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the user to work on a page, I sent him the image URL by ICQ and gave verbal instructions over
the phone. In that way I could guarantee that we were in sync."
Shawn Zhang, usability specialist
Remote usability testing is an intriguing idea, but it may not yield the richness of data that you get by
being in the same room with users. There may be interaction drawbacks if the user has to flip pages or
take other special action to get to the next screen. On the other hand, if travel isn't feasible, remote
testing is much better than nothing, and it may allow the product team to get feedback from a larger
number of users than they'd be able to see in person.
Rescheduling Costs
Rescheduling users can cost money. If you pay an outside agency to do user recruitment, they may
charge you a fee for rescheduling the same users to a different day. They almost certainly will charge
for each qualified person they recruit, including those that couldn't be rescheduled. Some companies
don't blink at wasting far larger sums than the few hundred dollars needed to reschedule a usability
study, but other companies have tight budgets and throwing away money is painful.
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