UX Research: Note Taking of two usability tests for hotel booking engines on Desktop

Intro

This Note Taking project is the third section, out of four, that will form the Research Block of my UX Case Study. The process has been guided and developed during my studies at the UX Design Institute.

The study aims at designing a hotel booking system that is aligned with users’ needs while following the design thinking process. High-frequency use cases have been taken into account throughout. The main purpose is to declutter the interface while reducing the number of steps. The outcome is to prototype a booking system that sparks joy in the eyes of users. Such products facilitate experiences smoothly and enjoyably.

These notes were taken from two usability tests, of about one hour each, where two users were asked to perform a task on two different hotel websites. The video recordings were provided by the UX Design Institute.

For this project, I will be taking notes from previously recorded usability tests provided by the UX Design Institute. In the next and final project for this Research Block, I will be conducting my own usability test.

Objectives

• Learning how to analyze usability tests.
• Taking detailed notes.
• Creating a bank of insights.

Usability Tests

Users’ tasks descriptions (scenarios)

Keys

Positive experience: what users experience as positive throughout the sessions. These observations refer to what verbally users externalize as they go through the customer journey steps, as well as non-verbal actions e.g. body language.

Pain-point: Difficulties in the journey. Sections in the sessions that created friction for the user.

User suggestion: there is always room for improvement, and as users go through the sessions, recommendations and comments surface.

Quotes from users: direct quotes from users as they perform their tasks.

Before I start sharing my notes from these usability tests, I would like to clarify that I changed the original names and identities of the users. As per the notes, I am sharing them partially, to avoid plagiarism against the UXDI course material.

Session 1

Task 1

• The user seemed frustrated at the first steps of the task.
• She expressed disappointment towards the calendar “month by month” datepicker. As well as locating the Show map feature, since that way it would have been easier for her to locate the hotels close by the sea as the task requested.
• Proceeding to view results seemed a more positive and intuitive experience.

• Photos and add-ons seemed to be very important.
• Fast to locate and click CTAs.
• The user dislikes scrolling down for viewing items, and would prefer one-page view instead.
• Transparency when it comes to Free cancellation is seen as essential.

Her final review on the experience:

“it is a little bit clunky” “…normally I will be more quicker (to book a hotel room).”

Task 2

• Photos of the amenities influences the user’s decision-making heavily.
• Discounts/Offers are of high importance, leading the user to be often pursued.
• User appreciated fast and instant online experiences.

• This phase seemed more complicated for the user than the previous ones.
• Her expectations on add-ons were mostly not met.

Final comments on Session 1

User prefers the layout of Task 1 (Barceló).

“Maybe because it is similar to the ones I would use…”

Participant highlights the importance of cancellation policies/breakfast to be transparent, as well as more pictures of the rooms to be displayed.

“…(alternatively) a lot of places nowadays offer a virtual tour of the rooms”

Session 2

Task 1

• General good first impression of the website. Struggle to locate whether or not the hotel is “close to the seaside”.
• Reviews are of high importance for the user.

“I feel that is this was to happen so many times (the calendar error) I would just move to a different website”

“I would definitely have that (breakfast add-on/specification) while viewing the info about the room”

“I sometimes hate when I am trying to book a room and they keep on trying to throw stuff (add-ons/services) at you”

“… I prefer the final figure (to be displayed, instead of each price shown by night for add-ons)”

• Info missing according to the participant: transportation from/to the hotel, cleaning services and towels, swimming pool policies/accessibility, check-in/out to be stated beforehand.

Task 2

• General good first impression of the website.
• Confusion with understanding and locating a twin room/bed.
• Struggle with datepicker calendar.

• Applying add-ons was difficult for the user.
• As well as generally understanding the booking system of the website.

Final comments on Session 2

User had a first good impression of the hotel presented in Task 2, but struggled all the way to booking phase.

“I liked how the hotel looked classy…” “but it was hard to choose what I was looking for.”

“I would had liked to see a comparison of all three hotels in London (by the same company)”

Participant highlights the importance of viewing the location of hotels on map.

“I feel like it was not clear (the locations of the hotels)” “I couldn’t see the map, which I think it’s really important.”

Summary

Context

• Both participants browse the Internet on their PCs.
• Common browsing purposes: reading/watching the news, and shopping websites.
• Both users are regular travelers.
• Both typically travel accompanied (with friends/colleagues/partners).
• They value transparency in communicating cancellation policies.
• Reviews from users are of high importance for both participants.

Behaviors

• Both are familiar with/trust aggregators such as Booking.com.
• Photos of the hotel’s rooms play a significant role in their decision-making process.
• Both users appreciate deals and make value/price comparisons.
• Both participants stated to not enjoy scrolling down in websites=time consuming.
• CTAs for Book/Continue easily and quickly spotted by both participants.
• A functional datepicker calendar slider (for selecting dates) makes the user experience so much more positive for both participants.

Goals

• Price/Value of high importance during decision-making.
• Location of hotels and the possibility to View on Map are highly appreciated.
• If photos of the rooms are not clear/transparent enough (room’s size, bathroom, amenities,etc.), both users loose trust in the hotel. “They are hiding something”.
• Recurrent use of TripAdvisor for reviews.
• Both users consider bathroom amenities and coffee maker (in the room) to be important.
• Common significant add-ons: breakfast, bathrobes & slippers, wine & snacks, transport services, public transport assistance.
• Close-by activities and public transport info/assistance of relevance.

Documentation

Hopefully these insights can be of any help to anyone out there reading this article! This is the third part, out of four, of my UX Research Block. I will be posting the remaining project soon. Wishing everybody a great start of the year! Cheers ✨