User Experience Assignment
- 1. Elizabeth Pisarek Intro to Web Publishing Mrs. Lamer 8 March 2018 Usability Test for Chef’d Test Preparation To begin the research on the usability test for Chef’d, I am going to be completing the four tasks before I conduct the test with my two participants. Before I even started the test, I made sure I was in a quiet environment. I am taking the test in Colden Hall secluded from any noise with no one around so I do not have any distractions. My phone is put away so I can solely focus on each task at hand. I work best and am most comfortable when nobody is around me. First, I read through the script thoroughly to make sure I understood it clearly and so that I would be able to answer any basic questions that my participants might have. Continuing, the first task is about building a Spoon University meal plan with a $65 per week budget. First, I went to the search bar on chefd.com and typed “spoo” then Spoon University Meal Plan automatically popped up below so I just instantly clicked on that. It took me straight to the Spoon University Meal Plan page. I scrolled down then clicked on Start Meal Plan. Next, ALLERGENS popped up and I clicked on none then clicked Next. PROTEINS was next and it included what I like in meals so I selected Beef, Poultry, Fish, Pork, and Shellfish then clicked Next. PLAN TYPE was next and I selected that I would like to add one Meal to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. Inside my box was one meal that was the Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado for $13, six Grab 'n Go's which included Mini Chocolate
- 2. Muffins by KNOW Foods, Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats, Four Cheese Mac 'n' Cheese in a Mug, Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats, Israeli Couscous & Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad, Cheesy Eggs and Spinach Burrito in a Mug, and lastly two Fruits & Snacks which included five days worth of seasonal fruits: Fuji Apple, Granny Smith Apple, Mango, Grapefruit, and Orange and five healthy study snacks. I found it really inconvenient that the prices were not by the Grab 'n Go's or the Fruits & Snacks sections. My total came to a total of $62 so I did not go over my budget. If I would have, it would have been a lot more convenient to have the prices by the Grab 'n Go's or the Fruits & Snacks sections too to swap meals more easily and to compare the prices. I did not swap any meals they all looked good to me and made me extra hungry. Once I clicked on Add To Cart, my cart popped up on the right side on the screen and told me my total price of $62. It showed me that I was getting meals from Spoon University Meal Plan, and a list of all the meals I was getting. I stopped at this point, because I believed I completed the task at hand. Furthermore, the second task is allowing me to choose one extra meal, but it has to be a spicy meal that I want to prepare. From where I left off at on the Add To Cart page, I scrolled up to PLAN TYPE and changed it from one to two Meals to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. Inside Your Box popped up with Couscous with Pesto and Veggies for $13 and Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado for $13. I am keeping the Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado so I clicked on Swap Meal underneath Couscous with Pesto and Veggies. When I clicked on it, this popped up “Sorry no meals to show you” so I exited out. I clicked on Swap Meal underneath the Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado and the same error popped up. I clicked on PLAN TYPE and changed it from two to three Meals
- 3. to My Spoon U Box to see if that would expand my options. A “Sorry!” message popped up saying, “Based on our currently available meals and your taste profile, these are the meals that match your dietary preferences. To expand your options and get more recommendations, please adjust your taste profile by clicking outside or you can continue with two meals per week.” I went and clicked on PROTEINS again. It turns out I actually selected the two meals I did not want to include which were Lamb and Vegetarian. They could designed those choices a little better. I went back and clicked on Beef, Poultry, Fish, Pork, and Shellfish and hopefully it works this time and gives me more meal options. Apparently, they are automatically all selected and you have to deselect the ones you do not which makes it very confusing. I clicked Next then it took me to PLAN TYPE and I selected the two Meals to My Spoon U Box rather than the three that was still selected then clicked Next. It took me to Inside Your Box and gave me a lot more options! Options that I was hoping for the first time I selected what I would like in my meals. My two meals include Chili Mac n' Cheese for $13 and Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese for $13, my six Grab 'n Go's included Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema, Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap, Curried Chicken Salad Wrap, Red Chile Pork Tamale with Ranchera Salsa, Marcona Almond Pesto Chicken and Cherry Tomato Wrap, and Smoked Turkey Club Wrap, and the Fruits & Snacks were the same as before. I swapped the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema for the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug. Underneath the Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese, I clicked on Swap Meal. It gave me eleven meals to swap with including Chicken Quesadilla, Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw, Lemon Herb Salmon, Healthy Black Bean Turkey Burger, Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl, Quinoa Fried Rice, Farfalle Chicken and
- 4. Parmesan Pasta, Brown Sugar Salmon with Brown Rice and Broccolini, Gluten and Dairy Free Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry, BBQ Chicken Flatbread, and Spaghetti Carbonara. They were all $13 in price. I clicked on the picture above the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl because I sounded the spiciest out of all the other options. Continuing, Nothing happened when I clicked on the picture or any of the other pictures too. I expected it would show me nutritional facts, how spicy it was and possibly some ratings so I just clicked on Select Meal for Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl. I clicked on the image again still nothing popped up so clicked refresh and it made me start all over and did not refresh just the page, but the entire meal plan! I started over and selected everything the same again and it showed the same results. Then I clicked underneath Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese on Swap Meal, the same eleven options showed up again and I was able to click on the picture above the food options and it allowed me to see the allergens, nutrition facts, time to make it, the spiciness level, and the difficulty to make it. I swapped it out with the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl, which has medium spiciness. Medium spiciness was the spiciest option to choose from out of those eleven options. I stopped at this point, because I believed I completed the task at hand. In addition, the third task is about how the Grab ‘n’ Go’s cannot be over 450 calories and if it is, you have to swap the item for another. I clicked on the ‘X’ button to exit the picture with the options from the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl meal. It brought me back to Inside Your Box where I am going to start to complete the task. I scrolled down to Grab 'n Go's. I clicked on the picture of Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema and it again would not allow me to do it so I refreshed the page and started over again. This time it worked
- 5. when I clicked on the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was only 360 calories so I can keep it. Next, I clicked on the Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was 420 calories so I can keep it. Then, I clicked on the Curried Chicken Salad Wrap picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was 470 calories so I cannot keep it. I clicked on the Swap Meal button and only one alternative option came up. It was the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug. I clicked on the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was 480 calories so that mean I cannot guarantee that my six Grab ‘n’ Go’s will be under 450 calories with the PROTEINS I selected. Later, I scrolled back up to the top and clicked on PROTEINS to select the Vegetarian option along with all my other options to give me more meals to choose from. I clicked Next and then clicked Next again on the Meals to My Spoon U Box. It brought me back to Inside Your Box and my six Grab 'n Go's changed. Now, I have Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods, Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats, Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema, Cheesy Eggs and Spinach Burrito in a Mug, Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap, and Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats. I enjoy all of these choices. Now, I just have to click on each one of the meal’s pictures to check the Nutrition Facts to make sure it under 450 calories. I clicked on the Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was only 70 calories per muffin so I can keep them. Next, I clicked on the Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was only 400 calories so I
- 6. can keep it. Then, I clicked on the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was only 360 calories so I can keep it. I clicked on the Cheesy Eggs and Spinach Burrito in a Mug picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was only 440 calories so I can keep it. Next, I clicked on the Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was 420 calories so I can keep it. Lastly, I clicked on the Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats picture. I scrolled down then clicked on the Nutrition Facts. I found out that it was 310 calories so I can keep it. I am able to keep all these Grab ‘n’ Go’s meals. They are all under 450 calories. I stopped at this point, because I believed I completed the task at hand. Lastly, the fourth task is to pretend that it is Monday at 3:30 p.m. and want to know if your spicy meal will arrive on time for Saturday night. Continuing on the same place I left off on Inside Your Box area, I clicked on the shopping cart icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen that showed I had ten items in my cart. Once I clicked on shopping cart icon, my cart popped up on the right side on the screen and told me my total price of $62. It showed me that I was getting meals from Spoon University Meal Plan, and a list of all the meals I was getting. I clicked on the Checkout button. Set Delivery Date popped up and it wanted me to enter my shipping zip code then to choose either Residential Address or Commercial Address. I typed in 64468 then clicked on Residential Address. It gave me a list of three delivery dates I could choose from. The earliest delivery date was a week from the day I would order the meal plan. So to answer this task’s question, no you your spicy meal will not arrive on time. It takes at least a
- 7. week to get delivered so ordering a meal on Monday does not guarantee that you will get your meal for Saturday night. I stopped at this point, because I believed I completed the task at hand. Choosing Participants Tester 1: Truman Wiles Truman Wiles is a 19 year old male who is a freshman at Northwest Missouri State University. He is currently majoring in business and minoring in physical education. He is also thinking about changing his major to Mass Media: Broadcast and Production, which I found interesting. He is a personal trainer at the Foster Fitness Center here on campus. He is a full-time student as well. He workouts Monday through Friday and watches what he eats in between the week too. His life revolves around the gym, studying in the library, and going to the Newman Catholic Center, which is where I know him from. He is a reasonable tester, because he cares about his overall well-being and fitness. He was willing to help and knew that the test would take about 30 minutes. He spends roughly about 24-26 hours a week using the internet including email and Web browsing. The split difference for him is 50/50 for social media and browsing. He said when he is usually taking a break from his studies, he is on social media on his phone. He considers himself a low-experience user of the internet. Environment for Tester 1 ● Location of test: The location of the test took place in the B. D. Owens Library on the second floor. He chose this location because this is where he does most of his homework and studying at. ● Physical environment: For the physical environment, its lighting was bright. There were distractions everywhere to his phone right by him during the test to
- 8. groups of people moving and making noise working on projects or simply studying out loud. It was very crowded. People were everywhere. There were dry-erase boards along with tables and chairs scattered throughout. They did however have a closed off computer room where students could study too. He sat at a table that was in front of a pillar and by a trash can. The table was a dry-erase table. He was drinking Pellegrino water, which he said he wished was a Bud Light. He was studying for an American Federalism test right before the usability test. ● Technical environment: He used his HP Windows laptop borrowed from Northwest. He was connected to NWMSU_Secure. The network speed was very strong (130 Mbps). He used Google Chrome as his browser choice. Some of his add-ons included Grammarly for Chrome, My Fitness Pal Ratio Calculator, and Nutrition Facts Label. Tester 2: Hayley Brown Hayley Brown is a 20 year old female who is a sophomore at Northwest Missouri State University. She is currently majoring in Interactive Digital Media: Visual Imaging and minoring in writing. She is a Graphic Designer for the Learning and Teaching Center here on campus. She is hoping to pursue an internship out of it. She is also a full-time student too. She workouts every other day, and she is on a gluten free diet currently. Her life revolves around the her health and fitness, studying in her apartment, and going to Starbucks, which is where I know her from. She is a reasonable tester, because she cares about her overall fitness and health. She was willing to help and knew that the test would take about 30 minutes. She spends roughly about 32-34 hours
- 9. a week using the internet including email and Web browsing. The split difference for her is 50/50 for social media and browsing. She said when she is taking a break from her studies, she is on Pinterest or Twitter keeping up on her social media on her phone. She considers herself a high-experience user of the internet. Environment for Tester 1 ● Location of test: The location of the test took place in the B. D. Owens Library on the first floor in the Starbuck’s area. She chose this location because this is where she finds it most relaxing and easiest to concentrate on studying or homework in this area. ● Physical environment: For the physical environment, its lighting was dim. There were hardly any distractions besides her phone sitting on a small table by her or Starbucks calling the name of the person who just order coffee softly. It was crowded, but not in the way where you feel like people are all on top of you. There was enough space between chairs, tables, and couches where you did not feel squished in this area. She sat in a chair where there was a side table then another chair, which is where I sat. She sat by a lot of outlets and used one to charge her laptop. She was drinking a Venti White Chocolate Mocha Iced Latte with 2% milk because it was gluten-free and it is her favorite drink. She also had a Nestlé Pure Life water bottle by her phone on the side table as well. She was working on an internship application for becoming an Interaction Designer for Google test right before the usability test.
- 10. ● Technical environment: She used her HP Windows laptop borrowed from Northwest. She was connected to NWMSU_Secure. The network speed was very strong (130 Mbps). She used Google Chrome as his browser choice. Some of her add-ons included Honey, Search by VisibleCooking, and Grammarly for Chrome. Test Results Initial Site Thoughts Continuing, Truman and Hayley shared a lot of similarities for their first initial thoughts on chefd.com. They both loved the food pictures and visual slideshow on the home page. It made them both hungry. It made Truman so hungry I took him to Taco Bell after we finished the usability test. They liked that it had a personalization option. They also were annoyed by the pop-up coupon that offered $10 off their first order. They also liked who Chef’d partnered up with and could recognize most of the their partners like Adkins, Sun-Maid, and Quaker to name a few. They found it really cool that they could access Chef’d through the Chef’d app on their phone to order their meals. They also thought it looked like a pretty professional site. Furthermore, there were some differences too for their first initial thoughts on chefd.com. This site definitely made Truman a lot more hungry than Hayley. He talked about how hungry he was throughout the whole test. For Hayley, she asked a lot of health questions in the beginning pertaining to her gluten free diet. She also did not care to much for the Kim Kardashian post/review while Truman found it quite intriguing. Truman is from Iowa so Quaker oats stood out first to him for the partners and found it pretty cool. Task 1: Build a Spoon University meal plan and determine the total weekly cost
- 11. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 4 5 4.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Highlights 1) Testers were surprised that the ALLERGENS section of the Build Your Meal plan was unselected for them for them to select their allergies. The options to choose from allergies were none, Gluten, Soy, Dairy, Fish, Shellfish, Peanuts, Tree nuts, and Eggs. Hayley did find this helpful to stay on top of her gluten free diet. On the other hand, they both found it problematic on the PROTEIN section, where the options including Beef, Lamb, Poultry, Fish, Pork, Shellfish, and Vegetarian, were already selected for them. They had to deselect what they did not want and found it confusing. The overall selection buttons on chefd.com need to be improved. 2) Testers did not like how long some pages took to load. When they wanted to refresh the page to speed the process up, it took them right to the beginning of Build Your Box. They would have to start all over again and reselect all their information again. They were especially frustrated with this.
- 12. 3) Testers found it inconvenient that the prices were not by the Grab 'n Go's or Fruits & Snacks section. It took them a little bit to determine the total weekly cost, but they eventually completed the task. Biggest Problem The tester’s biggest problem was definitely the first problem. The problem with which selection to select and deselect their options for. They complained about this one the most. Hayley did figure out faster than Truman, but he still had a lot of trouble with it in the beginning. Chef’d just needs to redesign or keep the buttons all in the same format. Now, there are multiple ways to complete a task. Let us see how each of these testers went about solving this particular task at hand. First, Truman went to the search bar on chefd.com and typed out “spoon university” then Spoon University Meal Plan was the first result that popped up below so he clicked on that. It took him straight to the Spoon University Meal Plan page. He scrolled down then clicked on Start Meal Plan. Next, ALLERGENS popped up and he clicked on none then clicked Next. PROTEINS was next and it included what I like in meals so he selected Beef, Poultry, Fish, Pork, and Shellfish then clicked Next. PLAN TYPE was next and he selected that he would like to add three Meals to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. He said he eats about three meals per day. An error message popped up saying, “Sorry, based on your current available meals, these meals that match your dietary preferences, you need to expand your opinion and give more information. Adjust your task or your taste profile by clicking outside or you can continue with two meals per week.” Truman said, “Oh… this is per week.” He clicked on seven Meals to
- 13. My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. The same error message popped up and he said, “ Alright then two meals it is.” Inside his box was two meal that was the Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado for $13 and Couscous with Pesto and Veggies for $13, six Grab 'n Go's which included Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods, Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats, Four Cheese Mac 'n' Cheese in a Mug, Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats, Israeli Couscous & Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad, Cheesy Eggs and Spinach Burrito in a Mug, and lastly two Fruits & Snacks which included five days worth of seasonal fruits: Fuji Apple, Granny Smith Apple, Mango, Grapefruit, and Orange and five healthy study snacks. He also found it really inconvenient that the prices were not by the Grab 'n Go's or the Fruits & Snacks sections. He also did not like any of these meals so he started over. Continuing, He scrolled down then clicked on Start Meal Plan. Next, ALLERGENS popped up and he clicked on none then clicked Next. PROTEINS was next and it included what I like in meals so this time he realized that they were all selected and he needed to deselect the ones he did not want so he clicked on Lamb and Vegetarian then clicked Next. PLAN TYPE was next and he selected that he would like to add two Meals to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. Inside his box was two meals that include Chili Mac n' Cheese for $13 and Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese for $13, his six Grab 'n Go's included Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema, Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap, Curried Chicken Salad Wrap, Red Chile Pork Tamale with Ranchera Salsa, Marcona Almond Pesto Chicken and Cherry Tomato Wrap, and Smoked Turkey Club Wrap, and the Fruits & Snacks were the same
- 14. as before. He also swapped the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema for the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug just like me. Underneath the Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese, he clicked on Swap Meal. It gave him eleven meals to swap with including Chicken Quesadilla, Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw, Lemon Herb Salmon, Healthy Black Bean Turkey Burger, Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl, Quinoa Fried Rice, Farfalle Chicken and Parmesan Pasta, Brown Sugar Salmon with Brown Rice and Broccolini, Gluten and Dairy Free Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry, BBQ Chicken Flatbread, and Spaghetti Carbonara. They were all $13 in price. He swapped the Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese for BBQ Chicken Flatbread. He said, “Everything looks good.” He scrolled down to the bottom to checkout and realized his total was $75 and his budget was $65 per meal or less so he started over. He said, “I wish the prices were by the Grab 'n Go's and the Fruits & Snacks section.” Next, He scrolled down and clicked on Start Meal Plan. Next, ALLERGENS popped up and he clicked on none then clicked Next. PROTEINS was next and it included what I like in meals he deselected Lamb and Vegetarian then clicked Next. PLAN TYPE was next and he selected that he would like to add one Meal to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. Inside his box everything was the same except now he had one meal instead of two. He scrolled down and saw that the price was now $62 so he said, “Screw it!” He left everything as it was and did not swap any meals. At this point, he completed the task. Furthermore, Hayley took a different approach and completed the task much faster. Hayley went to the search bar on chefd.com and typed “spoon un” then Spoon
- 15. University Meal Plan popped up below the search bar so she clicked on it. It took her straight to the Spoon University Meal Plan page. She scrolled down then clicked on Start Meal Plan. Next, ALLERGENS popped up and she clicked on Gluten then clicked Next. PROTEINS was next and it included what I like in meals so she deselected Beef, Lamb, Fish, Pork, and Shellfish and made sure Poultry and Vegetarian were selected then clicked Next. She said, “I had to second glance and make sure I was selecting and deselecting the right ones. This is a lot more confusing than it should be, but I think I got it.” PLAN TYPE was next and she selected that he would like to add one Meals to My Spoon U Box then clicked Next. Inside Your Box popped up with Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl for $13 as her one meal, her six Grab 'n Go's included Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods, Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats, Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema, Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats, Quaker® Carrot Cake Overnight Oats, Cheese and Green Chile Tamale with Casera Salsa, and lastly two Fruits & Snacks which included five days worth of seasonal fruits: Fuji Apple, Granny Smith Apple, Mango, Grapefruit, and Orange and five healthy study snacks. She liked all of her options and was excited to try the Cheese and Green Chile Tamale with Casera Salsa and the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema. She has never had those before. She scrolled down to the bottom and saw her total was $62. At this point, she completed the task. Alignment to Heuristic: Consistency and standards This heuristic is where “users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions” acknowledged
- 16. by Jakob Nielsen in “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design”. This best fits along with the biggest problem, because Chef’d’s buttons should have been consistent. The testers should not have to guess or constantly start over, because they do not know what to select and deselect while picking out their meal plan. Chef’d needs to stay consistent throughout their website. Task 2: You have the budget to cover one extra meal per week, but you want it to be a spicy meal. Determine your spicy meal options and choose one meal that you are willing to prepare. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 5 4 4.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Highlights 1) Testers did not like how the long images took to load. They did not understand how one image could take around eight seconds to load. 2) Testers found it again inconvenient that the prices were not by the Grab 'n Go's or Fruits & Snacks section. 3) Testers would have liked the paragraph after Inside Your Box to be in black and not gray text. Black would have stood out more they said. Biggest Problem The tester’s biggest problem was the first problem. The problem with how the long images took to load. They complained about how it was only one photo why it take around eight seconds or more to load. This problem bothered Truman a lot more than
- 17. Hayley. Chef’d just needs to see if they can resize the photo resolution and make the meals still look good. Now, there are multiple ways to complete a task. Let us see how each of these testers went about solving this particular task at hand. Continuing, Truman started right where he left off from the first task and scrolled back up to PLAN TYPE. He clicked on two then clicked Next. He scrolled down and clicked on Swap Meal underneath Chili Mac n' Cheese. He scrolled through his eleven options and clicked on Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl, because he said it looks the spiciest and looks good. The image took too long to load so he checked his phone. When it loaded, he put down his phone and said finally! He asked me why it took so long so I told him it must be a high resolution picture. He scrolled down from the image and saw that Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl had Mild spiciness so he swapped the meals. He chose Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl as his spicy meal to prepare. At this point, he completed the task. Next, Hayley began the same way as Truman and started right where she left off from the first task and scrolled back up to PLAN TYPE. She clicked on two then clicked Next. She scrolled down and clicked on Swap Meal underneath Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado. It popped up and said “Sorry no meals to show you”. She said, “Well, that sucks… I guess I only get to choose from two meals I hope the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl is spicy.” She clicked on the X button on the screen to exit out of the page then she clicked on Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl picture which took about six seconds to load, less waiting time than Truman. She scrolled down to find that the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl had a mild spiciness. She said,
- 18. “Well, at least it looks easy to make.” She chose Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl as her spicy meal to prepare. At this point, she completed the task. Alignment to Heuristic: Aesthetic and minimalist design This heuristic is where “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.” acknowledged by Jakob Nielsen in “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design”. This best fits along with the biggest problem, because those extra pixels are loading to pop up the high resolution food picture is frustrating these testers. If it frustrates Hayley and Truman, some customers are probably frustrated as well with how long it takes to load an image. Chef’d needs to talk to their web designers about how or what they can do to make their high resolution pictures have less pixels but still the same good-looking food options. Task 3: Ensure none of your meals, “Grab ‘n’ Go’s or snacks is more than 450 calories per serving. If the calorie count is too high, swap the item for another. Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 3 4 3.5 Success Rate 0% 100% 50% Highlights 1) Testers were bothered by the fact that when they clicked on a picture and wanted to exit from it, they could not exit by just simple clicking on the
- 19. outside of the picture. They said most websites these days you can just click on the outside of the picture that is popped up and it will go away. 2) Testers again would have liked the text to be in black and not gray text. They said black would have stood out more and is easier to read. Hayley had contacts in and I had to read her some of the small gray text so she knew what it said. 3) Testers wanted more Grab 'n Go's to Swap with. Hayley only had two Grab 'n Go's to swap with while Truman only had one Grab 'n Go's to swap with. Biggest Problem The tester’s biggest problem was the first problem. The problem was why they could not click on the outside of the photo for it to disappear or close and bring them back to the main screen. Most websites these days you are able to click on the outside of a picture and it will go away. This problem bothered Truman a lot more than Hayley. Truman was a lot more impatient with this problem as well. Chef’d just needs to fix it to where their users are able to click on the outside of a picture to exit. Now, there are multiple ways to complete a task. Let us see how each of these testers went about solving this particular task at hand. For instance, Truman started right where he left off from the second task and scrolled back up to his Grab 'n Go's. He said, “Well… this task seems easy. I’ll just click on each Grab 'n Go's picture, scroll down to Nutrition Facts, and see how many calories are in each one of these Grab 'n Go's meals. He clicked on Chicken Tamale in Green
- 20. Sauce with Chipotle Crema, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. He found out that the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema was 360 calories so he kept it. Next, he scrolled up just enough to see the picture and tried clicking on the outside of it. Instead of exiting him out of the meal, it showed him another picture of the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema. He said, “Well, that’s stupid…” Then, he clicked on the outside of the picture multiple times more before he scrolled up and final saw the little “X” up in the right hand corner to exit out of it. He said, “That was a lot harder than it needed to be. Why don’t they have that side button exit feature?” Next, he clicked on the Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. He found out that the Smoked Turkey Breast and Havarti Cheese Wrap was 420 calories so he kept it. He scrolled up to the top and clicked on the exit button this time with no hesitation. Next, he clicked on the Curried Chicken Salad Wrap, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. He found out that the Curried Chicken Salad Wrap was 470 calories so he had to swap it. He scrolled up to the top and clicked on the exit button. He clicked on the Swap Meal underneath the Curried Chicken Salad Wrap. It only gave him one Grab 'n Go to swap with, and it was the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug. He clicked on the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug picture, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. He found out that the Pepperoni Pizza in a Mug was 480 calories so he knew he had to swap it. He said, “I know I need to swap this meal, but I do not have anymore Grab 'n Go options to choose from. So what should I do? I do not want to change anything.” I said, “Adding lamb or the vegetarian option to your proteins might give you more options.” He said, “I don’t like those… Can I just be done?
- 21. It’s not my fault they are not giving me more options to choose from! Which is stupid too!” At this point, he did not complete the task. Next, Hayley began the same way as Truman and started right where she left off from the second task and scrolled back up to her Grab 'n Go's. She clicked on Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. He found out that the Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods were 70 calories per muffin so she kept it. She said, “Sweet, I can have six muffins and it still will not be over 450 calories!” Next, she clicked on the ALLERGENS tab just to check and make sure Gluten was not in it. It only popped up with Tree Nut and Egg allergens. Then, she scrolled up to the picture but not far enough to see the “X” to exit out so she tried clicking on the outside of the picture. It just took her to the next picture of the Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods. She said, “Why are all three of these pictures the same what is the point of that…?” After pondering about why Chef’d would have the same three pictures in a carousel image rotator, she scrolled up a little more and found the “X”. She clicked on the “X” to exit out. She clicked on Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats next, then scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. She found out that the Quaker Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats were 400 calories so she kept it. Then, she clicked on the ALLERGENS tab again to check and make sure Gluten was not in it. It popped up with Tree Nut and Peanut allergens so she scrolled up to the top and clicked on the exit button this time. She clicked on Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema next, then scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. She found out that the Chicken Tamale in Green Sauce with Chipotle Crema was 360
- 22. calories so she kept it. Then, she clicked on the ALLERGENS tab again to check and make sure Gluten was not in it. It only popped up with Dairy so she scrolled up to the top and clicked on the exit button. Next, she clicked on Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats next, then scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. She found out that the Quaker Apple Pie Overnight Oats were 310 calories so she kept it. Then, she clicked on the ALLERGENS tab again to check and make sure Gluten was not in it. It only popped up with Tree Nut so she scrolled up to the top and clicked on the exit button. After that, she clicked on Quaker® Carrot Cake Overnight Oats next, then scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. She found out that the Quaker® Carrot Cake Overnight Oats were 370 calories but then she saw that there were 63 grams of carbohydrates per cup. She said, “That’s insane! There are 63 grams of carbohydrates per cup and there are about 1.5 servings. That’s around 190 carbohydrates… NO THANK YOU! And 33 grams of sugar per cup too. Nope, goodbye!” She scrolled back up to the top and clicked on the exit button. She clicked on Swap Meal underneath Quaker® Carrot Cake Overnight Oats. It only gave her two Grab 'n Go’s to swap with, and it was the Quaker® Chocolate & Peanut Butter Overnight Oats and the Kale and Apple Salad. She said, “There ain’t no way the Kale and Apple Salad is going to have more calories than the Quaker® Chocolate & Peanut Butter Overnight Oats so I’m going to go with the Kale and Apple Salad. She clicked on the Kale and Apple Salad picture, scrolled down, and clicked on the Nutrition Facts. She found out that the Kale and Apple Salad was 210 calories so she kept it. She said, “I do not even have to check the ALLERGENS this time I know this is gluten free!” At this point, she completed the task.
- 23. Alignment to Heuristic: User control and freedom This heuristic is where “users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.” acknowledged by Jakob Nielsen in “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design”. This best fits along with the biggest problem, because testers should be able to leave an unwanted state in the way they know how to or are familiar to. Chef’d needs to allow their customers to exit something in more than one way like how other sites allow their users to exit. If Hayley and Truman thought by clicking on the outside of a picture would allow them to exit from the picture, customers have probably done the same. Chef’d needs to talk to their web designers about how or what they can do to allow customers to exit out of a picture simply by clicking on the outside of it. Task 4: Assume/pretend that it is Monday at 3:30 p.m., and you plan to prepare your spicy meal on Saturday night. Will the meal arrive on time? Summary for Both Testers: Tester 1 Tester 2 Average Average Satisfaction 4 5 4.5 Success Rate 100% 100% 100% Highlights
- 24. 1) Testers did not understand why they were not taken to a new checkout page when they clicked on the Add To Cart button. Instead, their cart showed up on the right side of the screen showing their meal options as well. 2) Testers did not understand why it took so long for the delivery dates to show up after they entered the Maryville zip code. 3) Testers were unsure of what the Commercial Address option was underneath Set Delivery Date. Biggest Problem The tester’s biggest problem was the first problem. The problem was why Chef’d did not take their customers who clicked on the Add To Cart button to a new checkout page but instead popped up their cart on the right side of the screen showing their meal options. This problem bothered Hayley a lot more than Truman, because she was just more use to be taken to a new checkout page and did not really like the overall style of it. Chef’d should go ahead and create a checkout page. It would be a lot easier for users to know where they are at. Now, there are multiple ways to complete a task. Let us see how each of these testers went about solving this particular task at hand. Continuing, Truman started right where he left off from the third task that he did not complete and scrolled down to the bottom of the page and clicked on Add To Cart. Then, his cart popped up on the right side of the screen showing both of his meal options: the Chili Mac n' Cheese and the Smokey Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese. It also showed him that he was on the Spoon University Meal Plan and that his total was $75. He said,
- 25. “Why did the cart show up on the side of the screen that’s new?” Next, he clicked on the Checkout button, it took him to Set Delivery Date. He started typing 64468 in the text box underneath where it said “Please enter your shipping zip code.” Then, he had to pick from Residential Address or Commercial Address. He said, “I am not sure what Commercial Address really means so I am going to select Residential Address.” He clicked on Residential Address. It took a while for it to load the delivery dates. It was Sunday, February 25, 2018 when I conducted this usability test. The delivery dates that showed were “Sun 03/4, Mon 03/5, and Tues 03/6”. He said, “Well, that’s past Saturday night so looks like I cannot get my spicy meal here on time. It takes them about a week to delivery so if I ordered this on a Monday at 3:30 p.m., I would not get my meal til the following Monday so no my meal will not arrive on time. The meal will not arrive on time. At this point, he completed the task. Then, Hayley started right where she left off from the third task and scrolled down to the bottom of the page and clicked on the Add To Cart button. Then, her cart popped up on the right side of the screen showing both of her meal options: the Black Bean Chicken Brown Rice Bowl and the Kale and Chickpea Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado. She said, “Why didn’t it take me to a Checkout page when I clicked on Add To Cart? This is weird. I don’t like it…” It also showed her that she was on the Spoon University Meal Plan and that her total was $75. Next, she clicked on the Checkout button, it took her to Set Delivery Date. She said, “What’s the Maryville zip code?” and I told her 64468. She started typing 64468 in the text box underneath where it said “Please enter your shipping zip code.” Then, she had to pick from Residential Address or
- 26. Commercial Address. She clicked on Residential Address. It took a while for the delivery dates to load. It was Monday, February 26, 2018 when I conducted this usability test. The delivery dates that showed were “Mon 03/5, Tues 03/6, and Wed 03/7”. She said, “Well, it takes Chef’d about a week for the meals to get delivered so there is no way if I order a spicy meal on Monday at 3:30 p.m., I would get my meal on Saturday night so no my meal will not arrive on time. The meal will not arrive on time. At this point, she completed the task. Alignment to Heuristic: Consistency and standards This heuristic is where “users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions” acknowledged by Jakob Nielsen in “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design”. This best fits along with the biggest problem, because Chef’d’s checkout system should be consistent with other websites. Chef’d needs to accumulate other website’s checkout methods to their current checkout method. It will help Chef’d out a lot in the long run if they change their checkout page to be a completely different page. If it bothered Hayley and Truman, customers have probably wondered why Chef’d does not just have a separate checkout page too. Chef’d needs to talk to their web designers about creating a simple checkout page to make it easier on users. Final Site Thoughts In addition, the two testers had a lot of similarities throughout this usability test. Some similarities included how good the food looked, the problems they both faced, and how the tasks seemed pretty easy to complete. They both agreed that the site looked
- 27. pretty professional. They both really liked the Mini Chocolate Muffins by KNOW Foods in the Grab 'n Go's section. They both wished they had more Grab 'n Go options to choose from. They both complained about the button problem over every other problem they faced. They both did not think the tasks would be that hard to complete. Furthermore, the two testers had a lot of more differences throughout this usability test than similarities, which is not much of a surprise. This website made Truman extremely hungry after completing this usability test. He said, “I only had a PB & J for supper so I am getting pretty hungry.” Truman did not stop talking about Taco Bell throughout the entire test. I drove him to Taco Bell after the test, and he was happy. He wished the site offered protein shakes. He said, “I love protein shakes. I wonder if Chef’d could come up with one and put it under the Grab 'n Go's section. For Hayley, she wished they had better gluten free options. She still complained about the checkout pop up too. She said, “Overall this was a pretty easy usability test thing, but Chef’d needs to work on a lot of things. This site has multiple problems that need to be fixed.” Recommendations to improve user experience Single problem being fixed: Task 1: Testers were surprised that the ALLERGENS section of the Build Your Meal plan was unselected for them for them to select their allergies. The options to choose from allergies were none, Gluten, Soy, Dairy, Fish, Shellfish, Peanuts, Tree nuts, and Eggs. Hayley did find this helpful to stay on top of her gluten free diet. On the other hand, they both found it problematic on the PROTEIN section, where the options including Beef, Lamb, Poultry, Fish, Pork, Shellfish, and Vegetarian, were already
- 28. selected for them. They had to deselect what they did not want and found it confusing. The overall selection buttons on chefd.com need to be improved. Problem Improvement: To begin, there are many problems Chef’d needs to fix on their website, but the one they need to fix to most is their overall selection buttons. Below, one can see the confusion and problem that takes place when the customer is trying to complete a meal plan. First, the customer will begin by building his or her box and will start out at the ALLERGENS section. The ALLERGENS section can be seen to the left. This is where the customer selects what they are allergic to. After the customer has selected their allergens, they are taken to the PROTEIN section. To the left, we can see that this time all the buttons are selected. This is where the customers will start find confusion. Customers are suppose to deselect which proteins they do not want included in their meal plan. This is
- 29. where Chef’d failed at consistency and keeping the site easy for the customer to understand. This easy fix to fix problem has probably lost Chef’d numerous customers. However, let us see how we can fix this simple problem. To solve this problem, a simple checklist box is an easy fix to the problem at hand. To the left, there is a visual of what a before checkbox for ALLERGENS could look like for Chef’d. Checkboxes are easy to use and understand. Almost everybody has seen what a checkbox looks like and how to use it. This checkbox displays possible allergens that the customer may have. These options include NONE, GLUTEN, SOY, DAIRY, EGG, FISH, SHELLFISH, PEANUTS, AND TREE NUTS. These are the same allergies that chefd.com has listed underneath their ALLERGENS section. There are a lot more allergies than Chef’d has listed. To the right, we see what the ALLERGENS section could look like for Chef’d after the customer completes it. The
- 30. customer checks the box for NONE then clicks on the SUBMIT button. After the customer clicks on the SUBMIT button, they will be taken directly to the PROTEINS section. Also, the SUBMIT button can be called NEXT or even NEXT UP as well. To the left, there is a visual of what a before checkbox for PROTEINS could look like for Chef’d. This checkbox displays possible protein choices that the customer may want. These options include BEEF, LAMB, POULTRY, PORK, FISH, SHELLFISH, and VEGETARIAN. These are the same proteins that chefd.com has listed underneath their PROTEINS section. To the right, we see what the PROTEINS section could look like for Chef’d after the customer completes it. The customer checks the box for BEEF and POULTRY then clicks on the SUBMIT button. After
- 31. the customer clicks on the SUBMIT button, they will be taken directly to the PLAN TYPE section. If Chef’d would invest a simple checkbox idea, they would have more happy customers and less confused ones. This would allow their page to maintain their consistency and keep a steady flow throughout chefd.com.