apr 21, 2020 | Kennis

Remote research tip #3 Include your team

The last couple of weeks, many things have changed quite rapidly. One of them is our beloved face-to-face user research. It’s simply not possible anymore to dive into our labs and chat with people about their digital experiences. However, user research should still be your top priority. The show can go on. Be it remotely. Remote research is just as valuable, it just comes with it’s own set of challenges. So it’s important not to dive in blindly. We’ve collected four simple crutches for you to help you get the most out of your research.

 

Tip #3

You’re not alone. And you’re research findings should never be just for you. You want to share everything you’ve learned with your team members and other stakeholders to help them make better decisions, right? You can write a thousand clever words, but the best way to get insights across is showing it.

 

  • Live stream or record. Some tools allow you to have several moderators present during a session. When you want to have “silent” observers you don’t want to risk them accidentally turning on their microphone or camera. Ideally you don’t even want your participant to recognize how many observers there are. Some tools allow you to invite observers this way – you just share a link that opens a livestream of the test. When the tool does not offer this, you can still share the screen of the moderator. Another options is to record the sessions and provide these to your team. However, this is not ideal since watching the sessions together has great benefits. We’ll get to that in the next bullets.
  • Have a kick-off call. When you also want to include your team to actively collect insights throughout the day you will need to keep them active with clear tasks. Have some slides prepared for a kick-off call at the start of the day before the first session to:
      • To explain and emphasize what the goal of the day is. When the observers fully understand what the topic and the reasoning behind the test is they will collect more valuable insights during the sessions.
      • To explain what you expect of the observers. Ask your team to watch at least 2 to 3 interviews. This way they won’t be colored by only one interview. While watching they should collect insights and quotes that relate to the goal of the test. 
  • Have a debrief call. Plan some time between each session and/or at the end of the test day to discuss what you have learned. People have different backgrounds, goals, and expectations, and these influence the way we interpret the behaviour of the participants. By having a debrief you create the opportunity to discuss, explain, and prioritize what you’ve seen while it is still fresh in everyone’s mind. To make this manageable you can ask every observer to (personally) make a top 5 of the most important findings and walk through everyone one of them together afterwards to discuss its significance. Try to first get to the heart of the problem and only afterwards think about the possible solutions.
  • Get acquainted with the technology. You don’t want to spend too much time solving technical issues. Let alone while others are watching you. So it’s best to practice using the technology before you start your fieldwork day. More about getting you tech ready in our next Happy Story.

    4 crutches for your remote research
    #1 Make your test material accessible
    #2 Choose the right tool
    #3 Include your team
    #4 Practice using the technology

     

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