When user testing, how important are representative users?

1. Why is it important to get users involved in testing?
2. What are representative users?
3. What is the major drawback of representative users?
4. How many users do you need for user testing?

Why is it important to get users involved in testing?

User testing allows product teams to discover usability and design issues with their products before they go to the larger market. It's important to discover these type of issues early as opposed to when they have been exposed to the larger market.

What are representative users?

Representative users are those can know enough about user needs, opinions, struggles, and preferences to serve as a proxy for them. Stakeholders from customer support, technical support, and sales interact frequently with customers and are likely to have noted some of their feedback.

What is the major drawback of representative users?

You might spot problems or discover ways of thinking and cognitive schemas and mental models that don't match your actual users.

How many users do you need for user testing?

Summary: Elaborate usability tests are a waste of resources. The best results come from testing no more than 5 users and running as many small tests as you can afford.