Almost every major UX publication has written something on the strengths and weaknesses of remote moderated or remote unmoderated testing – including the Nielson Norman Group, UX Magazine, CHI, and UXPIN. While many authors make general claims about moderated v.s. unmoderated methods – they do so in a similar manner: with no empirical data.
This poster provides some introductory frameworks for comparing the number and severity of various usability problems, and empirical data about the strengths and weaknesses of remote moderated and remote unmoderated methods.
Takeaways for UX Practitioners include:
1. Recognize that many publications make claims about certain methods, often without actual data about the methods’ strengths or weaknesses;
2. Distinguish among the mix of severity matrices around rating usability problems;
3. Go forward with actionable empirical data about the strengths of remote moderated v.s. unmoderated methods.