This post is a follow-up from the usability test from last week on Lime by testing the usability for users on a mobile device.
My analysis from last week can be revisted at the following link: Design Analysis: Usability Testing.
I modified my script to inform the three new users that this test was going to be conducted on a mobile phone rather than a laptop. Since I was recording their voice and the test using a laptop, this confused most of the participants at first. I recorded three usability tests from last week using my personal laptop and planned to do the same this week to ensure validity with the test in terms of recording to help guarantee the biggest variance was testing the website on a mobile phone rather than a laptop.
At first the main issue was my personal laptop is a 2018 MacBook Pro that only supports USB-C ports that are still uncommon, and most people don’t have cords that support this connection for their mobile phones. I took the action to buy a USB-C to Lightning cord cord to ensure my iPhone would work, and I informed all three users before the testing started that due to this constraint that they would be unable to use an Android device for this test.
I felt this was important to disclose since people are familiar with their preferred Operating Systems on their mobile devices and this may have caused undue stress or frustration during the test for typical Android users.
As stated this round of testing, I was able to use three different participants from last week. Two were female and one was male, all three were between the ages of 30-40 and currently employed.
I kept to the same four tasks from last week for consistency and ensuring the only difference was using a mobile device.
Tasks
- The Home Page Tour: I showed the participant the home page and asked them to say aloud the following: what strikes you about it, whose site you think it is, what can you do here, what it’s for?
- Question 1: Let’s assume that you are interested in learning more about Lime, can you find out if Lime is available in your area or residence and/or employment?
- Question 2: Now that you’ve seen Lime is available in Seattle, are you able to find the options available for riders in Seattle?
- Question 3: Are you able to locate any information on how to get a safety helmet for users?
- Question 4: Are you able to find the download button for your mobile device?
Testing Results
My testing revealed similarities for the participants with certain aspects of the website across both laptop testing and mobile testing that also confirmed my recommendations on how to improve the website.
The main usability problem for mobile testing was:
- The site doesn’t appear to be responsive to user click and touch. The users typically had to touch/press a link several times for it to redirect the user.
The main usability problem for mobile testing was:
- Website doesn’t have a search bar
- Users want to be able to click Seattle under locations to view local information about Lime
Recommendations
To increase usability for Lime across all platforms I would recommend Lime add a Search bar to their website since Krug mentions there are people who are “search-dominant” users and may immediately lose all goodwill by not being able to use a search bar.
I also would be alarmed on visiting a website and not seeing a search bar option since it seems like a fundamental component for all websites. Additionally, being able to use a search bar was a method two of the participants looked to when the links they were clicking didn’t redirect them immediately.
I noticed that clicking links and no event occurring instantly frustrated participants more than being unable to located information to complete a task.
Another recommendation from last week’s testing is worthwhile to consider since it was common across both mobile testing and laptop testing.
- Add local information for each city listed in the locations page (informs visitor of services offered in their area)