User research to enhance the us postal service website
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User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Mark Becker Jake Bevitt Dick Horst HFES Annual Meeting, Washington DC September 22, 2016
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Transcript of User research to enhance the us postal service website
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Mark Becker Jake Bevitt Dick Horst
HFES Annual Meeting, Washington DC
September 22, 2016
Overview of Work
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Iterative user-centered design approach, started in 2012 and still ongoing
Collaboration between UserWorks, Inc. and Aquilent
Overview of work; see conference proceedings paper for more details
Example of USPS’ commitment to improving the user experience
Expand web services (especially mobile), modernize, stay relevant and profitable
Hope to inspire other large organizations/agencies to do the same
Sections of USPS.com
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Homepage Global navigation Postal Store Making labels (Click-n-Ship) Global address book Tracking mail and packages
Information sections‣Descriptions of services‣Special services for businesses‣Shipping requirements/restrictions‣Help and FAQ sections
Companion sites and tools Some of the many features of USPS.com
Goals
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Test new functionality
Assess new layouts, visual designs
Optimize the navigation
Improve task flows
Increase comprehension of concepts
Modernize older sections of the site
Evaluate the responsive design
Address any known usability issues
Overall, improve the user experience
Participants
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Users of USPS.com, competitors, novices/first-time/never used before
Those who mail/ship from desktop, tablet, phone
General public, business owners, mail marketers
Frequency, recency of visiting USPS.com
Reasons for visiting USPS.com (make purchases, print labels, find information, etc.)
Age (“millennials”), gender, Internet proficiency, etc.
Research Methods Used
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Moderated methods‣Traditional one-on-one‣ In-person and remote‣Desktop, mobile, and tablet
Unmoderated methods‣Tree tests‣First-click tests
Card sorts‣ In-person with physical cards‣Remote with online tools
Source: https://blog.prototypr.io/
Types of Data Collected
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Success rates‣Accomplishing tasks‣Locating content
Time on task
Clickpaths
Errors
Ratings‣Perceived difficulty‣Confidence
Open-ended feedback
‣Expectations‣Preferences
Comprehension‣Terms‣Data tables, visualizations
User-created content groupings
Heat maps of where people click
Moderated Usability Tests Typically one-on-one Representative users perform representative tasks Follow up with ratings, probing questions
Multiple rounds of moderated usability tests on the Postal Store‣Consumers and business users‣ In-person and remote‣Locate and purchase stamps, decide which type
and how many stamps to purchase‣ Insights regarding navigation, amount and type
of product information to include, how to categorize products
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
A participant attempting a task during a session
Moderated Usability Tests – Pros and Cons Pros‣Ability to direct the course of a session‣Direct observation‣Can follow up with questions
Cons‣Can be time consuming‣Sometimes difficult to accommodate busy schedules‣Typically smaller sample sizes
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Unmoderated User Research – Tree Testing Link sent to participant Participant accesses application through
link Application ‣Displays instructions, tasks‣Collects data
Tree test of USPS.com global navigation‣General public, hundreds of respondents‣ Information location tasks‣ Insights regarding whether architecture
was logical, labels were clear, and what content belonged together
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
An example of a USPS.com tree test
Unmoderated User Research – First Click Testing First click test of USPS.com visual update‣General public, hundreds of respondents‣ Information location tasks‣ Insights regarding
Whether new design gave enough visual clues that an area was clickable
Whether labels, menu items were clear Where participants focused on in the
navigation
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Results from a USPS.com first click test
Unmoderated User Research – Pros and Cons Pros‣Larger sample size‣Asynchronous, participant does on own time‣Can get more data in less time
Cons‣Participant behavior may be ambiguous
Rushers Unmotivated Help from others Cheating
‣Cannot easily ask follow up questions
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Card Sorts Organize cards representing content into
logical groups Either open (participant decides how many
groups and how to label each group) or closed (number of groups and their labels are predetermined)
Can be in-person or online
In-person open card sort of the Business section of USPS.com‣Business users and mail marketers‣Validated the current information
architecture while identifying areas for improvement
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
USPS.com Business Section card sort
Card Sorts – Pros and Cons Pros‣How content is organized helps inform development of the information architecture‣Labels given to groups helps inform menu and navigation wording‣Can identify content that belongs together, belongs in multiple places, or does not
belong
Cons‣Useful for developing the information architecture, but does not provide insights on
layout, visual design, functionality‣Participants do not actually see the content they are organizing, just titles or
explanations‣Online tools allow for only limited sub-grouping and cannot put the same card in
multiple categories
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Testing on Mobile Devices More customers purchasing products using mobile
devices USPS working to improve user experience of their
mobile site, ensure it has same functionality as the full site
Usability test of MyUSPS.com tool‣Consumers and business users‣Obtain expectations and impressions of the tool’s
functionality, comprehension of mailing/shipping statuses, ability to set account preferences
‣ Insights regarding the tool’s perceived usefulness, whether it raised privacy concerns, most liked features, ideas for interface improvements
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
A participant exploring the MyUSPS tool
Testing on Mobile Devices – Pros and Cons Pros‣Observe participants interacting with the site on the
device(s) it was designed for‣Can test responsive design‣Can compare usability between mobile and desktop
versions
Cons‣Additional technical concerns‣May raise privacy concerns if participants use their
own devices
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
An example mobile test setup using an overhead camera
The Evolution of USPS.com
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
USPS.comSeptember 2013
USPS.comSeptember 2016
Thanks for Listening!
User Research to Enhance the US Postal Service Website
September 22, 2016
Mark [email protected]
Jake [email protected]
Dick [email protected]
UserWorks, Inc. performed the work described in this paper while acting as a subcontractor to Aquilent. We gratefully acknowledge their support and collaboration.
