ABOUT
This project is a collaborative project with a local starup company (http://www.senecaandspruce.com/) for the course Usability Studies at University of Washington. The goal is to help the company identify existing usability problems in the website and provide actionable redesign suggestions.
ROLE
Researcher, Visual Designer
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E-COMMERCE WEBSITE USABILITY STUDY
To conducted usability test on desktop version of Seneca & Spruce e-commerce website, and provide actionable redesign suggestions.
TEAM
Lingshuang Chen, Alysse Gallo, Philip Loh, Jina Suh
TIME
01/2015 - 03/2015 (10 weeks)
IMPACT
Our client spoke highly of our findings, but unfortunately the company decided to change their business model of an e-commerce website.
UNDERSTAND
or, Back to Work
Clarify Test Objectives
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Identify different paths users take in finding items to purchase and obstacles encountered along the way
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Identify obstacles in completing purchases on the site
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Assess the overall effectiveness of the website for our target user groups performing basic tasks
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Compare S&S website with participants’ mental model for other e-commerce websites
How we might do differently:
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Start recruiting process early
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Think more quantitative? Remove think-aloud
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We didn’t consider learnability in the original design and didn’t factor it into the analysis as much
Seneca & Spruce (S&S) is an online fashion retail store that curates and sells work of emerging designers.
S&S’s target persona is a woman between 25 and 35, who earns more than $50,000 a year and lives in a big city. “She’s not concerned about brand, but is concerned more about style and fashion trend.”
The client came to us with the following questions:
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High drop off rate from cart to purchase.
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Why aren’t people purchasing?
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What would make people more comfortable?
During the 10 weeks project, we went through the whole process from planning usbility studies to presentation and report write-up. Not only we identified usability issues, but also business issues that are also important for the client.
THE BUSINESS & PROBLEMS
CONDUCT STUDY
Understand the System
At the beginning of the study, we created an interaction map to help us understand the system, its functionality, and how the functionality is available to users.
The map shows common and important interaction flows through the system, with particular attention to the features and interactions we plan to evaluate.
Who Are The Participants
Engaged 7 women who largely fit the design persona over 4 days in Feb/Mar 2015
Usability Study Methodology
The whole test consisted of:
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Card sorting activity
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Home page inspection for first impression
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Task analysis (4 tasks)
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Post-task interviews
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Post-test interview
Other principles applied in the test:
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Within subjects, crossover (counter-balanced) design
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Think aloud protocol
Equipment We Use
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MacBook running Windows
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Google Chrome
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External mouse
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Camera
Data Collection & Analysis
We collected and visualized quantitative data (survey results) in Google Sheets to facilitate analysis. In addition, we collected qualitative data (observations and quotes) in notes. To analyze the qualitative data, we transcribed them on post-it notes and had an affinity diagraming session to identify common themes and relationships among points.
FINDINGS
Key Themes
Help Me Make Decisions
Users want the S&S website to convey important information that advises purchasing decisions.
Help Me Find My Style
Users want to use the S&S website to discover new kinds of fashion that work for them.
Earn My Trust
Users want the S&S website to establish itself as a legitimate business in their minds.
Fit My Mental Model
Users want the S&S website to adhere to interaction patterns common in other e-commerce websites, so that
the navigational experience is frictionless and the learning curve is non-existent.
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Detailed Findings and Redesign Suggestions
LOOKING BACK
What we can do if given more time and resources:
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Include participants from independent designers who make up another user group of the website
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Include participants who have already purchased on the website
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Explore areas of the site that we didn’t include in our study
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Focus on the blog/editorial/fashion advice section that the participants said they normally would ignore
LOOKING FORWARD
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