contextual Inquiry
We interview users about their goals and workflows, uncovering needs that analytics and surveys miss.
- Interview guide
- Interview recordings
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Moderated Usability Testing Sessions
We watch users attempt real tasks on your product, then pinpoint where they get stuck and why.
- Test scripts
- Session recordings
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Unmoderated Remote Testing & Surveys
We gather feedback from a larger remote sample quickly, giving you quantitative support for design decisions.
- Survey results
- Task success data
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Card Sorting & Tree Testing Studies
We test your navigation labels and structure with users, so people find content without searching.
- Card sort results
- Tree test report
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Research Synthesis & Insights Report
We turn raw notes into affinity maps, personas and ranked findings that stakeholders can act on.
- Insights report
- Affinity map
- Personas
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Prioritised Recommendations & Roadmap
You receive a ranked list of design fixes with effort and impact, plus follow-up testing to confirm improvements.
- Fix roadmap
- Validation retest
Need something specific?
Why Kramate
Why Business Owners Choose Kramate for Customer Research
We watch real people use your product and tell you what we saw in plain words.
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Findings You Can Read in Minutes
Instead of
thick reports no one has time to read
With Kramate
We give you a short summary with the top problems first, in plain words.
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Watch Real Customers Struggle, Yourself
Instead of: having to trust a stranger's summary
With Kramate: You can watch the recordings of each session and see what we saw.
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Test People Who Actually Buy From You
Instead of: feedback from friends and random volunteers
With Kramate: We find people who match your real customers, not whoever is easy to reach.
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A Price Set Before Research Starts
Instead of: scope creep and surprise extras
With Kramate: You agree the questions, the people and the price first, so nothing grows quietly.
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We Re-Test Your Fixes
Instead of: fixing things and never knowing if it worked
With Kramate: After your team makes changes, we run the test again to see what improved.
Our approach
How We Run Your UX Research and Usability Testing
We turn watching real users into a clear, ranked list of what to fix.
7 clear steps 7 deliverables you keep
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Question Planning
We agree the questions you need answered, who we should hear from and which methods suit your product.
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Finding Volunteers
We find and screen people who match your real customers, and book their time.
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Talking With Users
We talk with users about their goals and habits, which shows needs that numbers alone miss.
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Live Task Sessions
We watch users try real tasks on your product or prototype and record where they struggle.
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Findings Analysis
We group what we saw into patterns, count how often each problem appeared and note the likely cause.
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Fix Priorities
We rank every problem by how much it hurts users and how hard it is to fix.
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Plain-English Report
We write up the results with quotes and clips, in plain language your whole team can read.
Tools & technologies
Technologies We Use for UX Research
We use proven testing and analysis tools to hear from real users and back up each finding.
- Zoom: Video calls for stand-ups, demos and planning sessions.
- Lookback: Records live moderated user sessions for later review.
- Loom: Quick screen recordings for walkthroughs and feedback.
- Airtable: Flexible database for tracking creators, leads and content pipelines.
- Maze: Runs remote usability tests on prototypes and reports results.
- UserTesting: Recruits real users to test and comment on your product.
- Figma: Design tool for dashboard wireframes and layouts approved before build.
- Hotjar: Heatmaps and recordings that show how people use your pages.
- Microsoft Clarity: Free session recordings and heatmaps showing where visitors struggle.
- Google Analytics: Shows how visitors find and use your website and apps.
- Mixpanel: Product analytics that shows what users do and where they drop off.
- Miro: Online whiteboard for workshops and process mapping.
- Notion: Shared workspace for roadmaps, decisions and documentation.
- Jira: Tracks work, priorities and delivery progress.
Expert guide
UX Research and Usability Testing Services: A Complete Guide for Businesses
UX research and usability testing services find out what people need and where your product gets in their way, before the cost of guessing shows up in lost customers and rework. Research methods such as interviews, surveys and field observation explain why people behave as they do, while usability testing services watch people attempt real tasks and record where they struggle.
The skill is matching the method to the question. This guide shows how to choose among them, how many participants you need, how recruiting and consent work, how to handle data in the USA, UK, Australia and Singapore, and how to make sure findings change something.
It is written for owners and product leaders who commission studies, so it explains the choices you control rather than researcher tooling.
What UX research and usability testing cover
Research reduces uncertainty at three points. Before building, it asks who the users are and what problem is worth solving. During design, it tests whether concepts and prototypes make sense. After launch, it explains why behavior in your analytics looks the way it does.
It is most valuable when teams disagree about what users want, when analytics show a drop-off nobody can explain, when entering a new market, or before a costly redesign. For a quick expert diagnosis rather than new data, consider a UX audit first.
Choosing the right method for the question
Start with the question, not the method. Research is generally divided into qualitative methods that explain why, and quantitative methods that measure how much or how often. The Nielsen Norman Group UX research cheat sheet (opens in a new tab) maps methods to project stages, and the Interaction Design Foundation (opens in a new tab) offers beginner-friendly explanations.
| Question | Suitable method | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Who are our users and what are they trying to do? | Interviews, field observation | Needs, context, vocabulary |
| Can people complete this task? | Moderated usability test on a prototype or live product | Observed problems and their causes |
| Where do people get lost across many users? | Unmoderated test, analytics review | Patterns at larger scale |
| How do we label and organize content? | Card sorting, tree testing | Navigation that matches mental models |
| How satisfied are people and about what? | Survey | Measured attitudes, not behavior |
| Which of two designs performs better? | Controlled experiment | A measured difference with enough traffic |
People are poor at predicting their own behavior, so favor observing tasks over asking opinions. Surveys and interviews complement testing, they do not replace it.
How usability testing services work in practice
- Define goals and tasks. Pick the tasks that matter most, such as buying, finding information or completing sign-up.
- Prepare the material. A clickable prototype, staging site or live product, plus a script that avoids leading questions.
- Recruit participants who resemble real users.
- Run sessions, moderated (a facilitator guides and probes) or unmoderated (participants complete tasks alone and are recorded).
- Analyze. Group observations into issues and rate each by severity and frequency.
- Report and recommend, with clips and specific changes.
Moderated sessions give depth and let you ask why. Unmoderated sessions are faster and cheaper per participant and suit simple, well-defined tasks. Remote testing works well for most digital products, while in-person sessions help when observing physical context matters.
Sample size, recruiting and avoiding bias
For qualitative usability tests, small rounds are effective. Nielsen Norman Group explains in Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users (opens in a new tab) that a small number of participants reveals most usability problems, and that it is better to run several small rounds with fixes in between than one large one. Measuring performance statistically, or comparing designs, needs more people.
- Recruit by behavior, not only demographics: people who actually do the task.
- Include the extremes: new users, experienced users and people who use assistive technology.
- Avoid colleagues and friends, who know too much and are too polite.
- Screen carefully and plan for no-shows.
- Offer fair compensation for participants’ time.
- Beware of leading questions and facilitator bias.
Ethics, consent and data protection in research
Research involves personal data, including recordings, so treat participants carefully. Get informed consent before sessions explaining what is recorded, who sees it and how long it is kept. Let participants stop at any time, and store recordings securely with access limited to the team.
Anonymize notes where you can, and delete data when it is no longer needed. When testing with health, financial or children’s information, involve your privacy lead before recruiting. The Usability.gov (opens in a new tab) resources include templates and guidance on planning studies, including consent.
AI in research: useful help, with limits
AI can transcribe sessions, draft summaries, cluster notes by theme and help write screeners and scripts. These save time on mechanical work. Researchers should still check summaries against the recordings, because tools can drop nuance or invent details.
AI-generated “synthetic users” are not a substitute for real participants, since they reflect patterns in text, not people’s lived behavior. Also check supplier terms before uploading recordings to any AI service.
Turning findings into decisions
The value of research lies in what changes afterward. Good reports are short, lead with the top problems, show evidence such as clips, and suggest a specific fix for each issue.
- Rate each issue by severity: does it block the task, slow it or only annoy?
- Assign an owner and a decision for every issue: fix, defer or accept.
- Invite engineers and product managers to watch sessions, since seeing a user struggle persuades faster than a report.
- Retest after fixes to confirm they worked.
- Keep a repository so future teams do not repeat studies.
Findings feed directly into UI/UX design and wireframing and prototyping work.
Regional considerations: USA, UK, Australia and Singapore
Where participants live determines which privacy rules apply to recordings and notes. Confirm specifics with legal counsel.
- USA: consent for recordings differs by state, and sector rules apply for health and financial data. Government-related research may follow practices from Usability.gov (opens in a new tab).
- UK: UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 govern participant data. GOV.UK services publish how they carry out research-informed design (opens in a new tab).
- Australia: the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles apply to collecting and storing participant information.
- Singapore: the Personal Data Protection Act requires consent and purpose limitation.
Recruit in your target market, since language, payment habits and norms differ. Also include accessibility: the W3C explains how to involve people with disabilities in accessibility work (opens in a new tab). With Kramate, four to six hours overlap with US Eastern time and full-day overlap with the UK, Australia and Singapore makes live sessions practical in each region.
Cost factors and how to plan a research budget
The main drivers are the number of rounds and participants, how hard participants are to recruit (niche professionals cost more than general consumers), moderated versus unmoderated formats, tools and incentives, the amount of analysis and reporting, and whether prototypes must be built first.
A fixed price fits a defined study, a dedicated researcher billed monthly suits continuous research, and hourly work suits reviews and small tests. Budget participant incentives separately, and plan time to act on findings.
How to choose a research and testing partner
- Look for a question-first approach. They should ask what decision the research supports.
- Ask how they recruit, screen and compensate participants.
- Request a sample report and check it is actionable, not a list of observations.
- Confirm consent and data handling practices.
- Check they can include assistive-technology users.
- Agree who owns recordings and raw data, and where they are stored.
- See how findings connect to design and engineering work.
How Kramate delivers research and testing
A dedicated project manager coordinates sessions, with daily Slack or Teams updates and a review at the end of every two-week round, so findings arrive while the design can still change. We sign an NDA before detailed discussions, and all intellectual property, including research outputs, goes to you. Choose fixed-price, dedicated-team or hourly engagement; Kramate can lead the study or work within your team. Details are in our approach.
Frequently asked questions
How many users do you need for usability testing?
For finding problems in a design, a small group of about five participants per round reveals most issues, according to Nielsen Norman Group. Run several rounds with fixes in between. Statistical comparisons need larger samples.
What is the difference between moderated and unmoderated usability testing?
In moderated tests a facilitator guides the session and can ask follow-up questions as problems appear. In unmoderated tests people complete tasks alone and are recorded, which is quicker and cheaper but gives less depth.
When should we do user research?
Before building, to choose the right problem; during design, to test concepts; and after launch, to explain what analytics show. Early and repeated small studies usually beat one large study late in the project.
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?
Qualitative research, such as interviews and observed tests, explains why people act as they do. Quantitative research, such as surveys and experiments, measures how many and how much. Most projects need both.
How do you recruit participants for user research?
Define who counts as a user by behavior, screen with a short questionnaire, use your customer list or a panel, avoid colleagues and friends, and compensate fairly. Always obtain consent.
How much do UX research and usability testing services cost?
Cost depends on the number of rounds, participants, how hard they are to recruit, and reporting depth. Kramate sends a detailed estimate within 24 hours of a free consultation, with fixed-price, dedicated-team or hourly options.
Sources and further reading
- UX Research Cheat Sheet (opens in a new tab)Nielsen Norman Group
- Interaction Design Foundation - UX Design (opens in a new tab)Interaction Design Foundation
- Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users (opens in a new tab)Nielsen Norman Group
- Usability.gov (opens in a new tab)US HHS
- GOV.UK Design System (opens in a new tab)GOV.UK
- Accessibility Fundamentals Overview (opens in a new tab)W3C WAI
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Cost depends on method, number of participants, how hard they are to recruit, session length, moderation style, tools and the depth of the report. We send a no-obligation estimate within 24 hours of understanding your questions. Participants who are hard to reach, such as clinicians or procurement managers, add recruitment time and cost.
A study moves through goals, participant recruitment, test script, sessions, analysis and reporting. Recruitment is often the longest part. Duration depends on participant profile, session count and how fast you approve the plan. Recruitment is often the slowest step, so tell us early who your users are.
You own the findings, recordings and report. We sign an NDA before detailed discussions. Participant consent is collected, and personal data is handled according to the privacy terms agreed with you. Recordings are shared with you only, and participants are told how their sessions are used.
We need a prototype or live product, clear research questions and a description of your target users. Access to customer lists helps recruitment. We work with your existing design files and tools rather than asking you to change them. Tests run on Figma prototypes or your live product, so your design files stay as they are.
It depends on the method and the goal. Small qualitative studies find main problems quickly, while measuring performance needs larger groups. We recommend a sample based on your product and how varied your users are. A handful of participants per user group often exposes the main problems, while measuring speed needs larger groups.
User research explores who your users are and what they need, often before design. Usability testing checks whether a design works for them. Research shapes what you build, testing checks how well you built it. Research can also include interviews and surveys before any screens exist.
Good reports rank findings by severity and link each to a recommendation. We run a walkthrough with your team to agree actions. Findings should feed straight into your backlog, with clear owners. Severity ratings and short clips from sessions help stakeholders agree what to fix first.
Taking new projects
Let’s talk about your UX Research & Usability Testing Services needs
Tell us about your project and get a free consultation and estimate within 24 hours.
- We reply within 4 business hours A real consultant reads your brief — no bot, no queue.
- 30-minute discovery call We dig into goals, constraints and budget. NDA signed on request.
- Proposal in 24 hours Scope, timeline, team and price — clear enough to decide on.
NDA on request You own the IP No obligation Free estimate