Links

  1. More, Broader, Faster: A Brief Intro to Effective Remote Research

    @productherapist’s tips for better remote research.

    Advantages of remote Research:

    • Easier to reach a wider geographic audience
    • Lowers cost of attending physical spaces for research sessions
    • Easier for the participants to attend sessions

    Useful tips:

    • Have a backup telepresence, email, phone number
    • Slow down to ensure comprehension
    • Send setup instructions before the sessions
    • Know when to quit and reschedule
    • Prepare and test
    • Get there early to make a head start
  2. Don't jump: My tips for interpreting user research

    @keithemmerson’s gives some great advice about observing research sessions.

    Keith makes an interesting point about the attitudes and motivations of research session observers.

    “… what’s more dangerous: someone who doesn’t attend any sessions, or someone that attends 1 or 2 sessions but misinterprets what they see and hear?”

    What I came to realise is that the question is not whether people should attend research. It’s how they listen and observe during research, and whether they take part in group analysis after research.

    In the full article Keith highlights behaviours that are avoidable during research sessions. I found these particularly interesting:

    1. Go to sessions with an open mind. It’s all too easy to attend a single lab session with the intention of confirming an existing hunch or assumption.
    2. If you have it, compare your test participant’s behaviour with data from your live or beta service.