Case study: Usability evaluation and redesign
Usability Challenge
Intro
Part of this challenge was about composing a case study and evaluating the usability of travel applications. We were given a scenario of a travel destination and a user group. I chose the following.
User Group
Young couple — 20–40 y/o
You and your partner decide to visit the cristo statue in Rio de Janeiro and stay for one week. You realize you have both saved enough for the tickets and are planning to save as much as possible for the next 6 months to do this trip. You want to be efficient and have everything you need organized to enjoy at 100% while there. You want to have special moments to celebrate being together.
Research
I conducted the specifics for the destination:
- the closest airport to the destination is Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont
- the current exchange rate is 1 EUR = 6,4 BRL
- none of the users needs a visa for entering the destination country
- the CDC and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for Brazil: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza
- sun-protected, short, airy, light, suitable for 23–28 degrees Celsius
- one day is needed to visit the attraction
Benchmarking
I conducted Usability Heuristics evaluation with Nielsen’s Principles. Compared Skyscanner, Hopper and Tripadvisor for the selected user scenario.
Skyscanner performed the best and was the one I chose to perform usability testing on.
Testing
A couple of my friends represent this user type and agreed on getting interviewed. The interview was mainly held over Facebook Messenger Video Chat, as it supports screen share and was already available to every interviewee.
At first, the interviewees had to look at the home screen for five seconds and were asked: What did you see? What can this tool do for you? Where would you search for a flight?
Every user could quickly indicate the purpose of the application, they knew how to access the features and their functionality. They describe the app as easy to understand and clear.
After that I asked the interviewees to execute the following tasks:
- Find the most affordable flight from BER to SDU in April, without a layover longer than 4h. Duration of stay is set for one week.
- Book accommodation for one week.
- Explore the COVID-19 travel advert map, try to find the current information for your destiny.
Insight
The users were mainly quick in executing the tasks and found all necessary information, were able to access the booking links easily, navigated well and located their destiny on the map. Pain points came across when trying to find accommodation. The interview revealed how users felt overwhelmed by the presence of images and couldn’t figure how to navigate until a short learning curve has taken place. Otherwise were users satisfied with the layout and design of the app, but wished for a map integration when browsing for accommodation and even asked for an AirBnB integration, since this is the commonly used service for booking a place to stay among the interviewed users, which leads me to redesign.
Redesigning Wireframes
Based on the interview evaluation did I decide to propose a solution with the integration of AirBnB offers in the search results.
This is the current solution, where most users sought advanced options.
The feature I implemented in this wireframe, allows users to display listings of AirBnB housing. It can be accessed in the top right corner and can be switched off by clicking on the toggle.
Conclusion
When researching how to be a better UX designer, I often came across the principle of Designer ≠ User. This really came to surface while executing the interviews, it made me learn how different the users behave from each other and especially from me. Also, empathizing with the user group and conducting their specifics was an enriching learning experience.
Boa Viagem!
