Eye Tracking
Eye Tracking is clearly the new buzzword in the qualitative design research world. However, an effective deployment of Eye Tracking technology requires an exceptionally deep understanding of design and user behavior. Catalyst’s many years of experience with in-person Usability Testing have positioned us well to help our clients take advantage of this exciting new technology.
Eye Tracking literally tells you where website users are looking on a screen as they attempt to complete a specific task or simply explore freely. This information can help inform decisions about a variety of key design elements, such as task workflow, site navigation, and advertising placement and formats. Combined with “talk-aloud” Usability Testing, Eye Tracking can help complete the research picture by supplementing what users “say” with what their eyes “see.”
Results
The most popular output from the Eye Tracking system is “Heatmaps” that graphically illustrate the intensity of attention that certain areas of a page received. “Gaze-plots” are another useful graphic report that indicates where users fixated on the page, for how long, and in what order.
Our system can also generate a wide variety of statistics and charts that demonstrate how effectively a web site or application is performing – alone, or in comparison with other competitive interfaces or alternative design concepts.
There are multiple possible applications of Eye Tracking technology. As examples, consider these scenarios:
- Compare a website to its competitors from the standpoint of design effectiveness and efficiency
- Evaluate multiple design concepts to arrive at the optimally performing layout
- Develop a deeper understanding of where users look on a page to find information or simply to browse for something that interests them
- Learn what online ad locations and formats are most likely to attract user attention
There’s a lot to understand about how Eye Tracking works and how it can best be applied in specific project situations. Please contact us to request a presentation of Catalyst’s Eye Tracking services and to receive a sample report that illustrates the value of this exciting technology.
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