I hope that you are well and healthy out there in the world! We are hunkered down here in Atlanta trying to stay out of trouble. With two kids and a husband at home, I’ve sequestered myself in the basement with our three foster puppies. I asked them earlier and they said that they LOVE online qual because then Fommy can be home with them.

Anyway, I wanted to continue the series on online qual because this looks like it could be our reality for the foreseeable future (insert puppies saying YIPPEEE).

Mobile Diaries (Mobile Ethnography)

There’s not too much difference between Mobile Diaries and Online Bulletin Boards in terms of basic technology. You can use the same platforms for both (HatchTank, Indeemo, etc). The difference with diaries is that you are usually asking respondents to document their activities on an ongoing basis for some period of time.

For example, I had a media client who was trying to understand the circumstances when people seek out news during the day. We set up a simple recurring task where respondents would answer a few quick questions each time they interacted with the news over the course of 24 hours.

Above is a pretty simple set up for an ongoing diary, but you can be much more elaborate, asking for videos of specific activities (e.g. shopping, selecting what to watch on tv, etc.). The idea is to capture in the moment what people are doing and why. There is no interaction between respondents in mobile diaries so you are typically not looking for that type of community.

· In the Moment – Rather than having respondents retroactively reflect on an experience, you are trying to catch them in the moment. This allows for a more accurate picture of how they are behaving at certain times. PRO TIP: Consider combining a diary with an online community. If you give yourself a day or two to analyze the data from the diary, you can then pose questions back to the respondents about why they did what they did during that time.

· Mobility – Usually these diary activities are designed specifically to be mobile in nature so that you can travel along with the respondent while they go about their business. Of course, right now you’re going to get a whole lot of people sitting around in their houses (hopefully), but when they can take you with them while they grocery shop or get their hair done, it does provide a whole new level of insight.

· Richness – By capturing data from users on an ongoing basis, you get a richer glimpse into their world. Unfortunately, receiving 10-12 data points from a user on a given day can create data overload. Still, it’s useful to understand how their behavior changes at various points in time. PRO TIP: Be sure that you are considering the analysis when you set up the activities for respondents. Err on the side of closed-ended questions when it makes sense and decide in advance how you are going to organize and report the data out prior to collection.

Virtual User Testing

User testing tends to go two ways these days – 1) online, routine testing using specially designed platforms (e.g. UsabilityHub, UserTesting, etc) or 2) in-depth, in-person qualitative. I don’t have much experience with the former, but I can tell you a lot about testing in-person. I’ve done quite a bit of this type of work in the past few years (along with my friend Mr. Tappy), and there is much to be gained by not only observing what people do but also discussing why they may be struggling with specific parts of your design.

When COVID-19 brought travel to a halt, I was one week away from embarking on a two-week adventure to conduct this type of in-person app tests in multiple cities. I was quite worried about these projects, but the client was willing to move them to remote tests, and the recruiter FieldCats and IVP Research Labs did a great job of figuring out the logistics in a short period of time.

Anyway, you can do this type of in-person testing in a virtual environment and there are some benefits:

· Focused Conversation – Allowing users to explore the various functionalities of an app while being guided by a live moderator ensures that you get the answers you need about the app components that are new, challenging or otherwise problematic. PRO TIP: Provide use cases so that respondents have a goal as they move through the app. This is especially important if you are using a prototype and not all functionality is working properly.

· Solution-Based - The moderator can not only explore specific areas of the app, but they can probe on expected functionality, uncover additional needs, and discover areas of disengagement. Having a trained moderator lead these discussions may actually save you more failed iterations on the backend because he/she can provide more direction on how to solve problems.

· Puppy-Friendly – Ummm…no that’s not really a thing, but it’s definitely useful to have people safely at home while you interview them.

Video Interviews

Every video conferencing platform is probably making a killing right now as companies move to ‘virtual offices.’ This same technology can also be used to complete video interviews with respondents. I’ve generally found that 30-45 minute interviews are best because they keep the respondent focused and interested.

As much as I like to pretend that telephone interviewing is the same (and I don’t have to do my make-up), there is something uniquely human about video interviews. Plus, you can do show and tell if there are particular things in the house that you are interested in (e.g. their window coverings, dishwasher, or a specific toy).

· Inexpensive – Video interviews are fairly inexpensive when you use basic out-of-the-box solutions like Join.me, Zoom, etc. You can simply send respondents links in advance and then meet through the platform. PRO TIP: This only works if the client does not need to watch the interviews live. If you need a live feed where they can watch in backroom-style, you’re going to need a more expensive solution.

· Captivating – Internal clients love to see respondents and taking time to cut the resulting videos into highlight reels (or sizzle reels if you’re special) is a great way to engage internal audiences in the insights.

· Convenient – Respondents can schedule the interview at a time that is most convenient for them (and the moderator). Knowing in advance when they are planning to talk to you allows them to free themselves of distractions (i.e. homeschoolers, husbands, and puppies). PRO TIP: Tell the respondents in advance if there are any specific requirements like wanting them to be in a certain room in the house or show you something in the kitchen, etc. Most will be accommodating if it’s not thrown at them last minute.

So, that’s the basics of a few more online qual methodologies. I hope that this has been somewhat useful, and if it hasn’t well, here’s another cute puppy picture so it’s not a complete waste…