At Progress, we do both in-lab as well as remote research studies. This allows us to tailor our research approach depending on clients’ needs while taking advantage of the benefits of remote UX research when we can.
Remote research opens the door for conversations with participants from a wide geographic area without adding travel time and expenses. In addition to cutting costs, remote research adds benefits such as:
- Allowing the client team to observe sessions in real-time, without the need to travel to a lab facility
- Maintaining a more natural environment for the participant (e.g. their computer, screen resolution, and browser)
- Putting the participant at ease by having them participate from their home or office, as opposed to an unfamiliar location
Sometimes, being able to watch users in the lab is important for understanding their interactions with a product. For example, our Out-Of-Box study with Icontrol would have been tedious if we had to ship the product to participants and ask them to video their experience at home. Other times, requiring participants to come to the lab constrains the pool of participants we are able to recruit. Being able to conduct remote study sessions means that we can cater to the needs of clients with tricky recruiting profiles or a widespread user base, making us and our clients happy with the research process.