A Noldus writer sat in on usability sessions for a prototype public-service app for managing government allowances. Her account is a good picture of what a well-run lab session looks like.
The set-up
- Six participants, recruited through an agency, in individual 45-minute sessions.
- Three ceiling cameras for general behaviour, a fourth for facial expressions, a tabletop microphone and screen capture from the phone under test.
- An observation team in a separate room, watching every feed side by side in NoldusViso.
Small moments, real findings
One participant could not tell that a table would scroll. Another missed reminders to report a change in income. Minor on their own, both led straight to design changes.
Why it is worth doing
- It shows real behaviour rather than what people remember.
- Findings are available as soon as sessions end.
- Participants feel able to say what confuses them.
- A whole team can watch without influencing the session.
The author suggests facial expression analysis or eye tracking as the natural next layer of data.
From Consort XPR: This is how our dedicated and pod labs are set up: multi-camera recording, live observation and Tobii eye tracking, with NoldusViso where you need several rooms or feeds.
Adapted from Behind the scenes of a usability test, published by Noldus (2 December 2025). Content and images used with permission.
