RESEARCH METHOD

88 Time-aware Research

Intercepting people at the precise moment they choose to complete a task provides keen insight into how they accomplish self-directed goals.

Time-aware research is a moderated, remote testing method that allows researchers to engage with a real person in real time, just as he or she is about to complete a task of interest to the research team. Whereas traditional usability testing methods require participants to travel to a location and then complete a task or set of tasks that are selected by researchers ahead of time, time-aware research happens “just in time” for the research team to observe a task of interest.

The main benefit of using the time-aware research method is its “live recruiting” of participants. Live recruiting intercepts potential participants at the moment that they set out to complete a self-directed task.¹ Also, time-aware research enables the usability test to occur within the context of an individual’s native environment, or his or her “technological ecosystem.”² During a traditional usability test, outside influences are factored out as part of the controlled lab setting. But with time-aware research, if the participant has to access information on other websites, search for information in an email, check his or her calendar, or contact a family member in order to complete the process on your site, that more realistic and less controlled process can be observed in real time with screen-sharing software. The rich user data that accompanies time-aware research tests cannot be duplicated in a lab, and potentially, the results of the research session more closely reflect actual user behavior.

The data collected from time-aware research is similar to the data that is collected during lab-based usability tests, and can be reported similarly. Inform your team members and stakeholders by creating three-to four-minute highlight videos, or a usability report, complete with insight into how the participants’ technological ecosystem provides further perspective into user behavior.³

For time-aware research to be worth your time and money, aim to recruit around six qualified participants per hour. You can assume that around 1.5% to 2% of visitors who see the screener will complete it, and only a little over half of those will consent to being contacted. Of those, around 65% will be able to participate.⁴ Given these estimates, if you enjoy the benefits of having 10,000 unique visitors per day, time-aware research can provide a steady stream of well-vetted recruits. Otherwise, if time-aware research is just one method in your company’s ongoing usability strategy, or if you have time in your research schedule, it can still be a powerful addition to your research toolbox.

1. Bolt, Nate, and Tony Tulathimutte. Remote Research: Real Users, Real Time, Real Research. Brooklyn, NY: Rosenfeld Media, 2010.

2. See note 1 above.

3. See note 1 above.

4. See note 1 above.