Awkward Silences #33 - Using Session Replay Tools to Supercharge Your User Research with Elyse Bogacz
Jan 31, 2020
Elyse Bogacz, VP of Product Design who’s worked at Drift and Runkeeper and teaches product design, explains how session replay tools like FullStory and Hotjar amplify user research. She covers selecting users from replays, sharing replays to build team empathy, privacy and GDPR considerations, and how replays differ from screen recordings.
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Using Session Replay As Lunchroom Story Time
- Elyse used FullStory at early-stage Drift to extend limited access to customers and supplement user conversations.
- She and the team watched sessions during lunch to surface onboarding pain points they couldn't see in analytics.
Treat User Access As Limited Tokens
- Session replay preserves scarce user 'tokens' by letting teams observe many interactions without repeatedly interviewing the same people.
- Elyse frames user access as limited tokens and uses replays to extend their lifespan for targeted follow-ups.
Turn Replays Into Targeted Follow Ups
- Use replays to build a prioritized list of usability problems and then reach out to users who recently interacted with that area.
- Pull emails via backend queries or FullStory, email a batch, and ask for focused 15–30 minute follow-ups.