Usability testing
Process | Usability problems | Successes | General findings | Changes | Future work
Process
We tested our hi-fi prototype with 6 users in our target user group age range (23-35). Each team member tested one to two users, so each member gained personal insight the testing process. We asked users to perform a series of tasks using the prototype on the phone, including:
- interpret menu labels
- walk with Mibo and interpret walking summary
- find their Mibo in the rankings
- navigate through the history graph to see walking patterns in different time periods
- set a new goal and see their goal process
After the first test, we fixed a few obvious problems; we changed some language on the home screen, and we made the trophy icon more consistently the main representation of goal level through the app.
After the remainder of our testing, we consolidated our findings and made some final updates to our screens; we present them below.
Usability problems
People were confused by the ’start walking’ button.
People thought that the app was already tracking their walking. Why would they then click this button to start walking? Do they have to hit this button every time? There was a breakdown in users’ mental model of how the app worked and how the app presented itself to users. We changed the button language to ‘Walk Mibo,’ which we hope will better signify what will actually happen when users ‘walk’ with the application – that they will see Mibo walking, and be able to see his progress as they go. This is more an issue for first-time users than for people who have been using the app for awhile.
Buttons were too small.
Across the app, we found that most of the buttons were too small; or else the clickable area we had assigned to the buttons was too small. We resized the buttons or clickable areas wherever possible to make them easier to select.
Items near or on a bar graph were interpreted as sliders.
We encountered this a few times in our testing. First, on the goal progress screen, we had had a little Mibo character on the progress timeline to show the user’s progress toward their goal. The first thing the first user did was try to slide him back and forth. So we removed this tiny Mibo. A user also tried to slide the trophies that appear next to the goal setting bars in the ’set goals’ screen.
Users wondered what the goal levels were based on.
A few users asked if the goal levels were based on some kind of data, or developed by a professional; the goal levels seemed arbitrary.
Some buttons did not look like buttons.
On the walking summary screen, there were two buttons that also showed information about the user’s progress; one was regarding rankings and one showed goal progress. We intended these to be clickable, but users saw them as static. We went through many rounds of improving these buttons and have come up with a new set of buttons that hopefully will be more recognizable.
Users were confused about the language that appeared when they set a new weekly goal.
We designed the application so that new weekly goals can only take effect on Sunday night at midnight. We wanted to promote a sense of community among Mibo users – they would all need to meet their walking goals by Sunday at midnight, which means they would have the same ‘crunch time’ and be more likely to walk together. The language we used on the post-goal-setting notification screen was cryptic to users. We decided to change the wording to simply say that the goal will take effect at midnight on Sunday, so that there would be less ambiguity.
People liked rankings, but the ranking formula was problematic.
Users generally liked the rankings, but right now they are based on total mileage; so people who have had the app longer would have a great advantage over people who just downloaded it. One user’s wise words: “you shouldn’t be able to have an advantage by lowering your goals or downloading the app first.” Because generally people care about others who are similar to them, we have thought about reformulating the rankings so that you are compared to people who have similar goals to yours. Perhaps this would be done along the high, medium and low goal levels. Additionally, we might change the rankings so that they are formulated on a weekly basis; that way people who have had the app longer don’t have an unfair advantage.
One user thought walking made mibo more tired and sleepy.
This was interesting and was something we did not consider, but upon reflection it makes perfect sense. The user thought that the little thermometer/display next to mibo was his ’stamina’ level, instead of his health level. We have to make sure that users understand that walking more makes Mibo strong and energetic, not tired and rotund. The combination of animations, text messages, and images should get this point across eventually, but we have to make sure this concept is understood right away, on first, use, because this is a fundamental assumption of the application.
Tired from walking, or tired from not walking?
Users were not sure what ’sharing’ their information via Facebook, Twitter and Email meant.
Most users understood that some information would be broadcast or emailed via these sources, but people were unsure exactly what type of information; perhaps a summary of progress, perhaps including some before and after images, etc. One user said he would definitely want to be able to preview and perhaps edit the information before it was posted.
Successes
Users loved Mibo.
Users found the Mibo character very cute and lovable. One user’s girlfriend said she thought he ‘looked like a baby and she wanted to change his diaper.’ Aside from being a humorous comment, this is actually an important finding; the more users consider Mibo something that needs to be cared for, the more they will be motivated to keep him healthy by walking.
Apart from ‘walk,’ homescreen navigation options were intuitive.
We asked users before they clicked on ‘history,’ ‘goals,’ or ‘rankings,’ and they uniformly understood what we had intended to communicate with these terms.
Users liked the idea of Mibo sending text messages to their phone.
While we didn’t have a chance to test this feature, we discussed it with users and they were all very enthusiastic about the idea. We realize we would need to be conservative with the number of text messages Mibo could send in a given day, because we wouldn’t want users to get ‘Mibo fatigue.’ But users thought this would be motivating; one user said it would be like a dog barking to remind you to take it outside.
General findings
People cared about others who were similar to them.
Some users expressed that they didn’t care as much about the top 10 as they did about the people who were ‘like them’ or near them in the rankings. This is supported by the literature.
One user suggested we let users earn clothing items or props for Mibo.
We had considered this, but thought it might add too much complexity. Our user mocked up a humorous picture of a pimped out Mibo and sent it to us, and that made us reconsider; we think users would be motivated by having the ability to earn Mibo props, so this is a feature we would consider adding to the app.
Some users thought the app might be for children.
This is where the cute, cartoony Mibo might put our app at a disadvantage; we want people of all ages to use the app, so we wouldn’t want it to be mistaken for a children-only application.
We might consider adding ‘levels’ to the app.
This is another thing we talked about early in the design phase; allowing users to achieve levels and get prizes at each level might be motivating. We initially wanted to keep the app as simple as possible, but if this concept would prove motivating we might want to incorporate it.
One user suggested adding audio.
One user thought audio would add a lot to the app. We think if it was done tastefully, it could add a lot to the overall user experience.
We need to think further about how phone calls would affect the experience.
If a user’s phone rings while they are in the application, what would happen? We need to consider that case and develop a user-friendly solution.
Recap of changes we made:
- made buttons bigger
- changed some confusing text
- changed start walking to ‘walk mibo’ to better build mental model of how the app works
- changed some buttons to look more like buttons
- updated the text that appears when people set goals
Future work
- Demonstrate our app and report our usability testing results to our client and the DDA board
- Submit our project to the CHI student design competition
