RobotReplay - a cool way to track mouse movement

Darren Barefoot pointed me towards RobotReplay - yet another tool to measure how people are using your website.

But, this one is actually quite clever. It records the mouse movement for specific sessions allowing you to see exactly how people navigate through your site.

Here is a video of how it works.

Note: RobotReplay have had a lot of startup problem and they have made a number of improvements and changes since it was launched. One thing I do not like is that they no longer record every session, but only "only about one in three sessions are actually recorded". This pretty much eliminates it as a tool for monitored usability testing. Update: I am told that this is only a temporary fix (read the comment from Andre below)

Anyway, I am going to play with this later this summer.

Link

RobotReplay

Comments

Jacob Wyke - Apr. 23, 2007

Yeah I tried RobertReplay out a week or so ago and really liked it. Have you tried out Crazy Egg? If so what did you think of that?

Thomas Baekdal - Apr. 23, 2007

I have been looking into Crazy Egg. I think it is a useful tool, but i lacks the accuracy of induvidual sessions (It can give you a general picture, but not specific details).

larry becker - Apr. 23, 2007

I admire what the RobotReplay folks have out there (we're adding the code to our site and discussing analysis with clients). But, using it as usability testing proxy could be a stretch. In most of the live usability sessions we've been involved in, real insight often comes not just from what you see the user do onscreen but also from what you hear the user say, and the expression on a user's face can be as insight-rich as the movement of their mouse.

We're thinking about other ways site owners could get that needed user commentary into a program using RobotReplay. Perhaps adding quick website surveys into the mix could get user input on issues suggested by RobotReplay movies. Even with limitations it does look like a cool tool.

Andre Charland - Apr. 23, 2007

@Thomas

We're going to be resuming the recording of all sessions shortly, it's just a matter of scaling the servers to deal with all that load. I'm very curious though why you feel it's important to capture _all_ user sessions. Please let me know.

Thanks!

@Larry

I totally agree that RobotReplay should not be a replacement for live in-person usability testing. But it is a great supplement to that. If nothing else you can back up movement and usage patterns you see in smaller test groups with the data from your entire user population. Also, in general it's a lot cheaper and easier to implement that traditional usability testing. We're are going to be adding features such as surveys down the road.

Thomas Baekdal - Apr. 23, 2007

Larry & Andre, Thanks for stopping by.

Don't get me wrong I really like RobotReplay - and I am impressed by how it works (even with the startup problems).

Andre, One of the problems with doing monitored usability testing is how to gather the data. You can setup video cameras and take notes during the session, but it is very time consuming, somewhat expensive and can only be done locally.

With RobotReplay I have simpler form of recording (hence cheaper both in time and resources) and more flexible, since I do not necessarily have to present (global reach). I can, for instance, ask 20 people from around the globe to test something for me.

What you have made is a usability testing tool with global reach - that is very cool and very useful. But, this only works as long as every session is being recorded (no point in asking 20 people to test something if I do not get 20 test sessions back).

As I also told Darren, I am planning to look into this in more detail this summer - and write a more comprehensive article about the usefulness of RobotReplay.

I really do like the possibilities of using RobotReplay.

Larry Becker - Apr. 24, 2007

Hi Guys,

Andre, let me echo Thomas' "don't get me wrong" -we too are excited about RobotReplay and I don't mean for my comments or post to be overly- curmudgeonly. (And its great to hear you're thinking about the surveys!) I look forward to seeing the tool evolve and wish you folks success. : -)

Thomas Baekdal - Apr. 25, 2007

Andre, I noticed this on your blog. I think it pretty much sums up what I like about it:

"Instead of paying thousands of dollars to get users behind a glass wall, eating your donuts and trying to say the right things to get called back to the next "pay me to surf" night out, you can get them in their "natural environment", as though you"re looking over their shoulder. More importantly you can stay in your natural environment and make improvements to your site in real time...please. Please make improvements to your sites."

from: BitPakkit