5 Remote UX tools for the 2020 lockdown
Getting the most out of working from home.
With more and more countries going on lockdown, you might start to think that you can no longer run the usual surveys/workshops/interviews that help inform your UX strategy for a project. Whilst nothing beats in-person interactions, these tools will let you get some useful data without putting anyone at risk.
I have included a complexity rating with each of these based on my experience.
This post is not sponsored, these are just some tools I have come across over the years and found really useful.
Zoom
Zoom — online video chat, ideal for conference calls with your team or for interviews.
There is a free tier that lets you have unlimited 1-to-1 meetings or have up to 100 participants in one stream.
Complexity: low. Setting up an account is pretty straightforward and participants can join any meeting via join.zoom.us and a meeting ID number.
UPDATED 3 APRIL 2020
A whole bunch of articles are cropping up about Zoom’s privacy and security issues so below are 2 great alternatives!
Skype — Great video chat software from Microsoft. Ideal if you’re used to the Microsoft ecosystem. There is even a free conference call option if you don’t have/want a Skype or Microsoft account. Complexity: low.
Hangouts — Hangouts from Google is still around, even though they are pushing Hangout Meets for Google users. All you need to get started is a Google account. Complexity: low.
DON’T FORGET — great chat software like Slack and Microsoft Teams also have video chat build in, though Slack only offers 1-to-1 video on their free tier.
Miro
Miro —an infinite whiteboard for multiple users. Great for real-time brainstorming with your team and journey mapping. There is loads of existing templates you can use too.
Free tier allows for unlimited team members and 3 concurrent boards.
Complexity: low to medium. Sign up is straightforward but team setup can be tricky for some users.
Trello
Trello — Technically a Kanban-style list-making application but it can easily be adapted to enable remote card sorting. Niaw de Leon has a fantastic guide on how to set it up for card sorting.
The free tier allows for unlimited boards/cards/lists. Attachments are limited to 10MB per file but that shouldn’t be an issue for card sorting.
Complexity: low to medium. Sign up is really easy and boards can be made public for sharing. Editing and moving and cards can be confusing for less technically efficient users.
Lookback.oi
Lookback — great for remote usability tests. You can set up:
- live tests — your team watches remotely and take timestamped notes, as the user interacts with your digital product
- self-tests — you ask users to complete tasks on their own time and get a variety of recordings in your inbox
There is no ongoing free tier but you do get a 14 day free trial.
Complexity: medium. Really straightforward to use and setup but getting users in to a session can be a bit overwhelming.
Figma
Figma — a browser based interaction design tool with real-time team collaboration that works a bit like Google Docs. You can design and prototype at the some time so you can churn out new iterations really fast. Includes a number of available plugins and lets you test out keyboard and gamepad interactions.
Free tier lets you have 2 editors and 3 projects so decent enough for small teams.
Complexity: low to medium. Really easy to sign up and get started and easy to share the prototype view.
