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Usability Testing Online: Telecom Business E-Manage Sites
Overview
The Sprint Business group requested research on the usability and functional usefulness of all of its business E-Manage sites. Research was conducted using the NetRaker (now part of Keynote) online usability tool, on all 10 (at that time) portals. The project required recruiting from a panel, an intercept study, and e-mail invitations in order to cover all of the sites.
Research Design
The figure to the right shows how recruiting was managed for each of the sites. A few other key points include:
- Research activities included planning, development, survey design, and logic programming for the NetRaker online application.
- Measures included: Task performance (pass/fail), content clarity/availability, feature availability, navigation/task path efficiency, "Find it" information architecture tasks, aesthetics, time on task, and ease of use ratings.
- The general study procedure:
- Re-screen to ensure the individual is at the correct site
- Each task starts at sprint.com home page
- Participant performs Task 1
- Participant is asked questions about Task 1
- Repeat for tasks 2, 3, and 4
- Ask final questions
Accomplishments
- The success of the project was in part due to the continuous communication between business management, project management, IT, and other groups that were also conducting tests on the site at the same time.
- Results indicated sites at which, among other findings, the performance ratings were clearly problematic. This helped us to specify the reasons specific sites needed to be redesigned or otherwise addressed.
Building on That
The study proved to be a milestone in my working with complex study designs and logistics. I did most of the Netraker online survey design and logic flow work myself. Recruiting was plagued with both tactical and political issues. The amount of data was extensive. Perseverance and good communication were essential for success.
Skills
- Learned to program the Netraker survey designer and logic flow
- Screening
- Working with vendors that provide panels
- Extensive data analysis
- Synthesizing findings into actionable design recommendations
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