Using Eyetracking in Web UsabilityKara PerniceManaging DirectorNielsen Norman Group

Benefits to Eye tracking• Test sessions are more interesting: You feel

like you are “in the user’s head”• Technology is awe-inspiring• Expense involved can indicate commitment• Heatmaps are easy to make and are sexy• You can learn some new things, just a few:– Exhaustive Review– Obstacle course– Magnetism– Reading patterns

• “EyetrackingWeb Usability” Jakob Nielsen Kara Pernice, due this year (2009)

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BESIDES THE MOST BASIC QUALITATIVE, BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH METHOD, THERE ARE NO REQUIRED USABILITY METHODS (INCLUDING ET)

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MOST MAJOR USABILITY ISSUES CAN BE UNCOVERED WITH TRADITIONAL BEHAVIORAL, OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH- WITHOUT EYETRACKING

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IT’S ALL MOST TEAMS CAN DO TO KEEP UP WITH DOING THE TRADITIONAL/BASIC USABILITY METHODS

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EYETRACKINGSTUDIES ARE EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING

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Eyetracking Method Time Drain

• Test full processes, not just single pages– Using the Web is a fluid process– Static page tasks miss the flow

• Disclose to the user, in recruit and during session set-up, that you are tracking the eye

• Take time to get the calibration right• Closely monitor eye capture status during the

session• ANALYSIS is a bear—time drain unfathomable

HEATMAPS ARE SO EASY TO GENERATE BUT JUST AS EASY TO MISINTERPRET (OR BE INACCURATE)

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GP looks a little off

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The real story

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Think Aloud Protocol• TOL affects the heatmaps and eye gaze• Retrospective– Catch 22- Hybrid of behavioral research and self-

reported• Can nullify all the good behavioral work you just

did– Too novel: “Is that my eye?!”– Defend themselves– Want to remember/ derive stories/ please facilitator

• Recommend a combination – Thinking aloud for qualitative learning, NOTE: TOL

does not necessarily mean talking the whole time– No thinking aloud if generating heatmaps– No retrospective in most situations– Can do post-task interview under a separate

stimulus

THE TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP, BUT THE ASSOCIATED COSTS LIKELY OUTWEIGH THE BENEFITS… TODAY

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Thank you