Comments on: Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/ It's all about interaction Thu, 17 May 2012 15:57:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Seven Things Remote Testing Can Do That Lab Testing Can’t. | Loop11 http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112817 Seven Things Remote Testing Can Do That Lab Testing Can’t. | Loop11 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 06:13:34 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112817 [...] *The term “technological ecosystem” and the above example of a recipe website was originally written by Nate Bolt in his article “Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing”. [...] [...] *The term “technological ecosystem” and the above example of a recipe website was originally written by Nate Bolt in his article “Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing”. [...]

]]> By: Test remotos de usabilidad | Will Web For Food http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112816 Test remotos de usabilidad | Will Web For Food Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:55:38 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112816 [...] Pros y contras del RR en Jhonny Holland [...] [...] Pros y contras del RR en Jhonny Holland [...]

]]> By: June UX Roundup | LionWebMedia.com http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112815 June UX Roundup | LionWebMedia.com Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:03:40 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112815 [...] Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing [...] [...] Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing [...]

]]> By: June Roundup | UX Booth http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112814 June Roundup | UX Booth Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:02:25 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112814 [...] does. Instead, navigational aids help people find the right path based on their interests. Pros and Cons of Remote Usability TestingIn-person user research used to be the only game in town. As with most industry practices, its [...] [...] does. Instead, navigational aids help people find the right path based on their interests. Pros and Cons of Remote Usability TestingIn-person user research used to be the only game in town. As with most industry practices, its [...]

]]> By: Brian Hoffman http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112813 Brian Hoffman Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:20:04 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112813 Overall I think this was a great article. Remote user testing is certainly a valuable tool to have in the toolbox. There are a few points that came to mind, however. Bojhan has already hit on one of them. With remote testing you lose the ability to really connect with your customers and have those informal side conversations. Also, when you said, "There’s no reason to hire a specialist to observe real-world technology behavior," I think you have to be careful to not interpret this as, "everyone is good at user testing." Many people have a very hard time keeping quiet and letting the subject act naturally. Some people just aren't good facilitators, observers, and analysts. So how do we assess the trade-off in the likely reduced qualitative value of remote testing results in exchange for reduced cost and other benefits, such as timeliness? Overall I think this was a great article. Remote user testing is certainly a valuable tool to have in the toolbox. There are a few points that came to mind, however. Bojhan has already hit on one of them. With remote testing you lose the ability to really connect with your customers and have those informal side conversations.

Also, when you said, “There’s no reason to hire a specialist to observe real-world technology behavior,” I think you have to be careful to not interpret this as, “everyone is good at user testing.” Many people have a very hard time keeping quiet and letting the subject act naturally. Some people just aren’t good facilitators, observers, and analysts.

So how do we assess the trade-off in the likely reduced qualitative value of remote testing results in exchange for reduced cost and other benefits, such as timeliness?

]]> By: Bojhan Somers http://johnnyholland.org/2010/06/pros-and-cons-of-remote-usability-testing/#comment-112812 Bojhan Somers Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:25:19 +0000 http://johnnyholland.org/?p=7456#comment-112812 I found it troublesome convincing organisations the benefits of remote usability testing. Where one trick works very well, which is including a few remote usability tests in between a formal lab study. Since all stakeholders are together anyway they can immediately see the benefit. We have been working hard in the Drupal community (of who I am UX-Team lead) to push remote usability testing and certainly the ability for anyone to do this kind of stuff is incredible. Especially the ability to observe those participants who are in a certain context that you are looking for is the greatest benefit to this method. However one thing that struck me as hard is basically the lack of personal connection between the participant and the observer - which could have some effect on the feedback, especially at the beginning. One thing I always do is show my face through the webcam for a bit. Is this something you experienced as well? I found it troublesome convincing organisations the benefits of remote usability testing. Where one trick works very well, which is including a few remote usability tests in between a formal lab study. Since all stakeholders are together anyway they can immediately see the benefit.

We have been working hard in the Drupal community (of who I am UX-Team lead) to push remote usability testing and certainly the ability for anyone to do this kind of stuff is incredible. Especially the ability to observe those participants who are in a certain context that you are looking for is the greatest benefit to this method.

However one thing that struck me as hard is basically the lack of personal connection between the participant and the observer – which could have some effect on the feedback, especially at the beginning. One thing I always do is show my face through the webcam for a bit. Is this something you experienced as well?

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