If you are looking for a book about conducting remote usability testing, I think you'll be very pleased with "Remote Research." The authors; Nate Bolt and Tony Tulathimutte, have a long history of producing remote research projects for the Fortune 500, and you can tell, with all the tips, tricks and information they share about remote usability testing.
I've been conducting usability testing for over 14 years, and have in the past year started using remote methods rather often. After reading the entire book I think you'll find this is a good usability book for you if you're a remote usability practitioner already, or if you are just learning about or interested in usability. I suspect you can use this book over and over (I've already dog-eared quite a few pages for handy reference).
This book has plenty of information for experienced remote usability researchers, as well as for those thinking about trying it out for the first time. The broad categories covered are:
* What remote usability research is (and what it isn't)
* Pros and Cons of conducting remote research
* Step by step how to (for first timers)
* Detailed list of tools (both moderated and un-moderated)
* Tips and tricks for each tool (experienced remote researchers take note!)
* A companion web site with additional information and tools is provided
The writing is light and easy to read, humorous in many places. You won't feel at all like you are reading a manual or dictionary. Jargon is kept to a minimum, and for each new term they use Nate and Tony explain what it means in plain English.
Reading this book is very much like having a fun yet informative lunch with a remote research guru - you learn a lot, and enjoy the experience along the way.
For those of us who've already been conducting remote usability testing sessions, I think you'll find the case studies (useful for "selling" remote usability testing) and scripts are extremely useful. The detailed tips and tricks listed for both moderated and un-moderated tools is also very helpful.
For those of you who've not yet conducted a remote testing session, there's a detailed step-by-step guide complete with recommended tools, participant recruiting tips and scripts, scripts for the testing guide and even a (rare) detailed explanation of the types of analysis and reporting you can provide your clients.
I think you'll find this is a very handy book and that you'll probably place it somewhere close to your desk, so you can refer to it as you create remote usability tests. I know I am!