Dscout Live allows for moderators to have attendees join their sessions while they are running, without the scout being aware of these attendees. This can be particularly useful if you have curious team members, stakeholders, or if you need some assistance with note-taking. Currently, there are 2 ways to invite people to view your Live session:
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Observers (account needed)
- An observer is any person who has a Dscout account and has been added to a Dscout project as a collaborator.
- Observers have access to several tools during the Live session. Read more about Markers, Notes, and Clips
- Observers will be able to see all project details, including any other missions or screeners in the project folder.
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Guests (no account needed)
- Any person who has been invited to a Dscout Live session (either desktop or mobile) via a shared session link and access code is able to attend as a guest.
- Guests do not have access to any tools during the Live session. This includes things like markers and in-session chat.
- Guests will not be able to access your project, so they cannot see any project details or post-session recordings. They will only be able to see individual session details and watch the session in real-time.
A session can have any number of observers or guests, but only one scout and one moderator. A moderator can be any researcher or Account Manager on the project who plans to engage face-to-face with a scout during a session.
- Inviting GUESTS to a Live session
- Inviting OBSERVERS to a Live Session
- Stabilize Calls for More than 2 Attendees
Inviting GUESTS to a Live session
Before your guest can attend a Live session, you must first create a guest session link. You can do this from the Manage > Scouts table by clicking the link icon next to the Start Session button for an individual Live session. Then click Guest share link.
This will open the Guest Session Link modal. In this modal, you can set a password and then copy session link with password.
A password MUST be entered and saved before the copy session button will be enabled.
Once you click Copy Session Link with Password, you'll see a confirmation at the top of the screen. Your clipboard will now have the unique guest URL and password that you can then paste into places like a calendar invite, email, or any other communication channel.
If you choose to change the password for that session, you will need to repeat the process outlined above as the previous URL and password will no longer work for your guests.
Read more about the guest experience here!
Inviting OBSERVERS to a Live Session
Before your observer can attend a Live session, they must:
- have a Dscout account
- be added to the project as a collaborator. Type in their name (if your colleague is already on your Dscout account) or email address (if your colleague does not yet have a Dscout profile) to add them to your project.
To copy a session link to send to your observers, navigate to the Manage > Scouts table and click the link icon next to the Start Session button for an individual Live session. (Note: this link is identical to the session link you and your scouts will use!)
In a Live Mobile mission, clicking the link icon will save the link to your clipboard—no further action required!:
In a Live Desktop mission, you will see a dropdown with two options—collaborator and guests links. Click Collaborators session link:
This will open the Collaborator Session Link modal. In this modal, you can either:
- Copy the session link that you can then paste into places like a calendar invite, email, or any other communication channel.
- Share the session link via email.
Simply type in their name (if your colleague is already on your Dscout account) or email address (if your colleague does not yet have a Dscout profile) to add them to your project. The Dscout platform will confirm at the top of the page that an email with the session information was sent to your collaborators.
Read more about the observer experience here!
Stabilize Calls for More than 2 Attendees
Moderators now have the option to turn on Simulcast before their Live sessions, which aims to stabilize calls for more than 2 people. If you do not plan on having guests or observers joining your Live sessions, we do not recommend turning the toggle on before joining the session.
Here's some information to help you understand whether or not toggling on observer optimization is the right choice for your Live sessions!
Observer Optimization: ON
| No guests or observers | We do not recommend enabling observer optimization. Although call quality will stabilize, you may experience pixelation in the first minute or so of your session recording. |
| 1+ guests or observers with good internet connection/quality | Little impact on call quality, but may experience slightly lower session recording quality. |
| 1+ guests or observers with poor internet connection/quality | Improved in-session call quality for all participants with good internet connections. Improved session recording quality. |
Observer Optimization: OFF
| No guests or observers | No impact on in- or post-session call quality. |
| 1+ guests or observers with good internet connection/quality | Little to no impact on session recording. |
| 1+ guests or observers with poor internet connection/quality | May result in poor in-session call quality as well as session recording pixelation or poor video quality. |