Usability Testing Evaluation - Essay Example

ISYS 1046 Institution affiliation: Course name: Student id: Date: ISYS 1046 Usability testing evaluation The website usability is evaluated by measuring several aspects of usability as depicted in the testing procedures. The testers carried out the tasks described in the previous sections. Each tester was scored differently based on each task. It is important to note that each tester had different computing knowledge and experience in web browsing. This section discusses the findings and provides recommendations from the testing carried out on the website. The results are organized on the basis of each task. Finding information about the owner of Lings Cars In evaluating this task, we observed the testers and recorded whether they were able to complete the task, the time they took to complete the task, errors made and general comments and observation. In this task all testers were able to successfully complete the task within the shortest time. It took less than 1 minute for most of the testers to find information about the owner of Ling’s cars. This is attributed to the fact that these information is found in the About Us page which is the first page after the home page. Hence, it was relatively easy to locate this information. Essentially, this was one of the simplest tasks in the testing process and most testers did not make any errors. By simply clicking the about us page, the testers were able to obtain the information about the company ownership, address and other details about the company. It was observed that only 1 tester (Tester 6, Jane Doe) who had relatively low knowledge and experience in web browsing took more than one minute to complete this task. He specifically took two and a half minutes to complete the task and with no errors. Given this findings, it is recommended that the development team maintains the way this task is executed. We can conclude that it is easy to locate information of ownership of the business by one click. This should be maintained for easy navigation. Finding Information about how leasing process works at Ling’s Car website. This task involved finding information about how the leasing process works in the company through the website. In this task, the testers were supposed to use their browsing knowledge and skills to find the information in the website. All testers were also able to complete this task and also took less time just like the first task. Five testers managed to complete the task in less than 1 minute. One tester took 1 and a half minutes while two took 2 minutes each. To carry out the task the testers needed to navigate to the button “how it works” and obtain this information. The task did not need any complex or confusing steps as such. Consequently, the testers made no significant errors. This is attributed to the fact that the testers were not required to key in or provide any information to the website. It is a simple click and view task. Again tester no 6 (Jane Doe) took more time to complete the assignment for the same reason that she had little experience in web browsing as compared with the other testers. It took her approximately 2 minutes to complete this task but managed to successfully complete the task. It is recommended that the designers maintain the used technique in the web designed to ease access so such information. A general recommendation however, is to ensure that the links to these information is visible and easy to locate in the website. This can easily be achieved through proper organization of the web page. The information in the “how it works” page should also be organized in topics to enable quick access to relevant information. Searching vehicle catalogue and printing information This proved to be one of the most difficult tasks in the test. The testers were required to search for a particular make of a vehicle (Mazda 3, Model Year 2015, Hatchback, automatic transmission, black paint) and print the information. Two out of the eight testers did not complete this task and three of the remaining six made two errors in the task. The easiest process would be to click on the price list link then specify the desired model from the drop down button as well as the year of manufacture and whether manual or automatic. Few of the testers did this on the first instance. The rest of the testers who successfully completed the task made two errors particular in locating the car model and selecting the right specifications. Most of the testers would scroll down to the section where Mazda cars are listed and select the 3 hatchback this will give a full list of Mazda s hatchbacks both manual and automatic. The search criteria in the first case will allow the user to define the search criteria. Most testers figured this out after an average of 5 minutes. Once they clicked this link, they were able to quickly select the right model and specify the details. A major problem that made the two testers not to complete the task is the printing of the final information after refining the search criteria. Some resorted to taking screen shorts and pasting it in word processor to be able to print this information which resulted in more wastage of time. It is important to note that once the testers identified the search option, they could easily search for their desired products. From these findings, we recommend that the developers of the web site focus on an intuitive design and ease of learnability and understandability. The user must be able to accomplish some of the crucial tasks that define the business more effortlessly. For instance, a user would easily shy off from following too long procedures to search for a vehicle the desire, it is imperative that this information is provided as quickly as possible. The site has a lot of graphics that can quickly attract the attention of the user; however, the main focus and objective of the site should not be derailed. Obtaining a car quote To obtain a car quote the user has several options to achieve this task. One, the user can click on the link on the menu “ Quote/order” once they do so, the client will be required to specify the details of the car. A quotation will then be sent to them. Secondly, the user can click on the red button labeled “apply for a quote”. All testers successfully completed this task and were able to obtain quotes for different cars. However, it took them different durations to complete this task. Majority of the testers completed the task in less than two minutes. There was an observation where the testers were confused whether to use the first or second option to obtain the quotation. This led to most testers trying out both options to determine whether there is any difference. This resulted in more time taken in completion of the task. It was observed that the completion of the task was quite easy for most testers despite the slight confusion. We therefore recommend that the developers of the website eliminate the confusion by allowing only one way of obtaining quotes. By doing so, the users of the system will have an easy time completing this task. The testing evaluation and findings was also based on the post testing questionnaire that was filled by each tester. In this questionnaire it emerged that most users liked the general functionality of the website where the tasks were successfully completed and results obtained. In the feedback it was evident that the site can carry out the basic and intended activities. However, a concern arose when asked what they did not like about the system. All the testers expressed that they were a little bit confused and distracted while carrying out the tasks due to the numerous graphics in the site. The testers expressed their dissatisfaction in the over used graphics that cluttered the webpages. Three of the testers noted that they did not see the need for the use of graphics that ended up hindering their efforts to complete simple tasks. For instance one tester was unable to complete a task due to the confusion arising from these graphics. In his own words the tester noted “I couldn’t cope up with the clutter of graphics everywhere on my screen, along the way I lost track of what I was supposed to do due to the constant and unnecessary blinking.” With regard to what the testers would do if they were personally involved in the design and development team. All testers thought that the first thing they would do is to remove the clutter evident in the site. The testers did not see the need for too much advertising that in the end did not achieve the intended objective but ended up hindering the users from carrying out the basic tasks on the website. Most testers found the process of conducting the test friendly and easy to complete though some felt they were being watched more closely. Two of the testers felt that they felt they were not in a normal setting where they can freely do their tasks without being closely watched or monitored. In conclusion, it is evident from the testing and evaluation that the website is functional and can effectively achieve the intended purpose. Accomplishing most the basic functionalities is effective and possible with desired results obtained. However, some design and usability elements need to be addressed to ensure more effectiveness in the use of the website. The design team must therefore address some of these challenges including the removal and minimization of the advertisement and use of graphics in the website. This will enhance concentration of the users on the more important functions of the site. It also reduces the distractions faced by users while accomplishing the basic tasks. Other than these few design issues, the website is user friendly and effective. References Nielsen, J. (1994, April). Usability inspection methods. In Conference companion on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 413-414). ACM. Read More