Website Redesign UX Case Study Part II: Usability Testing
#UI #UX
Project Timeline
Sep 2021 - Apr 2022
My role
UI/UX
Tools
Pencils & Papers, Google Docs, Google forms, Google Meet, Miro, Kardsort, Figma, Maze
Deliverables
Empathy map, persona, user journey, user flow, task flow, wireframes, design system, prototype, case study
I chose to conduct remote unmoderated usability tests using Maze because it is more cost- and time-efficient. Maze allows for screen recording and captures testers' expressions simultaneously. Due to the large size of my Figma file, I have divided it into three separate files. As a result, each tester participates in three usability tests per iteration, as outlined below.
Before the test began, I tested my prototype with a friend who is also learning UI/UX to gather some feedback. Most of the findings were minor, such as the suggestion to add a new path (search) for users looking for the Lerhamn table on the homepage.
After the internal test, I then tested the prototype with five testers, one of whom was unable to record his screen during the test. I conducted two iterations of the tests.
Based on the comments from the tests, some changes were made according to the Severity Ratings for Usability Problems. For example, instead of using a drop-down list to select the year and month for the delivery date, left and right arrows were added.
Before choosing whether users need assembly or not, the delivery date is greyed out (cannot be selected). This improvement reduced the misclick rate in the next iteration.
Between this and the last iteration, A/B testing was performed for the shopping cart page. Instead of selecting which products to check out, four testers preferred to delete the products they didn’t want. When they clicked delete, a confirmation popup appeared. Click here to try the prototypes.
According to a comment from a tester, numbering the sections makes the process smoother.
We can see that between the first iteration and the second iteration, the misclick rate improved by -3.4%, the direct success rate increased by 20%, and the average duration to complete the task decreased by 36.85 seconds.
Comparing the satisfaction rates from the second iteration with those gathered from the survey for the original IKEA US site and IKEA Taiwan site, we can see that both have improved.
Try the three versions of proceeding to the checkout process (on laptop/desktop): checking out the Lerhamn table, Stefan chair and Fado table lamp. Which one do you prefer?
Due to my background in Bachelor of Business, I sometimes focus more on what the business wants than what users want. Therefore, I didn’t conduct quantitative surveys or screen interviewees for this project. The interviewees I selected were based on secondary research and my hypothesis, and I realised that they were not dynamic enough. I learned that even though conducting primary research takes time, empathising with the users is the most important step when designing services for users. Also, setting clear hypotheses and goals before starting primary research will give a clear direction and save a lot of extra work.
I have also learned that throughout the design process, I should always keep my primary persona, Alice Lee, in mind. What does Alice want? What will she do? This way, I can truly design a product that empathises with the users.
With the usability tests for my prototype, when a scenario is given, it will be closer to the real-world situation than just giving instructions. Also, I changed the wording of the instructions for the second iteration based on the testers' feedback. This should not have been done in order to avoid letting other factors affect the test results.
With my proposed solution, I have added the "delivered within 24 hours" feature to be competitive with existing competitors, but now I feel that this is more of a strategic aspect of the business and would require more insights and research.
Lastly, since this is my first UI/UX project, I tried to use as many tools as possible. However, looking back, some of them might not have been necessary.
I separated this project into five phases, as listed below, at the beginning. Due to human resource constraints, I was only able to work on the minimum viable product (phase 1 and part of phase 2).
The next steps would be to work on elastic demand, address the different breakpoints, and develop an app for IKEA Taiwan.
Some elastic demands include adding features like inspiration collection functions (similar to Pinterest) and cooperating with credit card companies to offer users rebates.
