Abstract
Remote usability testing is emerging as a popular approach through which evaluators can test technology interfaces on a large number of participants quickly and inexpensively. Two types of remote studies have been employed, either with a moderator interacting remotely with the participant or in an unmoderated format. But without a moderator, or even when the moderator is present but not collocated with the participant, there is some question as to whether the results can match the validity, reliability, and acceptability of a live testing paradigm. This session is a novel format that pits the two in a head-to-head challenge during the conference session. The audience is asked to be a part of the session as test participants and/or results evaluators. The session is divided into three modules. In the first module, a remote unmoderated study was conducted on the HFES.org web using the current state of the art for remote, unmoderated testing. The other two modules are conducted live during the conference session. In the second module, a moderated remote study is conducted with the moderator located in other room but with the participants in the conference session room. In the third module, a live study is conducted with a moderator collocated with the participants in the conference session room. These two modules also use state-of-the-art techniques for these methods. The final time block of the session is used to interactively discuss the differences in the results with the audience. They are able to decide for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
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