What is unmoderated usability testing?

Unmoderated usability testing allows real participants to complete structured tasks in your product independently, while their screen, voice and behaviour are recorded for analysis.

It’s fast, scalable and ideal for testing live products, prototypes and key journeys without scheduling live sessions.

How it works

Step 1: Recruit
5–8 relevant participants sourced to match your target audience.

Step 2: Structured Tasks
Participants complete realistic tasks (e.g. “Sign up”, “Choose a plan”).

Step 3: Recorded Sessions
Screen, audio and interactions captured via Lookback.

Step 4: Insight & Recommendations
Clear patterns identified and prioritised.

Why 5–8 users is enough

Why 5–8 Participants Is Industry Standard:

  • Most usability issues are repeated across participants.

  • Research (Nielsen Norman Group) shows 5 users uncover ~80% of usability problems.

  • The goal is identifying patterns, not statistical surveys.

User testing is about qualitative insight and behaviour patterns — not polling.

Why unmoderated is so fast

Speed Without Sacrificing Insight

  • No scheduling live sessions

  • Participants complete tests in their own time

  • Turnaround in days, not weeks

  • Parallel testing possible

Participants are recruited via Respondent and sessions are run through Lookback, enabling high-quality remote recordings without coordination overhead.

What you actually get

  • Clear, Actionable Findings

  • Key friction points

  • Severity prioritisation

  • Video clips of real user moments

  • Practical recommendations

When unmoderated testing works best

Good for:

  • Live websites and apps

  • Prototype usability

  • Onboarding flows

  • Feature validation

  • Conversion journeys

Less suitable for:

  • Deep emotional exploration

  • Complex behavioural research

Ready to see how real users experience your product?

Tell me what you’d like to test and I’ll take care of the rest.