Research method
Remote Usability Studies
Use a sample pool of participants who match your target audience. Watch and listen as they walk through your site and perform tasks set by you, designed to emulate your core user journey or area of focus. Tasks and questions are set up within an external tool, meaning participants complete the session independently in their own time, thinking out loud as they go. Once complete, the recording of their screen, voice over (and sometimes webcam image) will be accessible within the tool for analysis.
When to reach for it
Gather insight into on-site friction points on a specific page, piece of functionality, core user journey, or full website. Uncovers key areas of confusion, frustration, and barriers to conversion. Gather data on metrics such as task success rate, time per task, System Usability Score, etc.
Strengths and limits
Pros
One of the key benefits of remote usability studies vs. moderated is that it is conducted from the comfort of the participant's own home, using their own devices. This helps make the session more realistic. The fact there is no moderator or live observers can also help prevent research bias such as the Hawthorne effect.
Cons
The remote nature of the sessions means that users can sometimes go "off track" or misunderstand the tasks, which can negatively impact or invalidate the insights and data. The lack of a moderator means there's no limited control over the session, including bringing the participant back on track or gathering more specific insights by asking specific and / or follow up questions.
Practical considerations
Tool
There are many remote usability study tools, with slightly different capabilities and pricing models. Much like with AB testing tools, the success of your research is not necessarily determined by the tool you use, but by what you do with it (e.g. accurate recruitment, well-crafted tasks, and questions, etc). Key considerations when picking a tool include; the size and quality of their participant panel, the ability to add a recruitment screener, the analysis capabilities, what's included (e.g. participant incentives). Also double check how their pricing works, e.g. does it scale up based on the recruitment criteria and estimated length of session.
Sample Size
Nielsen Norman says "The answer is 5, except when it's not" regarding usability study sample size. We use this as a guide; but one that should be considered rather than followed blindly. For example, if you're testing on multiple devices or with different user types, then you need to apply this rule to all of those segments. You may also want to add 1-2 additional "buffer" sessions to account for poorer quality participants, tech issues, no shows, etc.
Common tools
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Recipes that use this method
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