Challenge 3: Usability Evaluation and Site Redesign
In this challenge, I did a usability assessment and redesign a travel application using a prototype.
USER TYPE
I had to jump into the shoes of a world traveler. So I chose the User Type of a Young Group of friends. We want to invest time and money together. The trip is planned one year in advance to accommodate evertbody’s schedules and needs. We are interested in tourism and leisure, so we want spoil ourselves.
DESTINATION
We are going to one of the seven wonders, so we finally decided to travel to Machu Picchu. The closest airport to Machu-Picchu is Cuzco Airport (CUZ) which is 76.1 km away where we will stay for 4 days, which are the recommended days to see Cuzco and Sacred Valley, they will the organized as:
Day 1: The city of Cusco and the surroundings
Day 2: Full day excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chincheros
Day 3: Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu and Cusco
Day 4: Cusco and back home
Day 1: The city of Cusco and the surroundings
Day 2: Full day excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chincheros
Day 3: Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu and Cusco
Day 4: Cusco and back home
The general opinion of the people is that the best time to visit Machu Picchu is the dry season, which occurs between April and October. The sun shines throughout the day and there is almost no rainfall, allowing tourists to visit the Inca City in a pleasant way.
It is recommended to wear appropriate clothing for the time such as a cotton blouse, cotton socks, trekking shoes and a hat or cap. Shorts or skirts are not recommended due to mosquitoes.
The Sol (S /) is the official currency of Peru and, 1 sol is equivalent to 0.23 euros.
The only way to enter Machu Picchu is through Cusco, and this city is located at 3,400 meters above sea level; So if you suffer from cardiorespiratory diseases, chronic diseases or those listed below, we recommend that you visit a doctor before your trip.
- Circulatory problems such as hypertension, heart disease.
- Respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema or recurrent bronchitis.
- Heart problems, such as tachycardia, myocardial diseases, epilepsy, or others.
- Any disease that causes you to faint during the tour.
TRIP ADVISOR
To choose which application to use, I had to make a comparison of three travel applications that have been subjected to a heuristic evaluation of usability using Nielsen principles.
I compared Trip Advisor, Skyscanner and KAYAK, and I have made a simple ranking of each section, click here to see.
In the end, I have chosen Trip Advisor because it is the application that best suits the needs of the desired type of user, since you can buy flights, see restaurants and things to do in the destination, which saves us a lot of time and guarantees us to enjoy the trip.
TESTING
To test the application, I have selected 3 users that fit the type of user I have chosen.
The test has two parts:
· 5 seconds: The tester opens the app and watches the first screen of it as habitual. After 5 seconds, he turns off the screen and is asked what he has seen, what he thinks the application is for and what he usually uses to search for flights.
· Tasks: I designed two tasks that the users has to complete. The first task is to find the round trip flight in the recommended months that we have talked about before. And the second is to find a hotel or a hostel to stay during the trip.
In the image I show a table with the impressions they have had and the failures that have arisen during the tasks.
INSIGHT AND PROTOTYPING
After the test sessions, I detect the main friction areas:
· In the 5 secons part I could notice that any tester answered that they saw “Flights” section. From the responses of the users, what they noticed was the six buttons in the center and specifically in the line above, so I have switched positions to the “Things to do” and “Flights” buttons to priorize this last one.
· In the task part they do almost the same tasks and they have troubles in the same points. When they are in the “Date selection” they can’t saw a preview of the prices and they have to intechange the dates a lot to search a better flight. What I did is to make a indicator with colors to show if the prices are low or high. I used the basics green, orange and red colors to indicate it.
I really loved doing this Challenge, here I let you the Prototype, hope you like it!
