Course: Usability
Tools: Computer, Paper, Email
Role:Moderator
Problem
A large pizza chain, Papa John’s, has come to your design firm and asked you to evaluate their web-based ordering site. The current version was put together on a tight schedule and they suspect that there are many aspects of it that could be improved.
Actions
For this project, I conducted a usability study for PapaJohns.com. The goal was to Identify any problems that users experience with the interface when ordering pizza online through the site. In groups, we developed a screener and task list for an assigned demographic of users.
in the study, we conducted one-on-one usability test sessions. Participants were given three tasks to complete. The sessions were recorded, including audio, screen capture, and webcam footage for each of the participants.
The tasks were designed to allow us to observe the participant’s overall experience using the site. As well as to discover usability issue that may exists. Three areas the tasks were focused around include ordering a pizza, signing up for deals & coupons, and contacting the corporate office.
Results
Since all three of the participants have ordered online before, we expected the sessions to go very well and last anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. The average time of the sessions was under twenty minutes with an 88% completion rate. The average time to complete an order was under nine minutes. However, we were able to identify some minor areas in which the interface could be improved as well as provide follow-up research questions for future studies. To see the full report please follow the link below.
Lessons Learned
From this Project I learned the following:
- What usability is and its practical applications.
- Proper screening techniques when recruiting participants.
- Usability observation techniques to provide unbiased study results.
- How to design a recruiting screener to define an audience.
- How to create tasks for a website that will be used to assess usability.
- How to moderate usability sessions.
- How to analyze data collected in a usability study.
- How to report the usability issues on a website.
- The fundamentals of conducting a usability evaluation.
- The difference between qualitative and quantitative usability evaluations.