So we’re here! Final shebang since Day 3.
I conducted 4 user tests and detected 75% of usability problems.
My User Test format:
- Review company — Ooup is an online scooter rental company
- Review long term goal of the company — In 2 years, Ooup will be the go to scooter rental name more convenient than public transport
- Review sprint questions — 1) Can we become the default name for transportation? 2) Can we be more convenient than public transport? 3) Can we increase safety so Ooup is safer than public transport?
- Check out the storyboard, specifically key screens selected by the team
- Check out the prototype
During user tests, this is where my written notes came in handy for questions #1, 2, 3 — easy to pull up during a video chat.
Outcomes of the User Test:
- Top Trends — Unclear how Ooup is safer than public transport. Unclear if Ooup is best for commuters (most efficient) or international travel.
- Long Term Goal Reflection
- Sprint Questions + Answers
- 3 Recommended Next Steps
My process for virtual user tests:
I found my user tests from techy Slack groups, but social media (facebook, twitter), online forums (reddit, quora), and friends and family are great resources.
- Find user tester
- Send a calendar invite for mutual time with google hangouts attached
- 5min before meeting— download/have accessible Storyboard and Prototype (I combined both into 1 pdf to be easier)
- Intro yourself, Udacity’s Design Sprint course, and your goal (to achieve feedback on Day 3’s prototype)
- Switch the camera’s focus from your face to the laptop screen where you the digital Storyboard/Prototype opened already
- Write the feedback and reactions of your user tester by noting slide number and interesting comments
Note: This wasn’t the first rodeo for my user testers , so I didn’t need to coach them as much on talking through the storyboard/prototype. But some light hand holding is always helpful. The purpose of this hangout is for you to observe their face and listen to their immediate response to your storyboard/prototype.
When they ask open question (“Should I download the app?”) or make assumptions (“I guess this is what the purchase plans of the app look like”), those statements are to be recorded. Do NOT answer immediately! If their face is still confused after 5 seconds, then answer the question. All user tester’s talk aloud while they’re fleshing out your app.
Don’t be afraid to ask for a 10 second break to collect their verbatim feedback. I typically asked for a break while I frantically scribbled an important quote every 5 slides.
My 4 user testers! (looking very candid)
My notes from 4 user tests below:
Storyboard Layout
“Pretty enticing to start with discount” | “Cool I’ll choose iPhone” | “I click on iPhone”
“Good to see downloads and rankings” | “100k Google Play downloads. That’s a lot” | “Very standard download page”
“Subscription model” | “Good to see the options” | “Is this the base price with discount code?”
“I would unlock a particular bike”
“So this is after I use the scooter and find parking” | “How does the scooter know that this is the one I want to use?”
“I can see my history” | “I like that it’s showing me my history within the rental window” | “This is all the times I picked up and dropped off” | “Map of what I’ve done”
Prototype Feedback!
Prototype View 1
“Guessing its a Google Play store” I would not download the app because scooter isn’t a good enough value prop for me because of hills and Seattle weather. Also, not sure what type of scooter — Vespa’s are cool. Something with an engine is more practical. Safer being part of main stream of traffic, not pedestrian traffic — 1 commuter [in Seattle] was killed and that changed a lot of lights, signs. But I have to go over a big bridge and those changes were only implemented in that part of the city.”
“Good description — get to your destination faster. Makes me want to read more”
“Ooo thousands of locations around the world! Everyone likes this. 1 million downloads and 4.7 rating!”
“Nice screenshots”
Prototype View 2
“Wonder HOW its safer than public transport. Interesting because I don’t think of public transport as unsafe… Not sold on it”
“This wants me to ride on the street, not the sidewalk. There’s a bike sharing program here [Cincinnati, Ohio, USA] and its not clear if you’re supposed to ride in the street or sidewalks using Red Bike”
“Not sure how this is safer than public transport. How is one person safer than a whole busload? I’m not the best scooter’er so this is interesting”
“Loading screen. I was thinking of a different scooter — the Razor scooter”
Takeaways:
- Include more information on Ooup’s safety record
Prototype View 3
“Where is this in relation to my bus stop that’s only 4 blocks away? And I live in a residential neighborhood. Also, it rains 9 months out of the year so it has to be a strong value prop”
“I like the 2 tone pink at the top. I like that this Google Maps has reference points with other normal attraction things”
“Guess I’d pick any location. I’d walk to one nearby me”
Prototype View 4
“Like idea of seeing how far it is from me. Choose a scooter from a rack doesn’t make sense. Scooter/rack association doesn’t make sense”
“Good to know that you have to be within 0.2 miles of bike. Good to know inventory of each rack-empty or not. Like the street intersection. I’d click ‘Map me there’”.
“Tapped on something that turns yellow. It would be nice if there was a radius marker because I don’t know how far I am”
“Guess the yellow one is the one I selected”
Takeaways:
- Show radius marker
Prototype View 5
“Change language from ‘Pick a scooter’ to ‘Where would you like to pick it up?’”
“Oh once I’m within 0.2 miles it automatically pops up”
“It’s a fancy scooter”
“I’d click ‘book a scooter’”
Takeaways:
- Make this page/option pop up automatically when within 0.2miles of scooter rack. This means map application would have to run in the background
Prototype View 6
“My assumption would be that I would just ride up to the rack and put back the scooter. Seems a little awkward to look for a rack when I have the scooter already”
“I like the 3 pieces of info-how many minutes from my location. Higher chance of open racks if there’s 10 open so I’d walk there — a little farther”
“I would tap on the closest one to me because I want to utilize my time best”
“Very cluttered. Too much information. I don’t know what I want to do here. I’d pick the one closest to my destination”
Takeaway:
- Mixed results…some liked more info, some felt it was too much
Prototype View 7
“Good street corner confirmation”
“I would tap on ‘Map me there’”
“Guess yellow is my selected. I’d click on ‘Map me there’”
Prototype View 8
“Makes it easy for me. I’m done!”
“Just confirming I need to REALLY push it in there. Good reminder to have!”
“Cool. Nice and easy”
“I would expect that the app would know automatically that I’ve put it [the scooter] back”
Prototype View 9
“Wont use this data for much [History] unless I need a receipt. Could be frustrated by real time taking of ALL scooters. [On this page] I want to rate/give feedback like in ride sharing”
“I like ‘Roamin’ around with Ooup’ — good line but doesn’t fit with efficiency theme. Doesn’t align with directness or speed with not taking public transport”
“Guessing ‘Rent Ooup Again!’ will take me to a rack”
“Nice summary of what I’ve done. Clear. But I would expect to go back to map page. It’s like I’ve just eaten lunch and they want me to eat lunch again”
Takeaway:
- Efficiency theme of ‘faster than public transit’ is conflicted with ‘Roamin’ around’ traveling vibe
Prototype View 10
“Assume I would have seen this in the beginning. I would want more options-monthly pass because my company pays for my bus pass”
“Good to see all the options. Maybe not clear if you haven’t used a similar service before”
“I’d probably go for a 7 day pass. Try it out for a week”
“It would be nice to have a screen that says ‘You have 2 weeks left’. Doesn’t make sense to have it by time. Otherwise, I’ll grab a scooter and take it home for 12 hours. Does unlimited mean I can take out multiple scooters for me and my coworker? Should be clear what limits are. Nothing is unlimited”
Takeaways:
- Include disclaimer page about unlimited rentals
- Include incentive view to return scooters to nearby rack
Prototype View 11
“Consistent color and branding. Orange branding color means decision”
Prototype View 12
“Stats page. Interesting. But it’s not about me… What does that mean for my city? [Seattle] I can scooter around Amsterdam/Beijing which is great for international but what about commute?”
“Is it [the scooters] going to be as available as I think it is? Appears so.”
“I’d actually be curious if there was a popular cities icon because 2 cities are in the US, and 1 is in China”
“How did I get to this screen [from purchase screen above]? Not super clear”
Takeaways:
- Make page specific to user’s local city
- Transition from past view is not clear
Prototype View 13
“I like that contact support is right there. If my bike has a flat tire, don’t make it hard for me to get in touch with you! History and Purchases are the main things I’m interested in”
“Support number present is good because I don’t have to dig”
“Not sure about difference between history and purchases. I’d be looking for ‘My Trips’”
“This has all the options I’d expect. Also expect an account page”
Takeaways:
- Change sidebar option “History” to “My Trips”
- Add “Account” option for payment
- Visible, easy support # is a hit
Wrap Up
Accomplishments
This design sprint was fun. I learned how to:
- ideate “HMW” challenges and 2 year goal
- map a user journey
- create roadmap for addressing challenges and building on customer delight factors
- draw a storyboard, build a high-fidelity prototype
- 4 user tests!
Things I liked
Props to AJ&Smart Jonathan and Michael’s enthusiasm. It kept the “hey we’re doing real serious work” to a minimum, and made the learning and solitude of “team activities” bearable.
The short videos were so easy. The Udacity platform (as of January 31, 2018) has undergone a serious revamp — and I love it. I wasn’t edgy, counting down the number of videos/quizzes left (as I was in the last iteration). Instead, I was engaged, taking down notes, and (dare I say it) paying attention.
Frustrations
I would have enjoyed working with a group of strangers to facilitate the “team” feeling. Even if a lot of the exercises were individualized and silent, there’s a lot of partial cues and continuity from having other clueless people with you (you’re not alone!). It was a double edge that the videos had a team, the “this is how it would be if you weren’t lonely and doing this team course alone”.
I usually countered this feeling with rewatching the video tutorials. I feel guilty not using the Design Sprint slack group more, but with 480+ people and posts every 3 days, it unfortunately wasn’t heavily frequented. I used other product slacks for support, and those were much more helpful.
Not sure exactly how to use this within a company. Seems like the great equalizer is silence. You would need a lot of buy in with your team/organization or need to partner with someone influential to convince a group of fast-moving talent to put aside their work and tackle high level goals (I’m already imagining a phantom convo with the engineering org…the end is a lot of blank stares and ‘are you kidding me!?’).
Having read the Sprint book, I know the first chapter(s) are its success stories within companies. That could have been better understood within the Udacity Design Sprint videos — here’s a few successes various companies have had that you can lead by the end of this course! Hmmm…clearer end goal of what we’re learning towards.
Going Forward
I’ve already used this design process to evaluate various companies’ APIs, platforms, and documentation and provide a high-level strategy.
One of my monthly goals is to host a design sprint for my friends. This blog has a lot of helpful tips on a short 2hour sprint. So if you’re in the NYC area, feel free to DM me!
Particular helpful points: HMW post-its, user journey map, general ideation of how to start “solving” a blocker.
