The TechCrunch Website is a source for business and technology related news and content for the public. It brings the latest stories, updates, events, etc to the forefront and serves as a platfrom for indviduals to educate themselves, explore events, and discover and interact with interesting topics. The website is fairly well designed but upon conducting a heuristic evaluation of the site, several key issues jumped out. Some of them included:
- Lack of systematically categorized content
- Lack of user control and freedom
- Busy design with an overstauration of content
In order to dive deeper into the website issues, I conducted a moderated usability test that included specific tasks and survey responses. I conducted the test on my personal laptop and recorded the particpant's performance and facial expressions. As I moderated the Usability Test, I guided the particpant through the Google Form Questionnaire and encouraged them to think out loud throughout. I assigned the particpant three specifc tasks with the goal of observing their behavior and interaction with the website as they navigated the site. The purpose of the study was to uncover issues with usability, and discoverability on the website. By oberserving user behavior, my goal is to identify gaps in the website's UX that should be worked on in order to provide a better overall user experience.
The Pilot test comprised of the following key elements:
- Introduction and context
- Informed Consent
- Background Questions
- Pre Test Questions
- Tasks (3)
- Post Test Questions
- System Usability Scale
- Product Satisfaction Card
- Personal Background Questions
Questionnaire You may view the UT questionnaire form here.
Video Pilot Usability Test Video
What I Learned
While conducting the usability test, I realized the importance of having the user talk out loud about the tasks they are working on. I observed what spots the user struggled with and what they did well with. It was interesting because as the user navigated tasks, I was able to identify key issues and quick ways to make the task easier for the user. Because I could see thr website through the user's perspective, I found myself thinking very differently from when I did the heuristic evaluations. I also realized the importance of choosing and defining the tasks wisely. The tasks should be related to the main purpose of the website and we should not start designing the tasks by thinking about the issues we anticipate because that may produce biased results. Lastly, I made a slight error with a question on the form and added a mutilple choice response when it was supposed to be a short free response. Going forward, I will make sure to test out the link prior to the actual test.