Usability Testing on a Budget: Five Users, One Afternoon, Real Answers

'Process this refund' — realistic goals on the prototype or product, observer silent while the participant thinks aloud; every rescue you perform is data you destroyed.

Severity-ranked issues with clips, top three fixed before the next test — the cycle (test → fix → test) is the method; reports that don't change the build are theater.

Skipping the discipline this article describes until an incident, audit, or stalled project forces it — every practice above is cheaper adopted early than retrofitted under pressure.