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Eye Tracking Is Still A Touchy Subject

Eye Tracking Is Still A Touchy Subject Plenty of articles and discussions have been written about the pros and cons of eye tracking. When it comes to usability studies, it’s still a relatively hot topic, with debates over the merits and limitations of eye tracking technology in researching how people use the World Wide Web.

Acuity Blog just reposted a nicely written article on the value of eye tracking by Mark McElhaw of Spotless Interactive. McElhew, long a user of Tobii’s eye tracking equipment, makes a strong argument on the subject, presenting some potentially insightful answers to questions and controversies that often nag eye tracking proponents and naysayers alike in the world of usability testing.

One of the misconceptions McElhew points out has to do with cost. As he writes, a colleague of his once told him that traditional usability testing can uncover as much as 95% of the issues at a third of the cost of eye tracking. This can be the case, he says, but a competent practitioner operating alone and using an expert review can actually pick up 75% of the issues at a quarter of what it costs for an expert review.

An expert’s review is really just the voice and opinion of one person, even if they are a specialist. But with eye tracking devices (cheap ones at that, as that seems to be where the industry is going), you can observe different things – real users navigating the interfaces, observing what they watch, limiting conjecture, and making for shorter, more approachable reports in general.

His main point is that eye tracking is a technology and usability research is a method. Why compare the two? Certainly there are different methods that can take advantage of one technology, and if you’re creative, it’s not a great leap to find interesting and effective ways to use eye tracking in usability testing.

Case and point – usability testing tends to focus on having users complete tasks. It’s more about the end than the means. But quite often it’s really helpful to understand what’s happening in the moments between. Measurements like brand awareness, key message positioning, and a user’s awareness of promotions or advertising are incredibly important in regards to advertising dollars which, like it or not, pay the way for most things online.

McElhaw writes that eye tracking is best put to use when evaluating visual effectiveness – qualities like comparing page options, assessing page flow, fast turnarounds and benchmarking, to name a few. Some tasks fare better with varied approach, and it’s good to see eye tracking not as a be-all-end-all, but as a tool. It’s something to keep in your quiver that you can use when it’s most effective and helpful.

Of course, some things work better in some situations than others. This shouldn’t be surprising, as the world is not black and white. Different strategies and approaches can be used in different situations, yielding potentially insightful findings.

He goes on to talk a bit about the future of eye tracking. As we know, it’s an industry that is rapidly changing, entering a new era entirely. In the end, it’s the facilitator that counts most. Tools and technologies are not the answer, but cleverness and creativity in using the tools seem to be. Debates on technology are certainly healthy and make for technical advances and improvements to hardware, but if we start thinking that the equipment itself is the answer, well, we’re likely to fall short long before we even begin.

A View On The Value Of Eye Tracking By One Of Our Clients

Eye Tracking Is Still A Touchy Subject

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