PrintEye tracking is a technology that is becoming more and more popular for use in software evaluations. Eye tracking makes use of infrared and other types of sensors to detect and track where a user looks while working. Modern eye tracking equipment can be mounted underneath the computer screen to face the user, or can come in head-mounted configurations. Eye tracking studies typically involve task analysis of one type or another, with the goal of capturing what users saw while they were completing their work. Analysis of eye tracking data can reveal which parts of an interface a person spent the most time using, which parts they missed entirely, and which areas of an analytical graphic were studied the most to inform analytical conclusions.
One challenge associated with eye tracking is that it generates a tremendous volume of data in a very short amount of time, so often there is substantial effort involved with analyzing the results of eye tracking studies. Using eye tracking along with other common usability methods (talk aloud protocols in particular) is quite popular, as eye tracking can provide insight into what someone was looking at, while verbal reports and other methods can reveal what the user was thinking at the time.
The first video (2:13) I'd like you to look at is a short demonstration on how eye tracking works and what some of the common outputs look like: Eye Tracking Demo. Next, I'd like you to look at another short (1:56) video describing how eye tracking can be used specifically for usability studies. Both videos this week are from marketing materials, so keep that in mind as you watch: Tobii Usability Eye Tracking.
* Content derived from Geog 583, GEOG 583: Geospatial Systems Analysis and Design, which is part of Penn State's OER initiative. Author/Instructor: Anthony Robinson.