In usability testing, what is the term for what a participant says or does?

In usability testing, the term that describes what a participant says or does is observation. This process involves watching users as they interact with a product or service to understand their behaviors, actions, and reactions during the testing phase. Observations can provide valuable insights into user experience by unveiling patterns, issues, or preferences that might not be articulated in direct feedback.

Using observation helps researchers gather real-time data on how users navigate through tasks, what they find intuitive or confusing, and where they may encounter obstacles. This information is critical for identifying areas for improvement in design and usability, making it a foundational aspect of usability testing.

Feedback, while also important in the research process, typically refers to comments and reviews given by users about their experience after or during the testing. Analysis, on the other hand, involves synthesizing and interpreting the data collected through observations or feedback. Judgment can refer to the subjective assessments made by researchers or participants but does not directly describe the act of recording user actions or statements. Thus, observation is the most fitting term for what participants express or do in usability testing.