This document discusses how to conduct effective user research remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides guidance on how to recruit and schedule remote participants, choose appropriate remote technologies, conduct remote interviews and diary studies, and synthesize findings without being co-located. Key recommendations include using video conferencing platforms with screensharing and recording capabilities, minimizing technology requirements for participants, obtaining clear consent from remote participants, and utilizing asynchronous tools like diaries for longitudinal studies. Remote research requires additional time for tasks like recruiting, synthesis, and revising research questions in light of changed circumstances due to the pandemic.
2. How can we keep good research
going when the world has
shifted?
3. 40+ million out of work in the USA
100,000+ lost to COVID-19
Pandemic lockdowns
Protest movement & repression
Tech company layoffs
Government budget cuts
4. We owe our participants more
& have less capacity ourselves.
5. What we need to do research
- Find participants
- Obtain consent
- Provide the prompt
- Collect the response
- Offer compensation
- Bring home evidence
- Take care of ourselves
- Be good citizens
8. Remote Interview Care
Making it easy to join
Disclosures & consent
Comfort for your participant
Participate Be paid
9. If you don’t have a ...
- receptionist
- waiting area
- observation room
- envelope with
payment
10. If you don’t have a ...
- receptionist
- waiting area
- observation room
- envelope with
payment
- Take on the memory
burden
- Create a landing page
- Use it to set the tone &
obtain consent
11.
12. If you don’t have a ...
- receptionist
- waiting area
- observation room
- envelope with
payment
- Do your sessions in a
“locked room”
16. If you don’t have a ...
- receptionist
- waiting area
- observation room
- envelope with
payment
- Turn off observers’ video
- Turn off your video
- Consider turning off
participants’ face video
18. If you don’t have a ...
- receptionist
- waiting area
- observation room
- envelope with
payment
- Pay right away if you can
- Be flexible about means
- PayPal, Venmo,
Ca$hApp, Square, gift
cards
19. Warm neutral
An interaction style characterized by
- Receptivity
- Interest
- Friendliness
- Appropriateness
Participate
20. Don’t...
- compliment views
about your product
- ask leading
questions
- compliment kids, pets
- acknowledge hard times
- praise detail
- express sympathy &
appreciation
Do...
22. If your participant breaks into tears
- “It’s ok, feelings are just fine here”
- “Take your time”
- “I wish I could offer you a hand to hold”
- “Do you want to continue?”
23. If you need a moment
- “I need to pause for a moment”
- “Let me just catch up on my notes here”
- “That’s a powerful story”
24. Finding Users
There’s more to recruiting & scheduling
when you won’t share space.
Sign up
See
invitation
Schedule
25. Where are the people with the
problem you want to solve?
26. Research Participants
- team members.
- friends, not on your team.
- target customers.
- real users with recent experience.
- real users with current needs.
- real users with a need this hour.
MoreReliableResults
27. In Person
Are you available for a
1-hour interview at the
downtown facility June
22-24?
Parking is free.
Are you available for a
1-hour call June 22-24?
You’ll need to have your
device & be somewhere
with good wi-fi service.
Remote
29. Snowball recruiting:
Who else do you know who needs to deal with this issue?
[ neighbor ]
[ friend ]
[ family member ]
30. Cluster recruiting:
Who else in the organization had an important role in this
moving forward (or not)?
[ sponsor ]
[ project lead ]
[ hands-on staff ]
31. Closing the deal
- send an invitation with clear details
- mention where they signed up
- explain the required tech setup in plain
language
- send a calendar invite if they use a calendar app
- send a reminder one day before
32.
33. Choosing Remote Tech
- What do you need to see?
- How many kajillion options arethere?
- Which ones really work?
Participate
34. Easy ~Doable~ Hard Science
fiction
desktop
screensharing
video
recording
mobile
screensharing
phone call
recording
back-camera
sharing
body-camera
sharing
drone
research
video
conferencing
36. Common features
- video conference (always)
- easy screensharing (often one-click)
- recording (in paid plans)
- dial out to participant (sometimes)
41. Minimal-tech research
- send your prototype or prompt
- speak on the phone while your participant
uses it
- follow along with your own copy & ask for
description as needed
- use a call recorder if you can
42. Notes, Audio, & Video
- Observers may be harder to host
- Prioritize what you’ll need to show
your findings
- Respect your participant’s bandwidth
43. Video platforms
- integrated recording
- higher bandwidth
demand
- easy for you to call the
participant
- may be more
comfortable
- less likely to cut off
- recording is harder
Plain old telephone
49. Diary studies:
A research method used to collect qualitative data
about user behaviors, activities, and experiences
over time.
-Nielsen Norman Group
53. In-person
- at least 2 hours
- post-its
- whiteboards
- everyone together
- prompts for pre-work
- less than 90 minutes
- write/draw, then show
- online tool options
- less than 5 people
Remote
56. 40+ million out of work in the USA
100,000+ lost to COVID-19
Pandemic lockdowns
Protest movement & repression
Tech company layoffs
Government budget cuts
58. Before-times research could explain
- oddities in analytics
- weird feedback from customers
- unexpected uses of products
- strange hunches
59. What you must have
- conference software with recording (pro plan)
- budget for incentives if at all possible
- extra time for recruiting
- extra time for synthesis
- permission to reflect & revise your research
questions
60. We can honor our users’ needs
& support each other as researchers
even at a distance.
61. Thank you!
See you right now for questions &
@cydharrell any time you want to
talk about this