Using alternative video conferencing solutions in Live Conversations

This article applies to: UserTesting 

Live Conversation is available on the following subscriptions:

On this page:

• How it works
• Features
• Best practices
• Considerations

Watch this brief video to learn more. 

How it works

1. Recruit and schedule Live Conversation sessions the way you currently do.
2. This includes creating screeners for targeting contributors and recruiting using the UserTesting Contributor Network or your own audiences using Custom Network or Invite Network.
3. We'll communicate the status of your session(s) through the dashboard.
4. Once the sessions fill, they'll move from a “pending” to a “scheduled” status.  

When you enable the use of an alternative video conferencing solution, this part is different:

1. At 15 minutes before the session’s start time, you can initiate the Live Conversation session and enter the meeting link that will be used.
2. At this time, you must share the URL of the meeting that the Live Conversation contributor will use.
   Note: Please make sure you provide the meeting password, if necessary. The meeting link must be external-facing and accessible via the web.
3. Once this meeting information is provided, we will pass that information to the contributor to enter the meeting room.  
4. You must record the sessions. Since this session takes place outside of anything UserTesting controls, we cannot enable recording;  you must ensure this is enabled when conducting the session.
5. When the session is completed the recording is available from your provider, you'll need to go to the UserTesting dashboard to upload the video to the correct session (supported file type is .mp4).
6. Once you have uploaded the video, you can use our Platform features to conduct post-analysis, such as creating notes, clips, and Highlight Reels.  

UserTesting will still coordinate all the communications with your contributors. We will send confirmation and reminder emails at the appropriate intervals. 

Features

When leveraging this workaround and conducting Live Conversation sessions using your own video conferencing tool, you will be able to use the following features:  

• Recruiting and scheduling from the UserTesting Contributor Network.
• Scheduling with your own contributors (using Custom Network or Invite Network).
• Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar Integration (on the scheduling page).
• Access to the UserTesting Platform for post-analysis includes creating notes, clips, and highlight reels.

However, using this workaround means certain Live Conversation features are not available. These features are not available:

• Not available for Product Insights / Marketing Insights
• No mobile Live Conversation testing. You can only conduct desktop tests.
• No automatic recording. Customers are responsible for recording their own sessions. This may mean you have to manually turn the recording on at the start of the session.
• Videos are not automatically uploaded into the UserTesting Platform. You'll need to do this using our video upload feature
• No live note-taking during the session
• No two-way (speaker-based) transcription provided with the video recording.
• The observer link will not be available

Best practices

• Supply meeting links, meeting IDs, and passwords (if required, to reduce time for setup).
• To make it easier for test contributors to download the software—specify the app or the software you want the contributor to use in the instruction field and a link to download the software. 
• Join the meeting early to set up the meeting information.
  • Since UserTesting is not supplying video conferencing software, contributors might need time to set up the software.
  • You can enter the information up to 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time.
  • Provide this as early as possible to make sure your meeting starts on time.
  • If you cannot supply the information earlier, give the contributors some extra time to join the interview.  
• Be patient with the contributor.
  • With new software, it might take the contributor a little time to get familiar with and learn to use the video conferencing software.  

Considerations

• There is a higher possibility of contributors not attending sessions as scheduled or the meeting not starting on time. This will be a new experience for most test contributors that may require additional steps. Furthermore, since this is new/different technology, there are more unknowns. There may be more challenges, e.g., trouble downloading, trouble joining, not being familiar with how to use the application, etc.
• Customers are responsible for providing evidence (i.e., videos) if there is an issue with contributors or contributor quality.
  Note: We'll be unable to resolve issues if there is no video provided; hence we cannot refund or replace these sessions.  
• Like regular Live Conversations, the person who ordered the session must be the individual who starts the meeting. 
• After completing the session, any collaborator or member of the team can upload the finished video to the UserTesting dashboard.
• Don't use the Message Center feature to share meeting links—contributors are instructed to not accept links in the Message Center—instead, follow the steps in the How it works section. 

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