Using Adobe Connect Pro for User Testing

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is a web conferencing and e-Learning solution. Its screen sharing and recording capabilities also make it a potential solution for remote user testing.

1. Pre and post testing questionnaires can be emailed as attachments prior to and following testing.
2. Participants using a PC should use Internet Explorer or FireFox to access Connect Pro; Mac users should use FireFox or Safari.
3. Test administrator duties: create meeting room for testing, access for registered users and invited guests only; give meeting url an ending as requested (e.g. yourconnecturl.ca/usertesting) - the meeting start time and duration you assign don't matter (meeting space exists until deleted by creator)
4. Go into meeting and configure meeting room with following settings:
   1. room bandwidth - DSL or LAN as appropriate
   2. room screen share - high quality
   3. room screen resolution - 1280 X 1024
   4. use default sharing template ( add video/audio pod if using cameras)
   5. set meeting -> manage access and entry to: auto-promote participants to presenters
   6. in the "share" pod window, at the bottom, click on the down arrow button to the right of the full screen button and check off "presenter's changes affect everybody" in the pop-up menu.
   7. NOTE: these settings need only be configured once for a new meeting space. They are saved so on return to the space at a later time these settings don't need to be re-entered.
5. Tell test subject the following:
   1. Give them the url for the actual user testing target page, and ask that they open this page up in maximized (but not full-screen) view in the browser being used for the test PRIOR to starting up Connect
   2. Give them the url for accessing the Connect meeting space and have them go in as a guest using their own name; they must use a new (different) browser window for this, not just a new tab of the test targeting page browser window, or test page sharing will not work properly.
   3. If they are not a past user of Connect Pro: on entry have them go to the menu choice: help > check for updates. A web page will open, have user select the Windows or Mac versions of Acrobat Connect Add-in as appropriate (this is needed for screen sharing to work; if sharing does not work this is probably missing).
   4. Have them run through Meeting > Audio Setup Wizard to make sure their audio is working.
   5. Once in the meeting room have them lock down the talk button so they can talk handsfree (this is needed when they are sharing the test screen to allow the talkaloud protocol to work).
   6. Once the audio connection is established (and video if that is being used) have the test subject share the test target page with the others by:
      1. First clicking on the full screen button on the bottom of the "share" pod window
      2. Once this window has expanded, click on "my computer screen..."
      3. Choose "applications" as screen sharing option
      4. Choose window name that matches that of the target test page
      5. Click "share"
   7. The test web page will now be shared at full screen size with all meeting participants; all tester keystrokes and screen responses including mouse movements will be observable remotely. The test subject will see the "real" test page of the browser, not the Connect window, and the testing can begin.
   8. When testing is completed, tester should be told to click the red "stop sharing" button on the top right of the browser window bar. The administrator can then exit full screen mode to return to the Connect Pro desktop.
6. Note that meetings can be recorded (Meeting menu > record meeting). End the recording by accessing the dropdown menu from the red recording icon in the top right of the Connect window bar.

The recording file is saved automatically and can be accessed via the meeting room menu by the meeting creator only (unless the file is made public). I believe the recorded file can be downloaded but this has not been tested.