This is quite common - you build a feature that seems intuitive, elegant, and frankly, genius. Then you put it in front of a user, and they stare blankly at the screen for thirty seconds before clicking the wrong button. It’s painful, but it’s the most valuable data you can get.
Observing user tests recently, I’ve noticed that developers often get distracted by bugs rather than flow. While catching exceptions is important, user testing is about psychology, not just stack traces.
Here are seven specific behaviors I think are crucial to watch for:
The "Hesitation Hover": Watch where the mouse cursor stops. If a user hovers over a button but doesn't click, they are unsure of the outcome.
The Back-Button Reliance: If a user constantly navigates back, your information architecture is likely confusing them.
Banner Blindness: Users ignore anything that looks like an ad. If your critical alerts look too "marketing-heavy," they will be missed.
Value Perception: This is huge when selling software or SaaS subscriptions. If the user completes a core task but doesn't smile or nod, they haven't felt the "aha!" moment yet. The value proposition needs to be evident in the workflow, not just the landing page.
Friction in Form Fields: Watch for auto-fill errors or aggressive validation that frustrates the user before they even hit submit.
Mobile Thumb Reach: On mobile tests, are they stretching their thumb awkwardly to reach a primary CTA?
The "Vocal Sigh": It’s not a metric you can track in Google Analytics, but an audible sigh is the loudest bug report you’ll ever hear.
Don't jump in to help them. The silence is where the answers are.
Top comments (0)