Extend usability testing by gaining valuable insight into which features are eye-catching, which features that cause confusion and which ones are ignored altogether.
Eye-tracking studies are a type of usability test where user gaze concentrations are recorded in thermal-like "heat zone maps".
The heat zone maps track user eye movements. Eye tracking tests make usability testing look really interesting, sophisticated, high-tech and scientific.
Eye tracking usability data appears to be more valuable or empirical since it is recorded using technology and gaze capture instruments.
Eye tracking is no longer a novel addition to the user experience research. It is an appropriate addition to usability studies to answer very specific questions which cannot be achieved through traditional research.
Not all usability studies will benefit from eye-tracking.
A simple cost benefit analysis of the insight gained versus the amount of additional time and resources that eye-tracking requires will show that eye tracking is not always appropriate
Eye tracking will benefit studies that aim to answer specific questions that arose from previous testing. For instance, to find out where users are struggling to find instructions on a package insert?
Eye tracking can be useful in summative testing as it provides additional measures to help quantify the user experience.
For any Public Access System such as Digital Signage or Kiosks, eyetracking is very powerful as it can determine those user gaze concentrations within a very short timeframe.
Visitors typically spend limited time using a public access system and are often unwilling or unable to invest even 60 seconds to decipher a cluttered interface or discover a hidden feature.
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