User Testing - Participant #3 Raw Footage

Summary

In this usability study for the surfboard board website, a user evaluates the process of listing and renting outdoor gear, specifically a tent. The participant provides feedback on the site's design, focusing on filtering options, button clarity, and redundancy in product details. Key issues include confusion with icons and buttons, difficulty in navigating between listings, and a desire for a rating system to assess gear owners. The user compares the platform to services like Uber, appreciating its simplicity but suggesting design improvements to enhance the overall user experience, especially for mobile devices.

Takeaways

• 😀 The usability study aims to evaluate the design of the Surfboard website, focusing on identifying areas for improvement rather than testing user abilities.
• 😀 Participants are asked to think aloud and share their thoughts as they navigate the website, making it easier to understand user behavior and pain points.
• 😀 The first task involves listing personal gear (a tent) on the Surfboard platform, where users must provide a title, description, price, and pickup location for their listing.
• 😀 The second task requires users to search for and rent a tent, with a specific interest in a two-person tent. Users are guided through the process of selecting and filtering gear.
• 😀 One user encountered a bug where the filter did not properly update, causing some confusion in finding the desired gear.
• 😀 The user interface includes icons and filters that are not immediately intuitive, particularly with the use of checkboxes and filter buttons, which some users confused for clickable buttons.
• 😀 There was some confusion around the menu and filter icons, with users unsure of the difference between them and how they should interact with the site.
• 😀 Users would appreciate a simpler way to navigate through gear listings, such as the ability to click through to the next item directly, rather than having to go back to the homepage.
• 😀 Some users found the price details hard to read, particularly when displayed over dark images, suggesting the need for clearer presentation.
• 😀 A suggested feature improvement was a rating system for gear and users, similar to platforms like Uber, to help with decision-making and trust-building.
• 😀 Users valued the simplicity of the design, especially the clear separation between tasks like listing gear and renting gear, though there were suggestions to make interactions more intuitive.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of the usability study mentioned in the transcript?

The primary goal is to evaluate the design of the 'surfboard board' website, focusing on areas that might be improved. The session is intended to test the website, not the user's abilities.

What task is the user asked to perform first in the usability study?

The first task involves the user listing a tent for rent on the surfboard board website, as they own a tent and want to earn some cash.

How does the user list a tent for rent on the website?

The user clicks on 'list your gear,' selects 'tent,' provides a descriptive title, writes a description of the tent, sets a rental price, enters the pickup address, and fills in product details before posting the listing.

What was the user's experience when trying to filter results while renting a tent?

The user initially had difficulty filtering results by the number of people the tent can accommodate, as the filter feature wasn't fully implemented. They were also unsure about the difference between various icons and how to properly use them.

What frustration did the user express when browsing tent listings?

The user was frustrated by not being able to easily filter results and not being able to quickly view the price or other important details, especially when a dark picture obscured the information.

What did the user suggest to improve navigation when looking at listings?

The user suggested implementing a feature that would allow them to quickly move to the next listing without having to return to the homepage each time.

How did the user compare the surfboard board platform to similar products like Uber or Lyft?

The user compared surfboard board to Uber or Lyft because both involve requesting something (a ride or gear) and interacting with a profile, though they noted the difference in renting from individuals rather than stores.

What feature did the user express a preference for during the usability study?

The user valued the simplicity of the website's layout, where tasks like listing gear and renting gear were separated, making it easy to follow a clear path for each task.

What issue did the user encounter with the checkboxes on the website?

The user found the checkboxes confusing because they looked like buttons. This led them to click on them before realizing the correct interaction was to use the checkmark to confirm their choices.

What did the user suggest regarding the 'fit three' field when listing a tent?

The user suggested that the 'fit three' field felt redundant since they had already mentioned the number of people the tent accommodates in the description. They proposed having this prompt appear before the description to avoid redundancy.