Test Valley Council
A usabilty project
Test Valley is looking to update their whole website in the coming year. Before this they are wanting to carry out a series of usability tests to discover weak areas of their website. They want to receive a set of recommendations, which can be implemented to improve the experience of the site.
- Identify weaknesses in the website to be improved in the new website
- Recommendations should include a better experience for the user
Background
The council website was tested with 5 participants to provide useful information about how their users interact with their website. These findings could then be implemented into a new website they plan on building in 2021, ensuring an improved user experience.
AS TEST VALLEY were wanting to gain as much information as possible the following testing included:
- A deductive route
- Testing multiple metrics (navigation, layout, feedback and terminology)
- Current website design
Website objectives
Provide a service and information to the residents of the borough, some of these services include:
- Pay council tax
- Report issues
- Community news
- Items related to owning a business
Give clear information that can support the residents and help them achieve their goals.
Users should be the center of attention to make it easy to use for all age groups
Who are the users of Test Valley council?
- Adults = the services provided by the council are mostly for those 18 and over
- Residents within the borough who are either living in owned or rented properties
- Those who have businesses within the area or are thinking of starting a business/company.
- Adults = the services provided by the council are mostly for those 18 and over.
- Individuales who are looking to move or visit the area and are wanting to discover specific information about the place in general – these won’t necessarily be people who live within the Test Valley district
Current IA
One of the Government guidelines for service design is that “a user has to do as few things as possible” to get to the information necessary. Currently, it can take numerous steps to arrive at certain information.
- Navigation/Search system: Search and A-Z works well, the navigational menu could be improved, especially as this is likely how users will interact with the site the most.
- Labeling system: Burger menu does not react in a way that users would expect since this should be a drop down menu.
- Content: The volume of information appears to be larger than on other council websites.
- Organization: Dividing different topics, so that a structure is provided
- Users: Define the users, making it more clear as to what they would like to achieve.
Words
Correct language/terminology for buttons is imperative for user comprehension. As there is so much content/options/multiple routes to different areas it is hard to identify if all of these buttons include the correct terminology.
Visual representation
This refers to visual design elements
But does it interact like expected...
Time & behavior
Animation for the slideshow of news on the homepage. No real way for users to pick up where they started if they take a break from what they were doing. However, all buttons/forms have appropriate feedback, including hover and selected states.
Space or physical objects
Consistency of overall media devices (laptop, computer, mobile, tablet)
But does it interact like expected...
Words
Correct language/terminology for buttons is imperative for user comprehension. As there is so much content/options/multiple routes to different areas it is hard to identify if all of these buttons include the correct terminology.
Visual representation
This refers to visual design elements
Time & behavior
Animation for the slideshow of news on the homepage. No real way for users to pick up where they started if they take a break from what they were doing. However, all buttons/forms have appropriate feedback, including hover and selected states.
Space or physical objects
Consistency of overall media devices (laptop, computer, mobile, tablet)
Visual Design Elements
- Blue page colors are very harsh – choose a CTA approved color
- Icons are quite large in comparison to the title text. Different sizes, give the illusion of floating against the background
The button to access the accessibility feature is hard to identify. A user would be unlikely to know where to click, especially with a physical impairment.
The accessibility feature looks good – it resolves a lot of the issues that are seen on the original website as it segments sections a lot better.
- Accessibility features encounter some issues like: adaption of font sizes, disproportion and disorganization of elements
- News pages should be placed at the top of the website, as images are cut off in the banner. There is also no button that directs the user to this section immediately.
Found Bugs
Page loading times
… sometimes very long, regardless as to if someone was using a laptop or ipad. This is a cause for concern, especially as some users may also have slow internet connections, which could result in the process taking even longer. Page speed is highly important to the user experience, if pages take longer to load the website is likely to have higher bounce rates. The homepage of the website has been looked at by Google Page Speed Insights and has shown that both mobile and desktop optimization could be improved.
A score of 90 or above is considered good. 50 to 90 is a score that needs improvement, and below 50 is considered poor.
Please note only the homepage was tested so other areas of the site could be better/worse.
Mobile: 37
Desktop: 66
Documents
…completed the usability testing on an iPad. There were multiple PDFs and documents which did not correspond to the device and therefore affected the test results. In addition to this, the pages took long amounts of time to load on this device. It is of note that the participant who completed the testing on her ipad said that she would be quite frustrated if she would have to get out their laptop as they use their ipad for everything.
Usabilty Test plan
Test Approach: Deductive
- Test Valley wants to discover as much information about their website as possible. By going deductively we will be able to provide a high level overview across the whole website.
Testing Techniques: CTA + CP
- Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA): The goal is to encourage participants to keep a running stream of consciousness as they work.
- Concurrent Probing (CP): When users say or do something unique, the researcher asks follow-up questions.
Task 1 | Could you please find your weekly bin schedule for the SO51 0AR? |
Task 2 | Could you please tell us what the price of an annual car parking permit ticket? |
Task 3 | Please can you find the application form for the full planning permission? |
Task 4 | Please select the COVID-19 advice for businesses? |
Task 5 | Could you make a request for pest control? |
Task 6 | Could you please pay your council tax (online payment form)? |
Pass-Fail Benchmarks
All results will be compared to a pass or fail benchmark that has been determined prior to the testing. This benchmark is based on research, alongside our own times and steps to complete these tasks.
The whole task is considered a pass when:
- Completion of the task
- Number of steps: <5
- Time: max. 45 seconds
*an older generation of usability testers was considered
Test results
1. Identified issues
The overall issues found through testing were the metrics: layout, navigation and terminology.
Often the problems were created by pages that included too much information, which caused overload.
Participants were unclear of the steps they needed to take in order to complete their tasks.
Every metric is interconnected to each other. If there is one issue with a metric it often affected the latter ones, ultimately resulting in poor usability and a time consuming experience.
2. Pass/Fail benchmark
Though users did eventually complete the task, it was still considered a fail overall as they did not fulfil the prior benchmarks to ensure good usability.
Most users passed task 3 and 5 because they already had done this task in the past. Task 4 had pass rates due to the use of a banner on the homepage.
3. Emotions and more
These findings are subjective and contradictory to the other findings as many participants failed tasks, but often said they were easy.
We believe it to be related to the participants not wanting to hurt our feelings or because they were more critical of their own computer skills than the website, which could have skewed the results.
Future design suggestions
The following designs are only examples and do not include accurate information. The ideas shown are focused on the UI and layout and has been created to give you some idea how the results from the test can be used to improve the websites experience.
Home page
Place this button next to the search bar for easy access
Different colors for banner, which is striking and will get people’s attention to key information
Place on the homepage and labelled clearly. This area should consist of the main tasks that people come to the website. Thereby the council has to properly identify, using Google Analytics.
The drop-down button will be clearly labeled ‘view all services’ to view more options.
Redesigning forms
This should ideally say: “Online payment form for council tax” . The title should be in line with the rest of the form.
Boxes should be aligned. This creates consistency and makes the website look professional.
Buttons have to be highlighted in a different color, making it easy to identify.
They also should be spaced out accordingly, as they are currently too small and close together that mistakes could easily be made.
Design ideas for IA
The website presents information overload as seen in our results through the usability testing. Instead reduce, combine, categorise and organise the sub menus.
Priority next steps
With how the website currently is, users will be encountering numerous issues that will be affecting their experience. Some of these may only be minor issues, but this can have an impact to users reservoir of goodwill, which will eventually add up to frustration and anger from a user, which is not how Test Valley wants to be perceived.
Search results
Search results should be improved immediately.
Target audience
There is a large variety of users, which has to be mirrored in the options a visitor can experience the website.
Problem solving
Minor issues that can be resolved in a short amount of time and should be a priority to the council.
Know yor user
Skills incorperated
Throughout this job I was working with Test Valley Council as a UX consultant to improve their current website. To meet their goals and expectations, the project included to provide user research, usability testing, context analysis and project management.
- Usability testing
- Experience strategy
- Data analysis – A/B Testing
- Project management
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