It’s been a while since we last updated you on how PingPong’s doing. We’ve been working on loads of new things that make us better. Let’s get started…
Beta Transcription in 110 languages and dialects
Our beta transcription feature was received really well, so we thought, let’s push it even further. We noticed an increasing demand for research in various local languages (Russian, Italian, German, Spanish, etc.), so we’re implementing transcription for those languages, too.
Furthermore, you can now select specific dialects For example, the transcription wasn’t entirely accurate for our U.K.-based researchers because the default language variant was US/English. Effective today, we’re now offering transcription in 110 languages and dialects and we expect to see more accurate transcriptions.
Once you’ve completed a session, just head over to your recording and select the language you’d like to transcribe.
Pre-call test
In order to minimize technical issues and lost time with setting up videos, audio, and screen sharing, we’ve introduced a pre-call test that runs before each session. Testers and researchers are both required to do this extra 15-second step to ensure everything is working alright. We expect to see a drop in technical issues and lost time with troubleshooting.
You can also run a test separately before your research starts. Simply go here and hit [Run Test].
Recruit users via private link
Once you create a research, you’ll receive a unique link to invite users for this specific research.
We think this feature works really well if you want to recruit your own users and it can do magic when combined with Intercom. With PingPong + Intercom, you can recruit specific users into your own private user research pool in a very effective way.
Automatic recordings
Once both the tester and researcher join the video call, we’ll automatically start the recording. That’s it, no more, “Oh I forgot to hit the record button!”
Multi-calendar support
Until now, we could only sync scheduled research sessions with your primary calendar. Now, all of your connected calendars show up and you can select which one(s) you’d like to sync with PingPong.
Phone # confirmation
We’ve added an extra step for users to confirm their booking with their phone number. This is in line with our plan to decrease the no-show rate and make sure all of our users are committed. We’re now sending out a 6hour reminder SMS to the users.
Furthermore, if you’re building your private research pool in PingPong, you’ll be able to see scheduled users’ phone number.
USD incentives supported
PingPong now supports paying out incentives in USD. Please note, this feature only works if you’d like to run user research with your private user pool and you have an active monthly subscription.
Rich research description
We’ve implemented basic formatting options for your research description. You can make your content richer with links, headers, lists, and more!
Research sharing
You can now share your research with other team members and provide them visibility. This works really well for bigger UX research teams. You can see others research under the [Shared] tab on your dashboard.
If you are an administrator on your team, you’ll have visibility over your team’s research by default.
Session timer
We saw issues in the past when the user joined 5-15 minutes late, which really makes it stressful for the researcher to try to finish under the allotted time.
Now, that’s changed: we’ll only start the session timer once the user has successfully joined the video call.
Another nice addition, a timer to keep you aware of where you are within your session.
And finally…we launched on Product Hunt
As of November, check out PingPong on Product Hunt. We’ve received some really nice reviews already, so if you’re not familiar with PingPong, head over there and take a look.
What’s coming up in 2018?
We have 3 major areas of focus:
- Marketing and Sales: we’re still in a super early stage and very few companies know about us. We have many things to do here and this will be the biggest challenge.
- Product:, we have a very, very busy backlog, all of which will make PingPong better:
- Improved user screening
- Instant replacements (for no-shows and tech issues)
- Download & clip videos
- Growing the user/tester pool: We’re aiming to expand our user pool so we can properly offer research in every possible country.
That’s it for now, enjoy 2018 and happy researching!
