Using Remote Usability Testing in an Agile Development

This technique combines various research methods that share the following unique characteristics:

• User participate on their own computer in their natural environment (home, work, etc).
• Tests are conducted remotely without the need for human moderation.
• Data is collected automatically with our software solution.
• Data can be collected from hundreds of users geographically spread.

The economic globalization, partly boosted by the global and open nature of the Internet, has complicated the work of information architects, interaction designers and user experience researchers.

There is a high demand that their developments, designs, and sites be used together by users from all over the world (i.e. America, Spain, China, Brazil, etc.). This requires a high level of satisfaction with the overall user experience. This may only be achieved by involving user feedback and testing throughout every stage of the development process. In most cases, this needs to be accomplished quickly and at times with a limited budget. In addition, researchers are asked to conduct User Experience Benchmarking which is not easy to do considering the budget, time and limitations in reaching an appropriate number of users. To further add to this challenge, key stakeholders require accurate metrics from user experience activities in order to calculate the ROI of their investments. With all these requirements, it makes it extremely difficult to impossible to accomplish and meet all these goals.

In this talk we will explain, using examples and case studies, how automated remote usability testing can be used for:

• International testing
• Feedback gathering during early development stages
• Conducting a UX benchmark study
• Quantifying usability

In addition, we will answer most frequently asked questions when using or exploring automated remote usability testing.