Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Faced with the coronavirus crisis, the world switched from office to remote work almost overnight. Likewise, many design teams suddenly found themselves having to conduct user research remotely. For some, this wasn't entirely new. For others, it was the first time going all-out remote, which took some getting used to!
Key Insights
-
•
Remote research suits digital product validation, early concept testing, and asynchronous methods best.
-
•
Contextual inquiry and ethnography lose critical richness when conducted remotely and are often not worth the effort.
-
•
Recruitment for remote studies risks biasing samples toward participants with tech access and literacy.
-
•
Detailed participant screening and pre-interview phone calls help assess vulnerability and stressors during crises like COVID-19.
-
•
Over recruiting by about 50% compensates well for remote no-shows and tech dropouts.
-
•
Remote sessions require significantly more preparation time and energy than in-person research.
-
•
Having formal backup tools and contingency plans is critical to handle inevitable tech failures in remote sessions.
-
•
Clear rules about stakeholder observers reduce interruptions and emotional impact on participants.
-
•
Video inclusion in remote interviews builds trust and helps interpret participants’ non-verbal cues.
-
•
Remote research is not always the best option; sometimes waiting for in-person research is the right call given context and participant conditions.
Notable Quotes
"Remote research is not a silver bullet."
"The best way to understand something is to become part of it."
"If the research question requires deep context, remote probably won’t do."
"It really pays off to prepare way more for remote than for in-person research."
"We recruited 50% more than we needed because no-shows are incredible in remote sessions."
"Video conveys trust and lets you see those purposeful pauses."
"Observers interrupting sessions was a weird behavior we had to manage with clear rules."
"Having a recruitment team that does pre-session phone screenings was a luxury that helped a lot."
"Don’t do remote contextual inquiry just because you can; you lose so much context."
"Remote is a design constraint, but what else can we do with it to improve practice?"
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"Sharing enables lots of great things to happen—it’s better than being locked in silos."
Etienne FangPower of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform
December 16, 2019
"Universities in Latin America are doing a very bad job providing practical UX research training."
Victor M. GonzalezPracticing Learners and Learning Practitioners
March 10, 2021
"Stakeholders might say no to research involvement if the context and relevance aren’t clear, or the ask seems overwhelming."
Roberta Dombrowski Sam Duong WoloszynskiMaking Research a Team Sport
March 11, 2022
"If the phone dies, Bigfoot’s insulin pump continues working independently, but without new data input."
Daniel J. RosenbergDigital Medicine Design
September 26, 2019
"Establish a design system council where all stakeholders gather regularly to maintain and evolve the system."
Jaime CreixemsBest Practices when Creating and Maintaining a Design System
June 7, 2023
"Thick data is the opposite of big data and essential for rescuing lost context."
Tricia WangFrom Users to Shapers of AI: The Future of Research
March 25, 2024
"Knowing your value as a person means not giving everything to situations that don't give back."
Shahrzad SamadzadehWhat Is My Value? Two Takes and Some Mistakes
January 8, 2024
"Language itself can be a powerful design object, shaping social roles and organizational interactions."
Jorge ArangoDesign as an Antidote to VUCA
May 9, 2019
"Some early community recordings sound rough, but the overall error rate for the AI transcription is pretty low."
Louis RosenfeldThe Rosenbot and the Rosenverse: An AMA with Lou Rosenfeld
June 5, 2024
