In this presentation we talk about novel techniques we employed in using eye tracking glasses in our field research. Our client wanted to better understand the needs of visitors and how effective the layout of Tourist Information Centre is in answering those needs. Eye tracking was employed to help understand how visitors to Information Centre engage with it, which sections of the literature and merchandise shelving were looked at the most and whether the signage in the centre was noticed. We asked visitors to wear eye-tracking glasses and to use the centre to accomplish the goals of their visit. Findings allowed the client to both take remedial action in areas where the experience was not as effective as it could be, and to take advantage of the insight to maximise the revenue potential of various areas of the centre.

1. Anna Basista
UX Consultant
User Vision
Anna Basista
UX Consultant
Eye tracking glasses
help define shop layout and
record visitors’ experience

2. What is eye tracking?
 Measurement of eye activity
 Where and how people look
 What is and what isn’t seen
 What is the pattern for a group of
users

3. Eye tracking glasses
 Capture user behaviour and eye
gaze in real environments
 Where and how people look
 Analysis of real world user journeys
 Improvement of the effectiveness,
engagement or clarity of the given
interaction

4. Eye tracking with markers
 Way to capture user eye gaze in real
environments
 Automatic quantitative analysis (AOI’s)
 Markers communicate with sensor
located in the glasses
 Data from multiple participants can be
aggregated and overlaid on a still
image

5. Method
• Photo of shane here.
What can we do with
these glasses in the
real environments?

6.  How successful visitors are in achieving their goals of the visit?
 What prevents visitors from finding everything they want?
 How effective signage is?
 How visitors engage with leaflets racks and retail products?
 Which parts of the information centre have the heaviest
footfall and which areas are least often visited?
Objectives

7. “What is the goal of your
visit to the information
centre?”
Our approach

8. “Browse for leaflets
and inspiration”.
“Find information
about trips,
places,
entertainment...”
“Find out
what is worth
seeing in
Edinburgh”.
“Get maps.”
Goals

9. Eye tracking
recording

10. Eye tracking
recording

11. Customer journeys

12. Footfall heatmap

13. Leaflets

14. Eye tracking
recording

15. Leaflets

17. Leaflets rack

18. Time to first fixation
Average time to first fixation (seconds)

19. Total visit duration
Average total visit duration (seconds)

20. Ads
Retail Signage
Ads

21. Ads
Retail Signage
Ads
Seen 1.5% of
the visit time
10% of the
visit time
Looked at 6
times in total

23. Using eye tracking glasses in the field
 Very easy to set up and start using
 Users feel comfortable using them
 Permission is needed – the glasses
are not that discreet
 The battery in the recording
device can drain quickly

24. Using eye tracking glasses in the field
 Crucial for calibration purposes
 Allow you to mark out AOI’s
 Required for aggregated
gaze trails and heatmaps
 Speed up the analysis process
 May not be feasible to set-up
 You may need a lot of blue tack!

25. Using eye tracking glasses
 Manual analysis can be time
consuming, but it is worthwhile
with well defined objectives
 Automatic analysis is really great!
 Recordings of the user journeys
are loved by the clients
 AOI’s analysis in videos available
without markers

26. How comfortable was it for you the
wear eye-tracking glasses?
Very
comfortable
Quite
comfortable
Didn’t really
notice/can’t
say
Quite
uncomfortable
Very
uncomfortable

27. Not at all
concerned
Hardly noticed Somewhat Quite a bit
Very much
concerned
How concerned did you feel about
wearing “these” glasses in public?

28. • In this Lightning Talk we would like to talk about novel techniques we employed in this project
but also we are eager to share our experiences with using eye tracking glasses in the field
research. Our client wanted to better understand the needs of visitors and how effective the
layout of Tourist Information Centre is in answering those needs. Eye tracking was employed to
help understand how visitors to Information Centre engage with it, which sections of the
literature and merchandise shelving were looked at the most and whether the signage in the
centre was noticed. 15 visitors to the centre were recruited to take part in the study, all
intercepted as they entered the centre. We asked them to wear eye-tracking glasses and to use
the centre to accomplish the goals of their visit. The ability to record these user journeys without
constantly observing test participants was especially effective as it helped to make the whole
testing session feel more realistic and avoided disturbing participants in any way. Data gathered
from eye tracking glasses was imported into dedicated software package and analysed.
Automatic analysis was performed on the demarked shelving. Manual coding analysis was also
performed, focusing specifically on the amount of time participants spent looking at signage,
advertising posters and retail shelves. The amount of and duration of these gazes were calculated
in relation to total participants’ visit time. Based on the visitors’ journey recordings gathered with
eye tracking glasses a ‘footfall heat map’ was created. Each time a person went to the particular
area of the centre this occurrence was recorded and later mapped out in a form of a ‘heat map’
based on the frequency of visits. This helped our client understand where visitors go throughout
their visit and which of the Information Centre’s areas receive more or less footfall. Findings
allowed the client to both take remedial action in areas where the experience was not as
effective as it could be, and to take advantage of the insight to maximise the revenue potential of
various areas of the centre.
Get in touch!
Anna Basista
User Experience Consultant
User Vision
55 North Castle Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3QA
Email: anna@uservision.co.uk
Web: www.uservision.co.uk

29. Credits/references:
• http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=1361797
• http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=1386554
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1161062
• http://www.tobii.com/