Juliette Melton at BayCHI: Real World Remote Research

Real World Remote Research Juliette Melton Deluxify User Experience

What is remote research? ﬂickr.com/striatic

Who has done this? ﬂickr.com/striatic

Why and why not to go remote ﬂickr.com/johnida

Selling remote research... • Ease of recruiting • Recruiting quality • Participant’s real environment • No limit to the number of observers • If real-time recruiting, using actual tasks

... but there are some caveats • Limited to participants with fast internet access • Lots of opportunities for tech failure • Can’t see participant faces

... but there are some caveats • Timezones • Languages • Doesn’t work for mobile • Secret works in process • Consent for minors

Go remote if: • You can share what you’re studying • You don’t have easy access to your target users • You’re not focusing on mobile research • You’re not working with minors

Exercise • What big questions is your organization facing? • How are you addressing those big questions?

How to do remote research ﬂickr.com/62327186@N00

Components • Participant • Moderator • Observer(s) • Tasks • Computer

Components • Participant • Participant’s computer • Moderator • Internet access • Screensharing software • Observer(s) Plus: • Phone • Tasks • Moderator/observer • Computer communication • Recording mechanism

Whither scheduling? • Scheduled, moderated • Non-scheduled, moderated • Non-scheduled, non-moderated

Scheduled & moderated • Pro: Doesn’t require access to code • Pro: Could be easiest transition from in-person studies • Con: Tasks aren’t authentic • Con: Scheduling takes time

People • Participant • Moderator • Observer(s)

Recruiting • House ads • Event websites • Customer lists • Recruiting agencies • Twitter

Recruiting • House ads • Event websites • Customer lists • Recruiting agencies • Twitter • Mechanical Turk

Scheduling • Survey to collect information • Ask for: name, age, internet access, willing to install plug-in, time zone, email address, phone number • Email back with conﬁrmation, proposed times • Information you can refer back to on the phone

Audio • Easiest: call landline or mobile via Skype • Skype-to-Skype quality isn’t great • Record on your computer • Use a good quality headset! • Better quality: use patch to record your landline

Screen Sharing • WebEx • Adobe Connect (don’t need Pro version) • GoToMeeting • LiveLook • Try whatever your company already has!

Recording • Mac: iShowU HD • PC: Camtasia • PC: UserVue (discontinued)

Moderation • Introduce yourself and remind them of the email you sent • Help the participant install whatever plug-in they need to use the screen sharing software • Get approval to record

Moderation • “It's a little weird doing this and not being able to see each other! Could you just tell me a bit about yourself? Where you live, how old you are, and the kind of work that you do?”

Moderation • “We’re testing the website, not you” • Make it clear that you’re listening • Stay focused and comfortable • Respect participant’s time • Let your colleagues know that you’re in a testing session

Pro Tips • Keep a timer in the recording frame • Include your notes in the recording frame • Edit video to make a “best of” montage • Give yourself plenty of set up time!

Dealing with tech failure • Be apologetic • Reschedule, if possible • Increase the incentive amount • Sometimes it just won't work

Non-scheduled & moderated • Pro: Get real users of your site engaged in authentic tasks • Pro: Reduced recruiting time • Con: Requires access to code • Con: Need lots of site trafﬁc

Ethnio • Live recruiting tool from Bolt | Peters • ethnio.com • (Also check out their book Remote Research)

Non-scheduled & non-moderated • Pro: Get real users of your site engaged in authentic tasks • Pro: Reduced recruiting time • Con: No control over moderation sessions • Con: Can’t adjust sessions on the ﬂy

Non-scheduled & non-moderated Usabilla Source: mashable.com

Non-scheduled & non-moderated Usabilla Source: mashable.com Text Text

Real projects ﬂickr.com/denniskatinas

Lumos Labs • Goal: Understand customer behavior related to daily game playing • Participants: Current customers • Recruiting: Twitter, email newsletter, blog • Why remote: User diversity, ease of recruiting

LendAround • Goal: Interviews with potential customers as formative research • Audio only • Recruiting: Mechanical Turk • Why remote: Easier to reach very speciﬁc user types

ﬂickr.com/haraldfelgner

Exercise • Would remote research be useful for your organization? • Is there a project that you know about that would beneﬁt from a remote component?

Questions? ﬂickr/a-g

Thanks! Juliette Melton Deluxify User Experience deluxify.com @j

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Juliette Melton at BayCHI: Real World Remote Research

by BayCHI on Jan 15, 2010

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