We have all observed how ‘remote’ has become a buzzword in the post-COVID era. From remote working and remote tech support to distributed product teams, organisations have adapted and responded quickly to the pandemic-induced disruptions, embracing remote as the new normal.
On the same note, user research in the UX world has also undergone a noticeable shift. What was once largely dependent on field studies, in-person interviews, and usability is now transitioning into a remote activity, aiding UX teams to reach and tap users across different regions, conduct seamless research, and gain valuable insights with minimal constraints.
In fact, around 87% of UX teams conduct a majority of their research remotely, highlighting the growing prominence of remote user research in recent times. But, are they doing it correctly?
The combination of distributed teams, users, and advanced research tools has raised the bar for user research, and this blog highlights how UX teams can conduct remote user research without a large research team.
Let’s start by understanding the importance of user research for UX teams.
Why remote user research is crucial for UX teams
As UX teams focus on tapping a wider user base, swift project execution, and leaner resources, traditional in-person user research is no longer practical. Remote user research eliminates operational constraints, simplifying design decision validation, feedback collection, and therefore, allowing teams to operate without dedicated usability labs and large research teams.
In a nutshell, remote user research allows UX teams to:
- Engage and tap into wider and more diverse participant pools across various geographies and demographics.
- Save operational overheads by eliminating the need for dedicated lab spaces and travel.
- Scale their research efforts faster, especially with a small team.
Remote user research isn’t just a fad, but a crucial part of modern product development and UX practice. In fact, there is a growing acceptance of it since it can be as reliable as traditional in-person research methods. That said, research teams must deploy relevant research methodologies and utilise relevant research tools to ensure consistency and research validity.
Now, let’s explore the types of remote user research methods UX teams can use.
Prominent remote user research methods
Remote user methods can be broadly divided as moderated and unmoderated, depending on whether UX teams are actively involved during the session.
Moderated remote user research
Moderated remote user research is organised and conducted by UX teams, wherein they are responsible for planning the session, assisting participants as they perform tasks, observing real-time user behaviour, and digging deeper to uncover authentic insights.
Moderated remote user research is useful when UX teams wish to:
- Identify user motivations and mental models
- Get a better understanding of usability issues through real-time observations
- Extract qualitative insights from research findings
Some of the most popular moderated remote user research techniques include:
- Remote user interviews
- Live prototype testing
- Usability testing (moderated)
Unmoderated remote user research
Unlike moderated remote user research, unmoderated user research does not require real-time involvement from UX teams. Here, participants can complete tasks as per their convenience by following specific instructions. All user inputs, interactions, and behavioural data are recorded for further analysis.
Unmoderated remote user research is effective when UX teams want to:
- Conduct and run research at scale
- Collect feedback faster
- Validate design and product decisions with minimal resource and time investment.
Some prominent unmoderated remote user research techniques include:
- Questionnaires and user surveys that are typically task-agnostic, structured, and focused on feedback collection
- Usability tests (unmoderated)
- Card sorting and tree tests
Now, we will move on to the next section in which we will explore the most practical and pragmatic approach lean UX teams can follow to attain the best outcomes.
Designing your remote research workflow
Let’s design an end-to-end remote research workflow for you and your team, particularly when your team is small or functioning without a dedicated research department.
1. Outline the goals
Before we look at the different research tools and methods at your disposal, it is crucial to define why you are conducting remote user research. In short, you must understand the scope and the objective of your research to prevent scope creep and ensure the gathered insights are actionable.
Ask these questions:
- What are we trying to solve?
- How will this research aid in decision-making?
- Are we trying to evaluate the user behaviour or validate a solution?
For instance, if your team is redesigning the checkout process, the objective here may be defined as: “Identify usability issues that cause drop-offs during the payment step.”
2. Pick a relevant research method.
Once you are clear on what you are trying to achieve, you must now pick the right research methodology depending on the nature of the insights you wish to collect. It is worth noting that picking the wrong research method can lead to misleading outcomes even though the data is authentic and valid.
Picking the right research methodology with your research’s objective enhances decision-making and reliability, providing insights that are not just accurate but also actionable, relevant, and directly associated with design outcomes.
3. Design research material and activities
Your research material should focus on eliminating bias and confusion when participants are involved in research sessions. List down all the instructions clearly to ensure your participants know what they need to do and are tuned in to complete the tasks naturally instead of relying on guesswork.
The best way to go about this is to create research materials and tasks and ask internal team members to run a pilot test to detect technical barriers, ambiguous wording, and other constraints before asking real users.
4. Find or recruit the right participants.
Yes, this isn’t a job interview, so you do not have to recruit the most eligible people for the research activity. That said, participant profiles must be relevant and close to your target personas. Your focus should be on quality over quantity.
The sample size strategy for lean remote user research teams should focus on tapping into their existing user base instead of recruiting external participants. Additionally, customer-facing teams, including support and sales teams, typically have direct access to active users, helping you identify relevant participants that align with your user personas and usage patterns.
5. Conduct efficient research
As discussed earlier, remote user research can either be moderated or unmoderated. UX teams should be able to find a perfect balance between observation and guidance during moderated sessions. Additionally, expect a bit of confusion and hesitation among participants. In fact, you will be able to extract more genuine and actionable insights when users express
On the other hand, you do not have this luxury during unmoderated research sessions since your team won’t be present to clarify doubts and answer questions. Therefore, UX teams must present clear instructions and task clarity to ensure participants can perform tasks seamlessly without any intervention from the UX teams.
6. Analyze findings and look for patterns
Once the research part is complete, it is now time to make your data talk and give you a sense of what is working and what is not. Analysis should primarily focus on identifying patterns rather than simply noting down every observation. Keep an eye out for repeated user behaviours, friction points, and comments since they provide deeper and more valuable insights than isolated feedback.
7. Share findings with stakeholders
Now, the next step is to share your findings with all the relevant stakeholders. That said, it is important to ensure they understand what the findings mean and how they are likely to impact product decisions so that they can chalk out an action plan. The key is to present or showcase all the key findings in a structured manner; ultimately, remote user research should be viewed as a decision-making tool instead of a reporting exercise.
Elevate remote user research with these tips
Although remote user research offers flexibility and scale, it is only effective when UX teams spend sufficient time on planning and execution. Here are some useful tips to minimise bias, inaccuracies, and ensure the insights gathered remotely are reliable and consistent.
- Conduct trial or pilot sessions before starting the actual remote user research exercise
- Ensure your tasks, instructions, and other research materials are standardised.
- Use different remote user research techniques to triangulate the outcomes
- Clearly define the goals and participant instructions
- Communicate with relevant stakeholders about various aspects, including research goals, expectations, timeline, and what these insights will be used for.
Closing thoughts
Remote user research did not really get the spotlight it deserved for quite some time. However, things have changed now, and the UX world has fully embraced remote research as a reliable research approach, primarily driven by increasing global user bases, distributed teams, and the availability of various tools.
Lean UX teams must primarily focus on getting the fundamentals right, including picking the right research method, following a well-defined remote user research process, and being clear about the goals.
This is exactly where platforms like UserQ play a vital role, allowing UX teams to conduct moderated and unmoderated research, find the right participants, and capture actionable insights. UserQ is designed to simplify remote user research and help teams get closer to their objectives efficiently.
Are you looking to scale and streamline remote user research for your lean UX team? Get started using UserQ today!
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