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Usability Testing Online: Using Netraker (Keynote) to Evaluate SprintPCS and Competitor E-Commerce Sites
Overview
The primary goal of the study was to obtain insight into the e-commerce sites of four telecom companies and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the architecture of each site. The Netraker online Experience Evaluator usability testing tool was used to accomplish the study. Netraker is now part of Keynote.
Research Design
Method
- Participants were intercepted as they entered each site or agreed to participate in the study and were sent a link to the site
- Users were asked about what tasks they were there to perform, their perceived success once the task was accomplished (or not), and other questions.
Study Questions and Measures
- What are the highways, byways, and cul-de-sacs of each carrier?
- What are the key differences between carrier processes?
- What changes are necessary in order to increase online acquisitions?
- Measures included frequency of task paths, survey question feedback, and several experience ratings
Accomplishments
While the details of the study cannot be discussed, a flavor of the types of information learned from the study include:
- Equipment replacement at Carrier A was used frequently
- Carrier C's Shop process was very clean
- Carrier B's Shopper's guide received a fair share of use
- Carrier D required Zip code entry before any further information was provided
- Promotions received attention in Carrier B's primary flows
- All carriers, save one, had promotions that end in "cul de sacs," meaning no clear way of progressing towards the user's goal through the promotions.
- The list and data artifacts such as the click stream were utilized to discover both usability issues on pages and to assist with finding task flow/information architecture issues. Recommendations, such as moving pages into or out of task paths were used to support increased efficiency of the site and provide feedback against specific business objectives.
Building on That
In the years to come, I would be involved in many other evaluation and research efforts that looked at e-commerce shopping and managing experiences. This would include:
- Usability testing Wirefly.com. The question was asked, "Should the company engage Wirefly to sell its wireless products?" The usability test experience scores and comparison to the company's own sales process directly influenced the decision.
- Many heuristic evaluations on the competitive E-Commerce web sites (specifically the "shopping" experience)
- Breakdown and evaluation of the competitive wireless web sites, including functionality within the wireless manage web pages.
- Several heuristic evaluation of E-Manage applications, including Parental Controls and handset swaps
Skills
- Online usability testing with NetRaker
- Questionnaire design
- Screener design
- Task path and other web analytics
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