Digital tool resources for research

Scheduling

• Calendly
  • Pros: Robust—lotsa peeps like
  • Cons: Tracking (for analytics; may dissuade some)
  • Cost?: $8/mo/user
  • Etc: Seems really built for "teams" and meetings
• Pow-Wow
  • Pros: Cute & dead simple
  • Cons: Limited
  • Cost?: Yes, but inexpensive
  • Etc:
• GCal plugin Erik uses?
• Acuity?
  • Seems to have been crafted specifically around corporate scheduling needs, or to fit independent tradesperson (hairdresser, carpenter, etc) needs, which are so different/beyond more basic scheduling needs?
  • https://acuityscheduling.com/signup.php

Collaboration

• Airtable
  • Pros: Highly flexible, new/emerging product ppl seem to love, can sort data from surveys; has calendaring feature for product roadmaps
  • Cons: Proprietary
  • Cost?:
    • Free (Nina has)
    • $12 or $24/mo/user packages packages
      • Locked/private views only available in $24/mo/user packages
  • Etc: Zeal to adopt akin to Slack's, and similarly broad types of users; clearly worth checking-out
• GDocs
  • Pros: Easy sharing
  • Cons:
    • Umm, Google
    • No integrated encryption
  • Cost?: Not really
  • Etc

Remote User Research

• userfeel.com
• Pros:
  • Does video/audio capture of users walking through experience
  • Multi-lingual/cross-cultural support
  • Cons:
  • Cost?: $50/participant
  • Etc: SusanF from SimplySecure Slack says its her go-to
• Usertesting.com
  • Pros:
    • Widely used, industry standard
  • Cons:
  • Cost?: $30/participant (via J.O.)
  • Etc:
• Usability Hub
  • Pros:
  • Cons:
  • Cost?:
  • Etc:
• Optimal Workshop
  • Pros:
    • Integrated suite of products that includes a tree-testing tool, remote testing app, a card-sort tool, and a synthesis thingy
    • Cardsort tool appears to be badass, and mshelton may be using it for a training study
    • Also does recruitment
    • Tree-testing tool a MUST for sd.org, especially FAQ
  • Cons:
  • Cost?:
    • 50% non-profit discount, has per-study pricing ($100/study) and free option
    • $1000/yr/usr or $100/mo/user (includes 50% non-profit discount)
    • Nina has free option, which is limited to 10 respondents & 3 tasks per study
  • Etc:
• Focus Vision
  • Pros:
    • Supports +80 languages!
    • Integrated suite of products
    • Appears to support badass interview/video things for remote/intercontinental qual things
  • Cons:
  • Cost?: Language on website targets major corp orgs, so nervous it may be expensive
  • Etc: Recc'd by SusanF in SimplySecure Slack

Participant Recruiting

• Userinterviews.com
  • Pros: Automates scheduling, manages recruiting and honoraria awards
  • Cons: Hosted
  • Cost?: $30 or $70 per user, with $15/user skip-logic screener
  • Etc: E.M. Recc'd
• Focus Vision
• Optimal Workshop
• Respondent
  • Seems like an interesting/good product
  • Suspecting it's mostly English or all North American; Twitter account has only existed since May 2018, so likely a Seed stage startup? Nifty looking product, though.

Survey Tools

• TellForm
  • Pros: Self hosted alternative to TypeForm
  • Cons: Self hosted = FPF mainters needed
• Airtable
  • Pros: Infinitely flexible with how you can sort survey inputs
  • Cons: Not designed as a survey tool, but can do neat things w/ data. Wd be create for use as a user research screener, as an example, but because it's not secure and is cloud-based—grr... (unless we cd design a hack w/ diceware names?)
• Qualtrics
  • Pros:
  • Cons: Hosted
  • Cost?:
  • Etc: Hosted only, Emmanuel has used
• LimeSurvey
  • Pros:
    • Self-hosted FOSS option
    • SimplySecure uses today, and likes
  • Cons:
    • Erik used a few years ago, describes as "pretty terrible"
  • Cost?:
    • FOSS!
• Survey Monkey
  • Pros:
    • Superb, tested survey questions & formats (survey design is its own discipline, and hard)
    • Badass analytics
  • Cons: Cloud-based
  • Cost?:
  • Etc:
• Typeform
  • Pros: Soooo pretty
  • Cons: Hosted
  • Cost?: Yes
  • Etc: Nina has used + adores
  • Nina's fav
• Validately
  • Pros:
  • Cons: Hosted
  • Cost?: Yes
  • Etc: Nina's friend Andreas recc'd