CUTGroup Test #7: Miami-Dade County Beta Website
Building a better Miami-Dade County website through citizen feedback.
Published in
14 min readMay 22, 2017
Introduction
For our seventh Civic User Testing Group (CUTGroup) test, we tested the second iteration of Miami-Dade County’s beta website, an updated version of MiamiDade.gov.
This test session was the fourth test done in partnership with Miami-Dade County, iterating on research done in CUTGroup test #1 and test #5.
The website serves as a place for Miami-Dade County citizens to look up relevant information on county-provided services, upcoming events like public meetings, and other government-based topics of interest.
Methodology
- On February 8th, 2017, we met with the county to design and come up with goals for the CUTGroup Miami test of the second iteration of Miami-Dade County’s beta website.
- On March 6th, 2017, the testing location was confirmed for Coral Gables Library from 11 am to 3 pm.
- On March 13th, 2017, an email was sent to 21 people asking for their availability to administer the session. Of the 21 people emailed, six replied back indicating their availability to help proctor.
- On March 13th, 2017, an e-mail was sent out to 592 people asking for their availability to test.
- Of the 50 people who responded, we sent a follow-up email on March 21st finalizing their availability.
- We conducted the testSaturday, March 25th, in-person at the Coral Gables Library, with 24 of the originally scheduled 27 testers taking part in the test.
- Testers used their own devices mobile phones and tablets.
- Proctors provided testing devices as well, a combination of laptops, mobile phones, and tablets.
- Testers were paired with proctors who were given a script which assigned the subject specific tasks to complete. Proctors also observed their interactions with Miami-Dade County’s beta website, making note of any blocking issues, and recorded their feedback.
- Jaime Shyko and Adam Mullins, members of the Miami-Dade County Communications team were present, acting as observers and proctors.
Goals
- The primary aim of this test was to determine whether the browsing interface gets people to the services they need as users of miamidade.gov. With this aim, we set to identify usability issues — that is, areas where Miami-Dade County’s beta website interface was broken, unintuitive, or inefficient, such that users were not able to easily find the services they needed.
- The secondary goal was to test the usability in both mobile and desktop formats. Here, the intent was to gather feedback on the best way to label different sections as well as the effectiveness of navigation menus.
- The third goal was to test the “Online Services” module to see whether the menu was clear enough, and to see which subsections received the most visits.
- The fourth goal was to prioritize content under the “Topics of Interest” module.
Tester Overview
Background Info
A Google Spreadsheet of all the answers from the Proctor Script is also available. The 24 testers are as follows:
- “frequent user”, 35–44 / Black or African American / Female / TSA Officer
- “Kathy”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / female / student, part-time Miami-Dade college testing proctor, and part-time ticket seller at Miami Marlins
- “MIAsince2000”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / Male / Works for Marlins park and a student
- “Alex1”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / Female / HR Manager
- “Masters degree and mom of 2”, 45–54 / White/Caucasian / Female / Stay at home mom
- “Jonathan”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / Male / Human Resource
- “michelle”, 18–24 / Black or African American / female / team leader at city year
- “Middle aged graphic designer” / Graphic designer
- “Occasional user”, 35–44 / Hispanic/Latino / Female / Extension agent for UF
- “Graphic designer middle aged”, 35–44 / Hispanic/Latino / Male / Graphic designer
- “Arlene1”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / Female / Advertising
- “CanadianMom”, 45–54 / White/Caucasian / female / At-home-mom
- “tito”, 45–54 / Hispanic/Latino / male / mandarin oriental coordinator
- “Luckye”, 45–54 / Female / Junior accounting investigator
- “Active user of MDC website”, 55–64 / White/Caucasian / female / Business process specialist in water and sewer department; chart business processes, make improvement recommendations, trainer for customer care and billing website. Tritan (difficulty seeing blues and yellows)
- “Fab”, 18–24 / Black or African American / Female / Student
- “lheaven”, 35–44 / Black or African American / Female / Academic coordinator for a University
- “Reub”, 25–34 / Asian/Pacific Islander / Male / Broadcast Producer at an Advertising Agency
- “Infrequent user”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / Female / Marketing
- “Steph”, 25–34 / Female / Park planner
- “Ibis”, 18–24 / Black or African American / Female / College Student
- “New User”, 55–64 / Hispanic/Latino / Female / Guest services
- “Superman”, 25–34 / Hispanic/Latino / M / Unemployed
Devices
14 testers used laptops; nine used smartphones; one used a tablet
Browsers:
12 testers used Safari; 10 used Chrome; 2 used Internet Explorer
Usage
- Testers reported using the Internet an average of 47.04 hours per week, with edge cases of 5 hours/week on the very low end and 98 hours/week on the high end.
- On average, browsing accounted for roughly 11% of total Internet usage.
- 24 of 24 testers used a combination of a smartphone and laptop or desktop for browsing.
- One of 24 testers tested for color-blindness showed signs of Tritan (difficulty seeing blues and yellows).
Responses
“It’s a happy look, welcoming, the image depicts a nice image of Miami, looks like your typical government website except more polished which is good.”
What’s the first thing you noticed on this page?
The home page divides into six sections: a navbar at the top, an Online Services section, Topics of Interest section, News & Events section, Your Government section, the footer at the bottom containing support and contact links.
- Eight testers noticed the main banner image commenting on how beautifully it captures the Miami skyline:
- 6 testers commented on its simplicity and how streamlined the landing page looks, all stating that it has significantly improved since the last time they used the county website.
- 2 testers found it difficult to scroll through the page with both the news and “Tweets” social media sections “gets in the way, prefer to click on the news button to choose to read more.”
What do you think the purpose of the site is?
- 8 correctly stated that the purpose of the site was to help people find Info on Miami-Dade-related interests and county-provided services.
- 6 testers stated that they were able to locate previously hard to find resources, like info on jobs, vehicle registration, and permit information
- 5 thought the site could help find county jobs
- 7 testers thought the site provided a way to pay bills
- One tester thought you could use the site to contact government officials
Is there anything you need that this site might be able to help you with?
This question was designed to allow testers to demonstrate how they would use the site (versus giving them a predetermined task to complete).
- 19 testers said yes, they could see themselves using it for some task or search.
- 2 testers stated they couldn’t see themselves ever needing to use this website for anything.
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
- 3 testers clicked the first button under “Online Services”: Property search
- 3 testers directly searched library-related topics. Each had difficulty obtaining results with two turning up no results with the direct search of “library”
- 2 testers looked up “Parks and recreation” information- first link leads to calendar of events, would prefer a map or Events near your neighborhood section
- One tester chose to look up park info
- One tester tried looking up their county commissioner, and was able to complete the task, but with some difficulty. They suggested a newsletter subscription option for keeping up to date with their commissioner.
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 6 testers couldn’t perform their task
- Nine testers could perform task, but struggled a bit
- 4 testers were effortlessly able to perform their task
How would you improve this process?
- One tester suggested styling the Homeowner section to make item easier to find.
- 7 testers thought that the different types of recycling and laws around them could have been better explained. Under this section, it was also suggested that a link to report a building be added to the page and to provide more direct contact info.
- One tester liked that they specifically listed the 3–1–1 service center contact information
- 2 testers thought that there were too many elements in the way of them accessing what they were looking for;
- One tester stated they should be able to find what they’re looking for in 2–3 clicks
- One tester found there to be too many tabs to scroll through under each topic of interest
Scenario 1: Let’s say you’re a new homeowner and you’re remodeling your home.
Show me how you would use this site to pay for a building permit, remembering to think out loud.
21 testers participated in this task
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
- Eight testers clicked on “Building & Construction” under the “Topics of Interest” module
- 7 testers click on “Make Payments” button the “Online Services” module, then selected “Building Permits”
On the “Search results” page:
- 2 testers typed “ Home Building Permit” in the search bar
Did you find what you were looking for?
- 10 of the 21 testers ended up in the right section but were left wondering how they could actually go about making a payment.
- 5 of the testers were unable to find what they were looking for.
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 10 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task quickly and with no trouble
- 7 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task, but had some struggles
- 5 of the 21 testers couldn’t perform the task
How would you improve this process?
- 3 testers said they wouldn’t change a thing about it
- 7 testers suggested adding in a direct payment button
- 1 tester suggested adding an FAQ section under the building permits page
- 2 testers would improve terminology used — they stated they needed clarity between building permit and impact fee. They weren’t sure if they were the same.
- 1 tester suggested adding in a link to figure out if you are in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, and what that means for you
Scenario 2: Let’s say you’ve landscaped your new yard and made a large pile of tree debris that you’d like removed.
Show me how you would use this site to submit that request to the appropriate authorities.
23 testers participated in this task.
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
- 2 testers searched under the Service Updates panel by selecting “View More Service”. Both testers typed in “tree debris removal” in the search bar.
- 12 testers searched under the “Online Services” panel, clicked “Request Services” tab and selected the Bulky Waste icon
- 4 testers searched under the “Topics of Interest” panel selected “Environment”, was unable to find what they were looking for then was able to perform the task with a direct search of “Bulky Waste Pickup”
- Select “Home & Property” then “Bulky Waste Pickup”
On the “Search results” page:
- 1 tester searched for “Debris removal”
- 1 tester searched for “Waste removal”
Three users stated they would simply call 3–1–1
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 12 of the 23 testers were able to perform the task quickly and with no trouble
- 6 of the 23 testers were able to perform the task, but had some struggles
- 5 of the 23 testers couldn’t perform the task
How would you improve this process?
- Eight testers said they wouldn’t suggest any improvements
- 1 tester suggested providing direct contact number information to the footer of the page
- 1 tester suggested to improve the search functionality
- 1 tester suggested to improve navigation with search tips
- 1 tester suggested to make the Request Services Tab more visible
- 1 tester suggested to add a link to Request Services page from the Waste Disposal screen
- 1 tester suggested to add Garbage and Waste Disposal as a direct link on the homepage
Scenario 3: Let’s say you want to learn the requirements to become a Miami-Dade County firefighter.
Show me how you would use this site to find that information.
21 testers completed this task.
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
Online Services
- 7 testers clicked the County Jobs section and couldn’t move past this page
Topics of Interest
- 1 tester searched under Social Services
- 4 testers searched under Public Safety
- 2 of these testers were able to find what they were looking forand finds “Fire Rescue Jobs” on page 2
- 1 of these testers selected “Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan”, then typed “Firefighter” in the search bar above, and then searched for “Fire Rescue Jobs”
On the “Search results” page:
- 1 tester searched for the following: “Firefighter Education”, “Public Safety”, “Firefighter”
- 1 tester searched for “Requirements for becoming a firefighter”
- 1 tester searched for “Firefighting FAQ”
- 1 tester searched for the following: “Firefighter Application” “Firefighter Hiring FAQ”
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 10 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task quickly and with no trouble
- 6 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task, but had some struggles
- 5 of the 21 testers couldn’t perform the task
How would you improve this process?
- 1 tester suggested that there be additional hyperlinks to the job search section
- 1 user found the descriptive text for the county jobs section to be misleading
- 4 testers found the task straightforward with no suggestion for improvement
- 1 tester suggested including a section on the most common jobs searched.
- 1 tester suggested including a dropdown of different county departments
- 2 suggested making the search bar include more keywords
- 1 tester suggested providing a direct list of available county jobs
- 1 tester suggested adding a direct search on the homepage
Scenario 4: Let’s say a broken tree branch is blocking a traffic light.
Show me how you would use this site to notify the appropriate authorities.
22 testers completed this task.
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
- 3 testers went to the “View More Services” page and got distracted by the 16 pages of options
- 1 tester searched under Public Safety
- 1 tester searched under Environment & Resilience and found tree trimming
- Nine testers scrolled the page looking for a phone number. They said they would just call 3–1–1 to save time
- 1 tester selected “Agencies” from the top navigation bar to search for the Department of Transportation and Public Works
- 1 tester navigated to the “Report Problems” tab
On the “Search results” page:
- 1 tester searched for the following: “Debris Removal” then “Report Problems” “Agencies” “Public Works”
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 10 of the 22 testers were able to perform the task quickly and with no trouble
- 8 of the 22 testers were able to perform the task, but had some struggles
- 4 of the 22 testers couldn’t perform the task
How would you improve this process?
- 1 tester suggested condensing the service tabs by categories
- 1 tester suggested directly inputting a report a problem form on the homepage
- 1 tester stated that “Transportation & Travel” should have accompanying text &/or link for reporting an issue.
- 1 tester suggested adding in more direct contact information, such as an option to email the department
- 3 testers suggested condensing the 16 pages of topics to more frequently asked questions, with one suggesting to place all topics on one page
- 1 tester suggested generalizing the reporting of issues, no matter the corresponding department
- 4 testers stated they wouldn’t want to have to download the 3–1–1 app to report a problem, and would instead just choose to call in to 3–1–1 or the police
- 1 tester suggested listing on “Transportation & Travel” page by level of importance/ most searched instead of its current alphabetical format
- 2 testers suggested employing icons to help explain some of the tabs easier to see
Scenario 5: Let’s say you’ve moved into an apartment building that doesn’t offer recycling, which the building is required to do by law.
Show me how you would use this site to notify the appropriate authorities.
23 testers completed this task.
Show me how you would use this site to look for that service.
On the “Home” page:
- 17 testers found where to report the issue using the Recycling Services page
- 1 tester went to report the issue via the Solid Waste department’s page
- 5 testers said that they would directly call 311
On the “Search results” page:
- 1 tester started their search by typing in “recycling apartment complex”. After being led off the beta website, they found what they were looking for via the Recycling Services page.
On a scale of 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy), how easy was it for you to perform this task?
- 10 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task quickly and with no trouble
- 7 of the 21 testers were able to perform the task, but had some struggles
- 4 of the 21 testers couldn’t perform the task
How would you improve this process?
- 3 testers would like the labels to be changed or better explained for the difference between Multi-family vs Residential.
- 1 tester suggested condensing the amount of tabs visitors have to scroll through.
- 3 testers suggested improving search functionality via keywords.
- 1 tester suggested to improve visibility of “report a problem” link by moving it or changing the background color.
- 3 testers suggested adding a recycling link directly on the homepage.
- 4 testers suggested providing an online option for direct reporting of code violations.
Most serious usability problems
List the three most serious usability problems you observed.
This question allowed proctors to record their own observations as to which areas of the site frustrated or confused their test subjects.
- The long, multi-page “All Services” section
- Better search functionality & keywords
- Need more contact and customer service sections
- Jargon explanation or use more citizen-friendly terminology, specifically referring to residential vs. multi family housing.
- Missing information on following through with completing tasks, specifically acquiring a building permit
- The twitter feed takes up too much space and causes users to get stuck when scrolling through
- Improve the jobs portal to include open jobs and links to learning more about specific requirements for departments
Feedback from the Client
The raw answers from this test was circulated immediately with the Miami-Dade County Communications team, where the following issues were brought up by a web producer:
- “Lots of issues with the mobile version. (We should be designing mobile first. Most users were testing using their phone.)”
- “Circles should be clickable.”
- “Load times are too long. Recycling Services takes 20 seconds to load.”
- “Obvious need for department pages that include all services they provide (for people who navigate by Department first).
Test Challenges
This reflects some of the challenges in organizing and executing the test.
- Mentioned by a Miami-Dade County Web producer: “Search requests made from the beta website should not go to the non-beta miamidade.gov website, as this confuses users. Search should go to Services search (for now).”
- Not enough laptops. Even though testers are requested to bring their own devices, there weren’t enough to test on and record results from.
- Need a greater variety in testing-pool, getting a lot of repeat testers.
- The most common issues reported by testers was the need for better search functionality, and to condense the amount of scrolling and clicking to get to what they’re looking for.
