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arXiv · 2601.15777

UXCascade: Scalable Usability Testing with Simulated User Agents

Steffen Holter·Eunyee Koh·Mustafa Doga Dogan·Gromit Yeuk-Yin Chan
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Abstract

Simulated user agents are increasingly deployed in usability testing to support fast, iterative UX workflows, as they generate rich data such as action logs and think-aloud reasoning, but the unstructured nature of this output often obscures actionable insights. We present UXCascade, an interactive tool for extracting, aggregating, and presenting agent-generated usability feedback at scale. Our core contribution is a multi-level analysis workflow that (1) highlights patterns across persona traits, goals, and outcomes, (2) links agent reasoning to specific issues, and (3) supports actionable design improvements. UXCascade operationalizes this approach by listing agent goals, traits, and issues in a structured overview. Practitioners can explore detailed reasoning traces and annotated views, propose interface edits, and assess their impact across personas. This enables a top-down, exploration-driven analysis from patterns to concrete, actionable UX interventions. A user study with eight UX professionals demonstrates that UXCascade integrates into existing workflows, enabling iterative feedback during early-stage interface development.

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Steffen Holter, Eunyee Koh, Mustafa Doga Dogan, Gromit Yeuk-Yin Chan. 2026-01-22. UXCascade: Scalable Usability Testing with Simulated User Agents. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15777

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