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Usability Research
“Order a product and clearly articulate your thoughts at each step.”
In the past, respondents in usability research were frequently subjected to this method of 'thinking aloud'. Every step and thought had to be systematically expressed in words. What makes this classic approach so problematic for gaining insights that improve your UX and conversion?
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Usability tests
This blog is not a critique of the research branch known as user tests, usability testing, or UX research.
In fact, every reputable online shop, service, or platform cannot do without a thorough understanding of its users' experience. The insights that emerge give you a significant advantage to purposefully make website interaction more user-friendly, attractive, and better converting.
This blog, however, does cast a critical eye on the way the usability test is conducted. What must a test setup meet to truly lead to insights that will improve the user experience?
What thinking aloud does to the brain
You probably know them: system 1 and system 2. This dichotomy, proposed by psychologist Daniel Kahneman, is widely used today to classify the different thinking modes of our brain.
System 1 is lightning-fast, emotional, and unconscious in processing information and making decisions. More importantly, this system is dominant. Most of the day, we operate on autopilot. Whether driving, watching TV, or quickly clicking through the pages of a website, making dozens of big and small decisions per minute.
Only when something truly remarkable happens does system 2 wake up – for example, when something unexpected occurs (a page freezes) or when something is very personally relevant (you suddenly come across a product you've been looking for a long time). System 2 is rational, deliberate, and conscious; the ultimate mindset to tackle the unexpected situation… only to switch back to autopilot.
Here unfolds the problem of thinking aloud in UX research. When the majority of our information processing and decisions lie in the unconscious, it makes little sense to ask people to articulate their experience aloud. At best, you only expose a fraction of the actual usability issues – and at worst, a rationalisation that does more harm than good to the user experience.
And this is just the first crack that modern science brings to the classic research method of 'thinking aloud'. It is not only problematic due to the limited extent to which self-reported answers reflect the actual user experience. The method also has an undesirable influence on the user interaction itself. With every conscious thought the respondent has to express, this person is taken off autopilot, activating the rational mindset. The interaction that takes place in the research lab then bears little resemblance to what one experiences at home. Things that are completely acceptable to the unconscious brain are suddenly marked as problems (“I find this too much text!”), or, conversely, subtle usability issues escape the spotlight (the first glance at the main menu is overwhelming for system 1, but the respondent guided by system 2 says it's fine).
What is the alternative to thinking aloud in user research to get to the actual user experience?
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One task, one seamless measurement
The most important condition for solid usability research is that the measurement does not influence the interaction. Thinking aloud inherently distorts the interaction, as the user rarely does this at home (exceptions aside). Also, asking interim questions by the researcher forms an interruption that takes the interaction miles away from home.
The methodology in a realistic user research should enable the setup of 'One task, one seamless measurement'. In other words: based on a single instruction beforehand, the respondent should be able to go through the entire flow. The interaction is measured without being noticed.
Currently, there are four dominant research approaches that meet the above criterion. I listed them below, from simplest to most comprehensive.
- Observation. The user's actions are measured through a simple screen recording. This exposes the most pressing usability issues, such as complete UX steps that are missed or form fields that are filled in incorrectly.
- Observation + Eye Tracking. By combining the recording of user interaction with eye tracking, you gain deeper insight into the user's attention distribution and expectations. Specific eye tracking patterns reveal whether a structure is logical, if there is missing information that is expected, and if the amount of text is overwhelming. More about the relationship between eye tracking patterns and usability issues can be read in this blog.
- Observation + Eye Tracking + EEG. A measurement of brain activity (EEG) offers extremely valuable deepening of the eye tracking data. Where eye tracking maps the attention distribution, EEG reveals the emotional ebb and flow of confusion, effort, and desire that the user experiences. Because EEG measures with millisecond precision, the emotional journey can be recorded in a very detailed way.
- Observation + Eye Tracking + EEG + Interview. There is a place and a time for asking questions – and that is after the interaction. During the measurement, you can watch live with the eye tracking and brain data and based on this, note peculiarities that are valuable to delve deeper into afterwards.
Thinking aloud is dead and buried – Eye Tracking and EEG form the new paradigm
In the past, we had no choice but to satisfy ourselves with a method like 'Thinking aloud'. There was simply nothing better. However, due to significant technological advancements, the alternatives are now within reach.
It is telling that today many UX Labs are equipped with an Eye Tracker – and recently also increasingly with EEG, although the necessary technical expertise to measure meaningful data with this still poses a serious hurdle.
Unravel Research offers neuro usability research for both desktop and mobile flows. Our living room lab with comfortable Eye Tracking and EEG equipment allows for an extremely realistic measurement of the user experience. This way, you get the insights you need to make your website, shop, or app more user-friendly, attractive, and better converting. Email us and receive a suitable research proposal within 24 hours.
