RITE: How to test digital products quickly and in an agile way

As product people through and through, we know that the secret to truly successful digital products lies in a continuous process of iterative — that is, repeatable — testing and evaluation. One of the key research approaches in this area is RITE.

RITE, or Rapid Iterative Test and Evaluation, is a variant of moderated usability testing built on two fundamental principles:

1. 1. When you find a problem, fix it as quickly as you can.
2. 2. Make sure decision-makers are involved in the research.

The RITE method is inherently fast and iterative. Unlike standard usability testing, beyond simply identifying problems, we do everything we can to fix what we're able to before the next research session. Once changes are implemented, we test the updated prototype, and the cycle of identifying and solving problems starts all over again.

To make informed decisions about changes to the prototype, the issues and problems identified need to be properly organised — for example, using the categorisation proposed by Medlock et al. (2002):

1. 1. Problems with an obvious cause and solution that can also be implemented quickly are resolved and tested with the next participant.
2. 2. Problems with an obvious cause and solution but that cannot be quickly implemented or designed are resolved outside the research schedule. Once the changes are ready, they are tested with the next participant.
3. 3. Problems that are not obvious and therefore lack a clear solution are observed during subsequent research sessions. We continue working to understand their cause and find a solution.
4. 4. There are also problems that do not stem directly from the tested solution but from external context. For example, a participant may misunderstand an instruction or lack sufficient knowledge on a given topic to take appropriate action. In such cases, we either continue observing the situation or introduce changes based on our interpretation of the event.

Organising RITE tests requires an approach that combines precise planning with flexible responses to change. For the research to run quickly and efficiently, proper preparation is key.

Within the RITE methodology, a design-research team is assembled, with a UX designer and a researcher at its core.

• UX Designer — works on preparing the prototype and updating it before subsequent sessions with participants.
• Researcher — prepares the research script and updates it as the prototype evolves, coordinates the recruitment process, and is responsible for moderating the sessions.

The team also includes observers — such as another UX designer or researcher — as well as key stakeholders who may come from areas like marketing, IT, sales, or customer service. Thanks to the close collaboration between stakeholders and the design-research team, decisions about changes to the tested solution can be made on the spot, without time-consuming logistics.

RITE research can be conducted both remotely and on-site, with access to a shared debriefing space being a critical element of effective collaboration. For remote sessions, we use online meeting tools (e.g. Google Meet) and interactive collaboration boards (e.g. Miro). For on-site research, a suitably sized space is needed where the team can carry out an effective analysis of the collected material and discuss next steps (e.g. using sticky notes).

By design, RITE research should be completed as quickly as possible. Typically, the testing and prototype revision phase takes about a week (not including the organisational setup), although depending on factors such as the complexity of the prototype being tested or the availability of key stakeholders, this period may be extended.

During RITE research, we aim to be bold yet methodical in testing design hypotheses. After spotting a problem (or an opportunity for improvement), we can introduce a change and verify in the very next user session whether our assumptions were correct. At the same time, we avoid making hasty decisions and try to base our actions on observations we are confident about, as well as the expert knowledge of team members. In RITE testing, it is not uncommon to introduce changes after just one or two observations of a given event. This happens when we understand the root cause of an interface issue and because we know the new solution will be validated in the upcoming sessions. Rapid experimental cycles enable the team to experiment and collaboratively discover the best user experiences.

As with classic usability testing, RITE research typically involves a minimum of 5 users per segment — sample size is determined by factors such as the number of target groups, the project timeline, and budget. It sometimes happens that, due to the rapid accumulation of new insights, the team decides to schedule additional user sessions — or conversely, to cancel the last few.

The RITE research process involves a number of routine activities:

• Observation and note-taking during sessions — a designated observer is responsible for observing and taking notes during research sessions, but it is valuable for the entire team to do so as well. Before the first session, we brief the client's team on how to make reliable, methodologically sound observations.
• Debriefing sessions — during debriefing sessions, the entire team discusses observations, conclusions, and possible solutions to the problems encountered by participants. The frequency of debriefing meetings depends on the team's needs and capacity. These meetings typically take place when the team faces a non-obvious problem or when its impact on the prototype or product is significant, but no less than once per day of testing. The ultimate goal of the meeting is to prioritise identified problems and determine which ones we want to solve before the next research session and which ones we want to continue observing.

After each debriefing session, the decisions made are documented to provide easy access to the history of changes in the project (the same applies to smaller changes made between sessions). In RITE testing, we do not produce a research report. The recorded history of changes and the final product are the report in themselves.

• Prototype updates — after the debriefing session, we have a prioritised list of problems that need to be addressed before the next research session. At this stage, the UX designer is responsible for proposing solutions to the identified problems, drawing on the shared conclusions from the debriefing and their expert knowledge.

The RITE methodology is an agile approach to building products (digital and beyond) that offers a range of unique benefits over traditionally understood usability testing:

• By identifying and solving problems in rapid iterations, we are able to uncover difficulties that in standard testing might be masked by the persistent presence of other, more obvious issues.
• Unlike traditional testing, in RITE we don't just identify problems — we also solve them. The final outcome of the design-research process is a product ready for implementation, not a report listing bugs and recommendations.
• By verifying changes in real time, we increase our confidence that the solution genuinely addresses user needs. This is a far more effective approach than classic usability testing, where the final output is a set of isolated recommendations — with no certainty about how their implementation and interaction with other elements will affect the perception of the product.
• The active involvement of the client's team, whose insights, observations, and suggestions are a meaningful contribution to the product's development, supports building a research-driven organisational culture.