How we tested Virdi
Over the past months we’ve been designing and developing Virdi, a service that aims to make the Norwegian housing market more transparent. Right now, it provides an overview of real estate market prices; when you’re looking to buy or sell a home, you can consult Virdi to find out how much a place is worth paying for.
As you can read in our short case study, we opted for a system-based design approach that allowed us to iterate quickly. Before launching the Virdi beta we took the time to test the service with prospective users.
Setting up a test
We gathered a group of six people who are in the process of buying or selling a home and met them at a neutral, informal location. Before we presented them with a working prototype, we introduced a few rules:
- Describe your experience: speak out loud about everything you see, expect to happen or feel is confusing.
- Don’t feel guilty: do not worry about messing up, because you can’t — if you’re confused, that’s our fault.
We didn’t tell them too much about Virdi other than that they can use it to buy or sell a home. We tried to be the fly on the wall, observing their actions without interfering. We asked questions when people got stuck to find out their thought process, but we didn’t push them in the right direction.
During every session we took notes and recorded the screen our testers used, as well as what they said. This made it easy for us to transcribe the tests afterwards.
Improving our designs
After two sessions we saw patterns emerge. We had, for example, designed a map to show a property’s location on its page. It turned out most people preferred using a map to browse search results, and to filter properties that way. So, we quickly designed a map that shows up while searching for properties. We showed it at the end of every session, and the overall positive feedback informed us that we were on the right path, so we could iterate on it and implement it after testing.
Gathering important takeaways
After the last session ended we had collected four hours of valuable feedback. We closely reviewed every recording and transcribed the feedback, dividing it up into different categories.
We had pressing issues that the testers did not like, uncertainties that confused them, or things they missed completely. Besides that, we noted general feedback they expressed between tasks and the positives they mentioned while completing them.
We created a large map that included all the screens we tested, and overlaid it with the corresponding feedback. This allowed us to take a step back and get a general sense of how everyone felt about certain parts of Virdi.
Most importantly, our testers did not feel like they had a complete overview after visiting the website. We had to make sure they could explore the site easier, and compare real estate properties to each other. In general, they felt they had to fill out too much information, and would like to see more data for every property.
Solving the issues
Emphasising discovery
To allow for more exploration, we created a map where visitors could explore and filter all available properties in Oslo. We highlighted popular areas on the Virdi homepage to push visitors to discover the website.
We decided to show the sign up form much later in the process — everybody should be free to browse the site, and should not have to create an account until they actually want to start saving properties.
Filtering search results
We added an extensive search feature and displayed results directly on the map, making it easier for visitors to quickly adjust their preferences and compare results.
Presenting the essentials
On detail pages, we initially used a map to indicate a property’s location. While it’s a nice visual cue, our testers felt this amount of space to be taken up for such a small piece of information redundant; they just wanted to quickly get the information they needed. We simplified the page by removing the map and making essential information more prominent.
Being transparent about estimate calculation
Previously, it wasn’t obvious how to find out what a property’s price estimation was based on. For the sake of transparency we decided to move this front and centre, and put it on the property page.
Test quickly and regularly
Setting up a test for a service like Virdi is best done sooner rather than later. Even though we conducted low-key internal tests throughout the process, we still ran into surprising issues, surfaced by our testers.
While setting up and documenting a proper test takes time — we spent over a week — it is worth doing in the long run. We were able to make various parts of the Virdi website more focused and engaging in one iteration; something that would’ve taken a lot longer without observing prospective users.
Curious to see the result? Head over to beta.virdi.no!
