Due to health, travel or other issues you may have planned an in-person user research study that will now need to be conducted remotely. If you hadn’t planned on this or are used to doing in-person user research, the idea of conducting remote research may seem daunting, particularly for some studies and methods.

The good news is there are plenty of techniques and tools that can make this doable for most situations. Here are my favorite tips and tools for conducting successful remote research.

If you’ve already planned a study but are no longer able to conduct it remotely:

• Check back in with participants to let them know the plans will need to change and ask if they are OK with that. Ask them additional screening questions to make sure they will still be able to participate: Make sure they have access to the necessary device(s) or equipment, are able to download screen-sharing software ahead of time (and see if they will need help with that), and that their environment will be distraction free if that’s what’s needed for the research.

• Evaluate your stimuli (website, prototype, etc.) to see if changes need to be made to how it’s accessed for security or logistical purposes (see below for ideas).

• Determine what online tools will be needed to turn an in-person activity into a remote one and if any adjustments will be needed for the method (see Methods below).

• Edit your moderator’s guide to allow for 5-10 minutes worth of breathing room for any technical troubleshooting that may be needed.

• Plan for how stakeholders/clients will now be able to interact with you during, between, and after the sessions (see Stakeholder Participation below for ideas).

Here are best practices for all remote studies:

technology and logistics

Use a webcam

My top tip is to have both the researcher and participant using their web or mobile cameras so they can see each others’ faces during the sessions. I find it makes the communication so much better and you can see how they are feeling about the experience right on their faces. The participant will also be less tempted to multitask during the session. If you have already recruited someone and they can’t or don’t want to do this, I would not disqualify them but it is highly preferred.

have each participant’s phone number handy

This is another top but often over-looked tip. If a participant is not in the session 3-5 minutes after it starts, I text or call them. Sometimes they forgot and sometimes they are having tech trouble. This simple action prevents lots of no-shows!

helping Participants handle the tech

Remote sessions require a conference call or similar software to be used and possibly installed. This may not be something your participants are used to doing and some may need extra time with it. A best practice is to send the requirements and steps well ahead of time (when the session is scheduled) and ask participants to install and test it out ahead of time. They should also be asked to log in to their session fifteen minutes before the session to make sure they are all set up and ready to go. They should have a tech support number available should they have a problem.

If you have the resources, you can also schedule a “walk-in” where someone reaches out to them 15 minutes before the session to guide them in and help them with any problems. This is especially good for those who are less technically inclined.

Be prepared for there to be tech issues with some of the participants and handling some basic troubleshooting with them. Build 5-10 extra minutes into your plan for each session to possibly have to deal with this.

Taking notes

I don’t know about you, but I always take notes while conducting research unless I literally don’t have my hands free. (I know many researchers who have not gotten into this habit and go back and listen to the videos and take notes later.. who has time for that?) When conducting researching remotely, I use two screens or two separate laptops. I have the participant screen-sharing / video call going on one screen and my notes and stakeholder communication going on another screen and it works great.

methods

For evaluating websites, apps, prototypes, mockups, etc. screen sharing software can be used for both desktop and mobile. For security purposes, you may want to use temporary passwords if you plan to send links out to participants or just show them what you have on your screen.

Evaluating stimuli on the desktop

On the desktop, you can give control to participants to use what is on your screen.

Evaluating stimili on mobile devices

Giving control over your screen when using a mobile device may not be possible, but there are work-arounds. You can be the one to “drive” while the participant provides feedback and tells you what to do. Also, mobile experiences can be mimicked somewhat by showing mobile designs on the desktop for the participant to take control of.

The limitation with remote mobile is not being able to evaluate touch screen interactions. But, you can always ask participants how they would expect to be able interact with it.

Hands on exercises

You may want to conduct exercises with participants that involve sticky notes, white boards, cards, paper prototypes or other hard-copy stimuli. I have conducted these types of exercises remotely using online tools and have been surprised at how well they can be done, often with no difference from the in-person version. A quick Google search will show many online collaboration tools to choose from to make this possible. I personally use Miro for sticky note and white-boarding and OptimalSort for card sorting studies.

Contextual Interviews

There are ways to conduct some types of contextual interviews remotely. Participants can share their screen to show you all kinds of things they do or artifacts they use in different applications. They can even use their mobile or tablet camera to walk around and show you things in their environment. More advanced set ups can also be arranged ahead of time.

always Conduct a pilot session

A pilot session is conducted first, before the remaining sessions, where you are evaluating the timing, interview questions, method, tech, and anything else that might come up. Tweaks or even major changes are often made before continuing with the study. If the session is with a qualified participant and goes well, it is often included as one of the sessions for findings/data analysis.

Whether or not you included pilot session with a real participant in your plan, you can always add a “pre-pilot” session with a colleague to run through things. While this won’t be included in your findings, it is still helpful to evaluate how the session goes. While this is important with any study, I recommend it even more so with remote studies to ensure all the moving parts come together and to give you a chance to practice everything.

stakeholder participation

Stakeholder engagement, communication and participation is much different in remote vs. in-person studies. Unfortunately, I have seen much less of all three of these when doing remote studies because stakeholders are not locked in a conference room all day forced to watch sessions and discuss what they are seeing, but rather popping in and out of calls at their convenience. But there are things you can do to keep them in the loop and more engaged.

Communication during sessions

Have a way for stakeholders to communicate with you and each other during the sessions. If they are all in the same location, encourage them to set up a conference room where they can watch all the sessions together. If they can’t or don’t want to do that, a chat feature such as Slack or Quip can also be good for this.

Ask them to send you any additional questions for the participants five minutes before each session ends. (I personally get too distracted if they send questions sooner than that, especially since most of them end up getting answered anyway. But, they can ping me earlier about other things if necessary such as if they can hear me or other important logistical items). If you want to go the extra mile, you can give them an activity or collaboration space where they can post stickies or notes.

Communication between and after sessions

Incorporate debriefs and feedback sessions during breaks and at the end of each day of research. This should be a two-way conversation where you can provide them with updates on what you are seeing so far and stakeholders can share their observations and ask questions.

At the end of all sessions, you can schedule a collaborative findings meeting using a tool like Miro to do affinity diagramming of findings or just take simple notes together. Knowing ahead of time that they will be expected to participate may encourage them to watch more sessions!