You can choose to conduct usability testing in person with your participant in the same room as you, or remotely through video software with screen sharing functionality. There’s also unmoderated testing, in which your participant takes part in your test in their own time.
The benefits of conducting your test in person are you’re there with your participant to ask follow-up questions, pick up any non-verbal cues, as well as monitor their behavior.
Doing usability testing in this way gives you a good level of depth and quality of insights as you’re seeing the sessions being conducted live. This can also be done remotely where you can watch the participant live through a video feed. This is useful for when your participants aren’t in the same location as you or you don’t have the space or facilities to conduct the session in person.
This method is useful for when you need a fast and convenient way to get your research done. In most cases, participants will use dedicated software and will complete a series of tasks in their own time.
While it can be faster than traditional in-person usability testing, it doesn’t quite offer the same level of depth and insight, or give you the opportunity to follow up with your participant.