User research and the web: from lab usability to remote user testing
I just posted a comment on Designing for the Sandbox about lab usability versus remote testing on the web, and I wanted to expound a little more.
I think that one of the reasons that lab usability has persisted is the difficulty in doing user research remotely. If users are having trouble with my site, I may have a hard time getting them to install a screensharing or other remote tool correctly.
I really hope that tools like Ethnio makes remote user research easier, because lab usability just can’t replicate the experience of using the website.
Lab-based usability testing is nice because all I need is a laptop, a microphone, and a user. Lab setups can get fancier, with two-way mirrors and multiple video angles, but the basics aren’t hard to scrounge in an office. Remote testing requires that the user and myself share a desktop. Even simple collaboration tools like NetMeeting can be hard to manage, and requiring user’s to install more sophisticated tools requires almost as much effort to get the software installed as it does to run the test.
Tools like Ethnio and VisualMark are promising because they lower the barrier for user participation. VisualMark can run off a CD, and Ethnio uses a browser plugin. However, I’m still losing multiple dimensions of user feedback. I lose the ability to record video and audio and synchronize it with my user input captures.
Remote usability testing is rapidly becoming more feasible, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet. Still, the enterprising researcher armed with Skype, some web cams, and NetMeeting could probably acomplish a lot.
Update: Ok, so I tried to post a comment, but it never showed up in the post comments — I’m glad I posted over here as well