Remote Usability Testing
Today’s lesson on remote usability testing: Don’t conduct intercontinental tests. We tried testing between Canada and the UK and things went horribly wrong. The biggest problem was communication. Supposedly we were both speaking English but I had the toughest time understanding what the participant was saying. His accent combined with a sub-standard phone connection made him sound like he was speaking through a gag. Then, at around 8:15 am with at least 30 minutes of testing left, his screen updates just stopped. It’s as if someone turned off the switch on the trans-Atlantic fibre. (The observer room’s WebEx feed was fine.)
The positive coming out of an experience like this is I now have an excuse to make a European visit.