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.
Remote User Research: Dos and Don'ts from the Virtual Field
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?"
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"My heart sank. What the F? Clearly this guy didn’t understand."
Tamara HaleWar Stories LIVE! Tamara Hale
March 30, 2020
"Collaboration with another researcher was seamless because we speak the same methodology language and aligned on goals."
Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas PokharelOne Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority
March 9, 2022
"When there’s dispute over what to measure, use that as an opportunity to discuss the behavior you want to change and the value capture."
Saara Kamppari-Miller Nicole Bergstrom Shashi JainKey Metrics: Comparing Three Letter Acronym Metrics That Include the Word “Key”
November 13, 2024
"I have a tagline my team is tired of hearing: about 50% of work is getting it done and 50% is getting it used."
Nalini P. KotamrajuTwo Jobs in One: Being a “Leader who is a Researcher” and a “Researcher who is a Leader"
March 10, 2021
"Latent Scope lets you quickly explore hundreds or thousands of free text responses to find clusters and patterns."
Ian JohnsonLatent Scope: Finding structure in unstructured data
June 11, 2025
"I get bored super easily; that’s why I’m super into the AI stuff right now."
Greg PetroffExit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian
September 24, 2025
"We’re in a stage where AI is causing an explosion of crazy uses that are not very good right now, like the early days of laser printing."
Frances Yllana Jorge Arango Maria Taylor Briana ThomasThe Big Question about Impact: A Panel Discussion
September 24, 2024
"Organizational silos are killers."
Maria GiudiceRemaking the Making Company: Moving from Product to Experience
June 9, 2016
"A really strong book has to be designed as a journey with a consistent voice guiding the reader."
Louis RosenfeldCoffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book?
March 7, 2024
