Table 1.

Pros and cons of moderating techniques

Moderating techniques	Pros	Cons
Concurrent think aloud (CTA)	Understand participants’ thoughts as they occur and as they attempt to work through issues they encounter Elicit real-time feedback and emotional responses	Can interfere with usability metrics, such as accuracy and time on task
Retrospective think aloud (RTA)	Does not interfere with usability metrics	Overall session length increases Difficulty in remembering thoughts from up to an hour before = poor data
Concurrent probing (CP)	Understand participants’ thoughts as they attempt to work through a task	Interferes with natural thought process and progression that participants would make on their own, if uninterrupted
Retrospective probing (RP)	Does not interfere with usability metrics	Difficulty in remembering = poor data

Reproduced with the kind permission of Dr Jennifer Romano Bergstrom [67]