Gallery: 7 Things Your Company Gets Wrong About User Research
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Ethnio is a design research tool created by Nate Bolt, Facebook's former design research manager. It allows product owners to intercept visitors to their site and ask them questions in real time with the goal of making ethnographic research as easy as peeking at Google Analytics.
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Participants can also be found using Twitter. If someone says your product sucks, you can offer them a gift card to tell you why.
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Bolt has also created a mobile version of Ethnio to help app makers better understand their customers.
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As with most survey tools, researchers can ask multiple kinds of questions. Also, Ethnio has been wildly successful allowing Bolt to localize the software in many languages.
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Scheduling participants is tremendous timesuck for researchers, so Bolt has developed tools that automate the process.
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Research questionnaires are often onerous for the subjects, so Ethnio has Mad Libs-style response forms that are easier to fill out than open-ended fields
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Bolt wants to make sure his customers look good in front of their bosses, and has developed a number of features that ensure scheduled participants don't miss their sessions.
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Ethnio helps researchers screen users to ensure the right questions can be asked.
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Paying research participants for their time is another persistent challenge that Bolt has automated. Participants are sent Amazon gift cards after completing their session.
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