Usability and User testing > Remote Usability

With remote usability testing, the user and tester are in separate locations from one another. In order for this to work, there are two ways of testing the user. Firstly, the user can be viewed via web conference and phone while the test is being conducted. The tester is asking the questions, and the user is completing the tasks on their end. The other option is to send the tasks ahead of time to a user who then goes through each task while having a tape made of their interactions. This second option is one that you would use when your user is in a different location and time zone from your tester.

Both of these options produce strong results and can expand your user testing to include any group of people that you want. This type of testing can also be very effective if you have a business operating in several different geographic locations.