Tools: Screencast-O-Matic, Google Slides
My Role: Design testing script, recruit participants, moderate testing sessions, analyze and present findings
with recommendations
Team: Founder of VanGO, UX Consultant [me]
Summary:
In September 2019, an upcoming redesign of VanGO's site made the need for user research undeniable. Over the past three years, I have become familiar with VanGO as a customer and as a social media marketer. VanGO is primarily a request based shuttle service, meaning that a certain number of requests have to share the same date and time for a ride to be scheduled. This is all currently managed through the VanGO site, Acuity Scheduling and Doodle polls. The goal of this project was to discover how well potential customers understood the requesting and booking processes.
Study Design:
In this study, participants were expected to find, request and book a ride for a specific date on the VanGO website. There were three participants total, two college students and a recent graduate. All were based in the Amherst area. Each session was moderated in-person before findings were analyzed and presented to the Founder of VanGO.
Project Goals and Questions:
‣ Gauge how well participants understood the details of the VanGO system.
‣ Identify when users got confused about the request process and why.
‣ Were the route options presented clearly?
‣ Were participants able to book a ride with VanGO on their own?
Challenges:
‣ Finding a balance between allowing participants to work through their confusion and providing an explanation when it would impact the completion of the task.
‣ Finding patterns for analysis when working with three testing sessions that all played out very differently.
Findings:
‣ Participants were able to understand the available routes and appreciated the clarity.
‣ Several participants found the large monthly calendar helpful when finding the date of their ride.
‣ No matter how clear the writing might participants often do not take the time to read, even less so when their activity is not being observed.
[Recommendation: Include user onboarding with visual cues to guide users through the more confusing parts of the process.]
‣ The difference between requesting a ride and booking a ride was not clear for participants. On multiple occasions, participants were not able to say if they had a confirmed ride with VanGO or if they had just requested a ride.
[Recommendation: Let the users know what just happened after each step and what's next if applicable. eg: ‘Thank you for requesting a ride with VanGO! An email will be sent out if this ride is scheduled. If not, we’ll still message to let you know.’ or ‘You’re all set! Check your inbox for a confirmation email.’]
Select slides from findings report:
All slides are screenshots from the findings report. Video clips are below.
Screenshot from findings report. Study tasks.
Screenshot from findings report. Usability metrics.
Screenshot from findings report. Users appreciated several aspects of the process such as the calendar, Doodle polls and pick up locations.
Screenshot from findings report. The explanation of requests and lack of confirmation messages were two points of confusion for participants.
Screenshot from findings report. The text explaining requests on the calendar page continues to be a point of confusion for users.
Video Clips from Sessions:
Appreciates the visuals from the doodle poll
Appreciates the calendar and book now option
Pick-up and drop-off locations are more explicit than some competitors
Appreciates the clear pick-up location
Understanding the request button on the calendar
Confused by “Still Taking Requests” box above calendar
Understanding request vs. booking and lack of reading
More confusion with "Still Taking Requests" box
Probably would’ve left if she wasn’t participating in the session
