We all know that you can cut costs dramatically by building the right thing to begin with. But it may not feel like a gain when you’re delaying an app’s release or writing big checks for formal usability research.

In yesterday's session at All Things Open 2016 in Raleigh, NC, Erin shared specifics on how to spin up quick and inexpensive mobile usability tests that your entire team can watch in real time. She covered user recruiting and scheduling, streaming and recording, fielding real-time observations from the team, and turning around an analysis within hours or days instead of weeks. Attendees learned how, with a minimal upfront investment, their teams can fulfill the Agile/Lean vision of continuous, user-centered improvement.

Slides from the event.

Mobile Usability Research in a Pinch from Erin Young

Wanna learn more? Here are some additional resources.

Participant recruiting & scheduling:

• DIY User Research Participant Recruiting

• User Interviews (Online Recruiting Service)

• Plaza Research (National Recruiter)

• Scheduling: YouCanBook.Me, Doodle.com, Calend.ly, MixMax

• Automated reminders: Boomerang for Gmail, Mixmax

• Webshare Tools: Zoom, Join.Me, WebEx, GoToMeeting

Making the case for design research:

• To Design an Awesome Product, Let Go of Being Right by Hannah Alvarez at UserTesting.com

• Dollars And Sense: The Business Case For Investing In UI Design by our friend Peter Eckert, CXO at Projekt202

Tools to consider for qualitative mobile usability research:

• Usertesting.com

• Lookback.io

• Loop 11

• Validately

• Userlytics

Now, tell us what you know.

Are there any tools you recommend for mobile usability testing? Best practices picked up through the school of hard knocks? Share your tips and help us all to improve!