Put your products in the hands of your target consumers in China to understand how they’re really used

The digital ecosystem in China is unique and complex, with its own set of design and usability patterns, tools and integrations. Releasing your digital products into the Chinese market without accurately localizing the experience, design and content for Chinese users is a recipe for failure.

Through usability testing, we help you validate concepts, prototypes and products to get feedback directly from your target users in China. We specialize in one-on-one moderated user testing that deep dives on how Chinese users really use your products. We help identify problems in the user experience that affect how real-users achieve given tasks, discover opportunities to optimize the usability, design and localize the experience for users in China, while learning more about your target users in China and their behaviours and preferences.

We built a UX research lab in Shanghai designed for usability testing your digital products

Our UX lab is custom-built with HD video and audio recording equipment that can be adapted to suit user testing devices of all shapes and sizes. The lab allows for both close-up view of users actions and expressions on TV screens in the observation room and direct viewing through the 3.5-metre one-way mirror. Two direct audio lines connect to the headphones — one from the live feed in Chinese, and another in English from the simultaneous translator's microphone. Take a 360° VR tour of our research facility.

Through running thousands of usability tests in China, our UX researchers have gained extensive experience with industries, including luxury, beauty, outbound tourism, digital, automotive, new retail, and many more.

“They produced not only a regular report, but also a competitor analysis and recommendations for our product’s adaptation in the Chinese market. I absolutely recommend this company for UX activities in China.”

Kaspersky software usability testing

Kaspersky software usability testing

Ekaterina Loginova

Ekaterina Loginova - Head of International UX Research

Usability testing a mobile app at UX Spot

Usability testing a mobile app at UX Spot

Meet our researchers

Ying Wang

Samuel has been living in China for over 10 years researching UX, designing and developing products, with a focus on helping western brands localize their products and customer experiences in China. His unique combination of skills and cross-cultural understanding provides an invaluable bridge into China when looking to run a successful UX research project.

The right participants for your user testing in China, screened and pre-interviewed

When running user tests, it’s crucial to have the right respondents testing your products. To ensure the participants are ideal target users, we created a three-step screening process. First, we use a custom-designed screening survey, we then collect evidence submitted by each participant (such as a drivers license, or receipt of purchase, or whatever relates to your project), and then conduct a pre-test phone interview to ensure the test users are open, chatty and will be excellent communicators.

We don’t just test user experiences and interfaces, we help you redesign them

Our Chinese UX research team not only has an understanding of digital products in both the east and west, but how to design them for Chinese users. This knowledge gives our team the ability to plan, execute, and analyze the UX research, provide more valuable and detailed recommendations on how to optimize your product, while also executing the design recommendations through both UX design and product design.

We help best in class companies run UX research in China.

Our usability testing process

Our detailed approach is a proven method for success.

Frequently asked questions on usability testing in China

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Ask us your question directly and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

What stage of my project should I usability test in China?

Usability testing in China gives you an immediate idea of how Chinese customers interact with and understand your digital product and can be run at any stage of a project for different benefits. Usability tests can cover a complete app, short user flows or specific features and tasks.

Examples of scenarios that usability testing is ideal for include:

  • When validating or comparing designs, to benchmark certain standards or functionalities.
  • At the early stages of the development process, to evaluate preliminary concepts.
  • During the implementation of a product, to test if features work as intended.

How long does one usability test interview go for?

Usability tests usually take between 30 to 90 minutes. There should be enough time allowed for introductory and ice-breaking conversation, to walk through a user flow naturally while identifying usability issues and gauging user satisfaction of the interactive product. The duration of this depends on the complexity and number of features or functions we need to test in your product. 

What makes a good interview moderator for usability testing in China?

When usability testing in China, it's crucial the moderator should know the culture, language, understand different accents and colloquial sayings. Usability testing requires a neutral interviewer who can conduct interviews that do not lead or bias the answers. They need to know when to probe for certain expectations or nonverbal cues while keeping participants focused on the tasks at hand, all while making the participants feel comfortable while getting useful responses without interrupting the task flow. When a usability testing interview moderator has an understanding of UX design it allows them to understand what is happening on a deeper level, while being able to gracefully handle any errors or issues that may arise in the product being testing.

How long does a usability testing project in China take?

A usability testing project in China usually takes around 4 to 5 weeks from start to finish. During the first two weeks, we work with your team to understand the project requirements, screen and recruit the respondents, and work on the research design of the discussion guide and testing scripts. Depending on the number of interviews the execution of interviews can take days or weeks. We typically run a maximum of 5 x 1-hour interviews in a day and run a minimum of 5 interviews in a project. The analysis and reporting phase of the project takes between 2-3 weeks to complete depending on the expectations and volume of output. Don't hesitate to contact us for more information or if you would like a quote for your project.

In this UX study, we use AR as a lens to better understand cosmetic customers' needs: we aim to uncover how beauty tech users are engaging with these apps, and synthesize prescriptive solutions.

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