Usability test for get bevel.com
- 1. Becca Ross Usability Test for getbevel.com Test Preparation In order to conduct this test on others I first conducted the tasks myself as well as read through all the materials in order to fully understand and be able to answer any questions or concerns my test subjects might encounter. When going through these tasks, especially tasks 1 and 2, I ran into a similar problem of wanting the ability to search for what I was looking for. In both instances the ability to search “razor bumps’ or “spotting” would have been helpful to find the information and products listed under those topics. Also when going through the second task of finding skin care products it was a bit confusing since the question asks for you to find skin care products so you would assume to click on the “skin” tab on Bevel’s website and look through the products. In order to then find the correct products both the spot corrector and the shaving cream I had to click on two different tabs. You would think that since they stress skin care being step one in the perfect shave they would list all products that are beneficial to your skin under the “skin” tab. Task 3 was also a little confusing because the task asks you to “Determine whether there is subscription available for those skin products related to razor bumps and spotting” because when running the test on myself I just went to the tab that says “offers” and there it only shows the shaving kit which does not have both products but if you go to the product itself you can sign up for monthly subscription to them and I wasn’t sure which service it was referring to. Task 4 was then simple because when looking for the subscription for the skin products I had already led myself to the shaving subscription page. Overall the website is fairly
- 2. simple to navigate and explain and as my testers noticed a search bar was the most common problem. Choosing Participants Tester 1: Bri Shoeman Bri Shoeman is a friend of mine who I met from someone I go to school with here at Northwest. I chose her because her father, brother and boyfriend all have facial hair of some kind and her boyfriend is african american which is what this site caters to. She is a white female who was 19 when questioned but has recently turned 20. Bri was unfamiliar with site and had never heard of it and the only other site she had been aware of was dollar shave club but had never visited the site. She works full time at a bank as a teller so technology is a part of her day to day life both at work and at home. Bri believed in a ballpark estimate each week she spends roughly 15-20 hours using technology outside of work with that time about 75% spent on social media and only 25% spend browsing. She mainly uses her phone when going through social media but when buying or browsing on the internet she prefers her computer. Environment for Tester 1 - Location of test: The location for Bri’s test was in her room in her apartment which she shares with one other friend. We sat on her bed which is where she said she typically is on her phone or computer to shop or browse online. - Physical environment: The room was quite well lit with an overhead light as well as a lamp and the window was open allowing in natural light. It was fairly cold in the room as the window was open and the apartment is typically cold. You
- 3. could hear cars and people outside and the tv was off which she said it normally is when she needs to focus on something. - Technical environment: Bri was using her personal laptop to complete the tasks. She uses a HP Pavilion foldable laptop which was unfolded as that’s how she typically uses it when shopping online. She was using google chrome to as her main browser and google as her search engine. Tester 2: Julie Schultz Julie Schultz is my mother. I chose her because my father has facial hair and is a ginger and has very sensitive skin so he has to be particular in shaving because his skin can irritate and create bumps very easily and she is usually the one who finds products for him to use. She is a white female who is 49 years young. Julie was familiar with the types of sites (Dollar Shave Club, Harrys) as she had looked into them for my step-dad but had not heard of Bevel. Julie works full time at a water works company where she has to use technology in her day to day life both at work and at home. Though unlike most teenagers she does not spend as often using the internet as she brings work home with her often but when she does use it she said she would say maybe 8-10 hours a week depending on how busy she was and that an estimate would be about 60% social media 40% browsing as she does enjoy shopping online. Environment for Tester 2 - Location of test: The location for Julies test was at her house in her living room on the couch. This is where she spends 90% of her time when she’s home both doing work and using the internet.
- 4. - Physical environment: The room was fairly well lit as the living room lights were on as well as the kitchen lights. The room was fairly warm though my mom had a blanket on as she gets cold easily. My step-dad was also in the living room watching tv, which she said is normal when she is on her phone or computer. - Technical environment: Julie was using her personal laptop which she does all browsing or shopping. She uses an HP Spectre standard computer. She uses safari for her browser and uses google as her default search engine. Test Results Initial Site Thoughts Tester 1: Bri’s first reaction was to the subscribe pop up and she rolled her eyes and said “I hate when those pop up if I want to subscribe I will do it myself”. Once she exited that pop up she continued to scroll down through the site and when she landed on the photo of the side by side skin picture she was confused as to what they were trying to depict because they were dark and you couldn’t really tell that there was a difference in the two pictures unless you looked very close.
- 5. She liked that the site was simple and not too cluttered as there wasn't a bunch of stuff all over the page. She thought that the grey on white was very appealing and up to modern standards and very cut and dry. She thought that the website set up was good and looked like it was a pretty good website, when asked to elaborate she meant it looked like a site you can trust. Tester 2: Julies first reaction to the site was to exit out of the pop up and she said “you can almost always expect one of these on every site you go to nowadays” and then proceeded to exit out of it. She then scrolled down the website where she noticed that it is also available in store at target which she liked because that meant she could be hands on with the product which she likes for more personal products. She also spent time looking at the grooming tips and wondering out loud what other tips that they may have on their website for shaving and skin care since she noticed that they have a tab on the top of the page for skin. She enjoyed the friendly face of the dermatologist as it made it feel like a friendly website and one you could trust since they were also giving you a link to click on to see what they have to say. Julie also liked the simple minimalistic detailing of the site as it was white with a few accent colors but was fairly plain and simple and easy to understand.
- 6. Similarities and Differences: The main similarity noticed between the two was the dislike of the pop up to subscribe to the site. They both mentioned that it happens so often on most websites now that they don’t even take the time to really look at it they just close it right away. Another similarity was that they enjoyed how clean and simple the website was and that it didn’t push a lot of stuff right in your face. A difference I noticed was that Bri automatically looked for pictures and said that it makes it more interesting to want to look at where as Julie went for more of what kind of information the site had to offer on their products to their consumers. Task 1: Determine whether there is any information available at getbevel.com that explains what razor bumps are, how they happen, and whether they cause discoloration, spotting or scarring. You want to learn details here not just superficial information. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 3 2 2.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Top 2 Observations 1) Testers were surprised that for being such a big part of their brand it wasn’t the very first thing on their homepage. Seeing as how they push their products being the best for helping get rid of razor bumps and spotting it took many tries to click on different tabs before they were able to navigate to a page where it had 10
- 7. articles listed to explain in detail razor bumps and other problem areas or questions consumers might have. 2) Testers were surprised when trying to navigate back home after finding their answer to task 1 as it takes you to another page not connected with bevels main website so when you click on the word “Bevel” in the left hand corner it doesn’t take you back to the main website and that frustrated the testers as at first they couldn’t figure out what was going on. Biggest Problem The biggest problem when trying to navigate this first task was the inability for the user to just be able to search “razor bumps” or “spotting”. Instead both users clicked on skin and clicked on the spot corrector which didn’t give in depth information so they went back to the homepage where Julie then went to bevel code which she was then unable to find anything useful there so she went back to the main page and said “well why can’t I just search for it” where she then realized there was no search bar option. She then eventually found the “FAQ” link under “Customer” which lead her to a razor bump link and then to articles about the problems. Bri also experienced this but it was only after not finding anything under “skin” that she then immediately wanted to search for it and said “well that’s just pointless, they make it so much more difficult for you to find stuff” when she realized there was no search tool. She was able to find the “FAQ” tab under “Customer” right after that to then find her answer. Alignment to Heuristic The Heuristic which this most closely aligns to would be heuristic number four: consistency and standards. This means that the users should not have to wonder whether different words,
- 8. situations, or actions mean the same thing. On Bevels website while they did technically have a search tool labeled “Help” which most people do not align with search tool. This means that people would ignore the tool and get frustrated with the website for not giving them the ability to search for what they are looking for. Task 2: Determine if Bevel has any skin care products available that address razor bumps and skin spots. What are the products and how much do they cost? Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 2 3 2.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Top 2 Observations 1) Testers were surprised when trying to navigate through the tabs at the top of the website along with following the task that it leads you to believe that in order to find skin products that it should be listed under the “skin” tab for all skin products and that you shouldn’t have to search through the other tabs. 2) Testers were surprised when under the products it doesn’t give a clear enough description of the product so you have to click through all of them in order to fully understand what they do so they got frustrated after clicking through all the products under “skin” and still not knowing if they had one that specifically mentioned razor bumps until going through the “shave” tab as well and clicking on products.
- 9. Biggest Problem The biggest problem with this second task is both people wanted to search again for razor bumps or spotting in order to be directed to links that would take you directly to what you wanted to find instead of having to hunt through all the products in order to find the specific one you wanted. Both Bri and Julie clicked on “skin” and scrolled through all of them till they saw the one called “Spot Corrector” then they had to click through each product under the “skin” tab to see if any of them mentioned razor bumps. Once they clicked through all of them Julie went back to the home page to see if she had missed anything then clicked “hair” cause she thought it might have been there and after not seeing any products to do with razor bumps then went to “shave” where she found the shaving cream. She again wished she could have just searched razor bumps in order to be given a list of items or articles related to the topic. Bri was similar in she went straight from “skin” to “shave” but while scrolling through “skin” again mentioned how much easier it would be to navigate if she could just search for what she was looking for. Alignment to Heuristic The Heuristic which this most closely aligns to would be heuristic number four: consistency and standards. This means that the users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. On Bevels website while they did technically have a search tool labeled “Help” which most people do not align with search tool. This means that people would ignore the tool and get frustrated with the website for not giving them the ability to search for what they are looking for.
- 10. Task 3: Determine whether there is a subscription available for those skin products related to razor bumps and spotting. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 4 4 4 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Top 2 Observations 1) Testers were surprised to find that the website was misleading in that if you didn’t look hard into the individual products you wouldn’t notice that each individual product you can sign up for monthly products on their own and not in the whole shaving kit subscription. It wasn’t until after the test that they realized you can purchase the products individually and believed that it was unfortunately very misleading because customers that are in a hurry could easily miss that option as most people just select how many they need and add to cart and are on their way.
- 11. 2) Testers were surprised to find that signing up to a subscription isn’t at the very top of their home page if that is the main idea of the company. Their whole thing is being able to receive a great product directly to consumers every month but you have to search to find out their subscription location on their website and what it has to offer. It isn’t unless you click on the learn more at the very top to want to learn more about their products that it also happens to lead you to their subscription service but you wouldn't think to look there unless you clicked to learn more about the products. Biggest Problem The biggest problem was that when the testers did finally find where to go to find the subscription service you had to click through two pages to actually get to a list of what all is included and more information. Julie was frustrated that there was so much to go through and that someone who is in a hurry or just browsing may get tired of having to click through so much information to find what they are looking for. Bri was also frustrated with the amount of
- 12. literature you had to go through before you found what you were looking for and then it only gave you three options and didn’t include the individual products that you could subscribe to. Alignment to Heuristic The heuristic which aligns with this problem would be number eight: aesthetic and minimalist design. This means that dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility. When Bri and Julie tried to find out what subscriptions were available on Bevels website they were taken through two separate pages they had to click through before they actually got to a page that listed exactly all the information needed to complete the task. For something so important to them as its the main product of the website that they push the most you think they would give easy access directly to the page without a bunch of extra information. If they decide to purchase the product or seek out that information it can then be given to them but if not it frustrates the user. Task 4: You’ve decided you want to give your friend a one-year subscription to Bevel’s Replenishment Subscription. Determine how much that will cost. Determine how often the product will be shipped and what’s included with each shipment. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 4 3 3.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
- 13. Top 2 Observations 1) Testers were surprised that again you had to click through so much literature to find the products that you were looking for you had to go through two pages to find the price point and what was included. Again it wasn’t on the first page unless you clicked learn more so you had to go to “offers” then click “learn more” and then click through another tab before you finally got to the cost details. 2) Testers were surprised to find that on the page before you get to the price there are three separate places to click to move on that all take you to the exact same price breakdown for the products. The testers had to read through each option before clicking on the right one and then realized that they each take you to the exact same place so they then became frustrated as to why there were more options since it just made things more confusing. Biggest Problem Overall the biggest problem that both Bri and Julie had was trying to figure out when the orders were going to be shipped and what was to be included. It says you are paying for a year long monthly subscription but that it comes quarterly. Bri and Julie both clicked on the “choose” tab for the yearly subscription to find out what was included and both were confused as to how the subscription worked. It said you would get a package quarterly but not what was being refiled it did show thow what was in the starter pack but didn’t say if what is delivered each time is supposed to last you till the next subscription came in. Both Bri and Julie got frustrated and gave up after finding what little information the website did give you. Alignment to Heuristic
- 14. I believe the heuristic this most closely aligns to would be number four: consistency and standards. They call their subscription service a monthly service but in reality it only ships out quarterly making it a quarterly service. Be reading what they have listed on the website they ship you one package every quarter and its supposed to last until the next shipment arrives. By labeling it monthly to most other website mean that you will get a package in the mail every month containing the products you subscribed to but according to bevels website they only do quarterly shipments meaning they need to relabel their subscription to more closely resemble how often their consumers would get the product. Final Site Thoughts 1: Bri shrugged and didn’t really seem to have an opinion. She thought it was pretty easy to navigate once you were used to the website but still thinks there needs to be a search tool to make it easier. Bri thinks the website and its information are fairly clean cut and easy to use. 2: Julie thought the website contained a lot of great information and tools for people with sensitive skin or other skin problems but speaking as someone who is usually in a hurry or has not a lot of time to spend on things there's so much information to go through to find some of the important things on their website. Similarities and Differences: Again the biggest similarity is the want for a search tool to make finding what they are looking for quick and easy. One difference is Julie looked at it through the eyes of a busy working adult who doesn’t have a lot of time and thought the website could be simplified and cut down to avoid people from getting frustrated whereas Bri looked at it
- 15. as someone who is casually browsing the internet and has time to go through every inch of the site. Recommendations to Improve User Experience Single Problem Being Fixed Task 1: Users having a hard time finding products and wished there was a search engine Problem Improvement When you first get to the Bevel website this is your landing page. A seemingly normal page with tabs listed across the top, a user login, and a shopping cart. One important thing missing is a search tool. Most websites include one to make navigating their websites easier for consumers. If you notice in the bottom right corner there is a “help” bubble that follows you as you navigate the website. Now on most sites this leads to a FAQ page that tells you contact information or other obsolete information consumers have come to ignore. But for Bevel this is their search tool. Both my testers ignored this button or did not even notice it at all nor did they try and click
- 16. on it when wishing they had the ability to search for a product. My suggestion is moving the search tool to the top right corner which is where almost every other website has theirs located, along with switching it to say “search” instead of “help”. When you click on Bevel’s “help” bubble it only searches through the “FAQ” page listed at the bottom of the sight it doesn’t include products listed on the Bevel website. I also suggest that allowing the search tool to be a global search tool and searching all of the website not just the “FAQ” page. The design of the website is simple and sleek and so should the search tool. Just a simple search box is what most people look for. This search tool would look through specific keywords tagged on products and articles to help the consumer find the most accurate information when they search on the Bevel website. It would bring a drop down list of products or articles that would be best suited for what you searched.