What You Need To Know About Eye Tracking (older barcamp version)

What you need to know about Eye TrackingSome practical tips for designers and developers,[object Object],Barcamp Brighton 4 #bcb4,[object Object],Harry Brignull,[object Object],90percentofeverything.com,[object Object]

Who’s this guy?,[object Object],Hi, I’m Harry Brignull,[object Object],I’m a User Experience consultant,[object Object],Background in User Research & Cognitive Science,[object Object],I work at Madgex, 2 minutes walk from here,[object Object]

This is my blog...,[object Object]

This is an eye tracker,[object Object],They cost up to $35,000,[object Object],Hidden down here are some infra-red lights and a webcam. ,[object Object],They are used to track the movements of your eyes so the system can tell where you are looking on a page.,[object Object],Image credit: Tobii.com ,[object Object]

A screengrab of the admin software.,[object Object],The researcher can click a few buttons and generate cool visualisations like this. ,[object Object]

THE PROBLEM WITH EYE TRACKING,[object Object]

Simulated Eyetracking heatmap,[object Object]

When you see a heatmap for the first time, you are so busy saying “wow!” that you forget to critically evaluate what you are seeing. ,[object Object],It’s easy to feel intimidated. The technology involved is phenomenal.,[object Object],But this doesn’t mean all research done on an eye tracker is infallible – far from it!,[object Object],Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/3043760419/,[object Object]

The output from an eye tracking study does not have some kind of mystical significance just because an eye tracker was used!,[object Object]

This talk is intended to give you a heads-up on how to think critically about eye tracking.,[object Object],... So next time you’re presented with some eye tracking findings, you don’t just swallow them hook, line and sinker.,[object Object]

What You Need To Know About Eye Tracking (older barcamp version)

Some,[object Object],Some people  eye tracking,[object Object]

“Our specialist eye tracking services allow you to climb inside your users' heads and see your designs through their eyes.” - Etre.com,[object Object]

“We now offer specific eye tracking research - these offer radical insights into which elements of your design (online, print, film, ad placement) gain attention allowing you to tailor key information for the most impact.”,[object Object],- Bunnyfoot,[object Object]

Some,[object Object],Other people hate eye tracking,[object Object]

“One of these days, I'm going to make a "Just Say No to Eye Trackers" t-shirt.”“How about a Ouija Board? They run about 1/3000 the price and produce just as good predictions of what works and what doesn't.”,[object Object],- Jared Spool,[object Object]

Number of Eye Trackers owned ,[object Object],Am I being a bit cynical here?,[object Object],Enthusiasm about eye tracking,[object Object]

Clooney or Crook – which do people prefer?,[object Object]

Eye tracking gives you evidence of what people look at. ,[object Object], This data alone does not tell you whether they like it, understand it or want it! ,[object Object]

For this reason, ET is usually paired with other observational data,[object Object]

Example research from Tobii,[object Object],This heat map is based on aggregated data from 54 participants during the first 30 seconds.,[object Object],Quoting the Tobii report “all boxes both on the right and the left side of the page are practically ignored”,[object Object],Possible (mis)interpretation: Quick, move everything into the middle! We can’t allow the promotions to be ignored! PANIC!,[object Object],Read more: http://bit.ly/tobii-realeyes,[object Object]

But hang on a minute...What task were users given?,[object Object]

The task given has a huge impact on eye tracking patterns! ,[object Object],Yarbus, A. L. Eye Movements and Vision. Plenum. New York. 1967,[object Object]

“Find a gift for under £50 for your dad” OR“Sign up for the site’s newsletter”These two different tasks are going to generate radically different heatmaps,[object Object]

Example study from Tobii Task: “Sign up for online banking”,[object Object],100 participants tested,[object Object],Source: Tobii,[object Object],http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75RpQ2Z6nYc,[object Object]

Quoting from video “[The data indicates] that they have seen the links but are not sure if they have found the right place to click. They are probably looking for a link that says "sign up now". [...],[object Object],The conclusion - add a link that says "Sign up now" [...],[object Object],Source: Tobii,[object Object],http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75RpQ2Z6nYc,[object Object]

This is the current natwest.com homepage ,[object Object],Did they really need to carry out an eye tracking study to find out that they’d forgotten to add a call-to-action for first-time users?,[object Object]

Large scale eye tracking studies aren’t cheap!,[object Object],And not lets not forget the cost of eye trackers, up to £35,000 each!,[object Object],Caveat: prices shown above are estimated and may vary by roughly +/- £10k depending on method used & supplier,[object Object]

There are two types of Eye Tracking study,[object Object],Qualitative and Quantitative,[object Object]

Qualitative Eye tracking ,[object Object],A handful of people are tested (e.g. 6-12),[object Object],An expert researcher combs through the data looking for compelling insights.,[object Object],A great deal of trust is placed in the researcher’s expertise in separating the wheat from the chaff. ,[object Object],It’s not about numbers or statistics. You have no statistical assurance that the issues observed will reoccur with your user-base at large.,[object Object]

Qualitative research isn’t science - it’s detective work,[object Object],A great deal of trust is placed in the researcher’s expertise. ,[object Object],They have to know what they are doing – what’s pertinent, what’s not, and most importantly, how to interpret the data into design recommendations! ,[object Object],Most eye tracking studies are qualitative – always be sure to find out.,[object Object]

Quantitative research IS science - but it’s still possible to misinterpret the findings,[object Object],In quant studies you test large numbers of users and use statistical tests that allow you to generalise beyond the sample. ,[object Object],However just because “significantly more people looked at area X than area Y”, you can’t be sure what this really means in terms of improving the design of your site!,[object Object]

This is a fact,[object Object],This is arguable!,[object Object],This is arguable!,[object Object]

So – now you should now be prepared for the next time you’re in a meeting and a consultant presents you with some eye tracking findings...,[object Object]

Eye tracking is just another tool in the UX research toolbox. ,[object Object],There are times when it’s worthwhile ,[object Object],When you have a tightly defined design problem that specifically requires an understanding of what people look at.,[object Object],When you are working with eye tracking experts who you can trust,[object Object],ET Findings can create compelling evidence by dovetailingwith other findings,[object Object],Can be a useful educational tool,[object Object],But critics claim it ‘s hard to use, expensive, easily misused and often reveals findings you could achieve with cheaper approaches like standard UT!,[object Object],Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/skistz/398429879/,[object Object]

Key learnings,[object Object],Healthy Cynicism: ask questions. Never accept ET at face value (or any other research findings for that matter),[object Object],Find out what kind of users were tested, and what tasks they were given – this should frame your interpretation,[object Object],Remember “looking at” ≠ understanding. You have to refer to what the users did or said for you to understand the bigger picture. ,[object Object],Always question the interpretation of the findings! ,[object Object]

That’s all folks!,[object Object],Harry Brignull,[object Object],twitter.com/harrybr,[object Object],90percentofeverything.com,[object Object]

What You Need To Know About Eye Tracking (older barcamp version)

What You Need To Know About Eye Tracking (older barcamp version)

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