Chalkmark, online tool for tracking clicks on an interface

[Davin Granroth]

OptimalWorkshop has a product in beta called Chalkmark which is used to track where people click on a design prototype.

In Chalkmark, you upload images of interfaces and write a prompt for users to click on the interface to accomplish some task. Chalkmark records the clicks and shows you them in a report that looks similar to what you see with eyetracking heatmaps.

The cool thing about this is that you could sketch some low-fi interfaces, scan them in, and run a Chalkmark survey against it. Early stage user testing!

Over the last few days, I ran a pair of surveys to evaluate navigation systems for two different views of a website. Each survey had 5 tasks, all based on the same navigation system. In total to this point, we have about 250 responses.

The feedback is fantastic. I spent time today analyzing the results, and brainstormed a few ways to rethink the navigation based on some ambiguities the results pointed to. And the great part is we can retest a revised navigation model without too much additional effort. This is a big plus for iterative, research-based design.

So, UXers, you might want to check out Chalkmark. Note, it is still in beta, and it is still a little rough around the edges. For me, right now, the user feedback is worth the roughness.