How we used Usability Testing to improve the Interactive TV app Ziggo Go
We are helping the international TV and broadband company Liberty Global revamp the Horizon Go interactive TV apps, used by millions of users to consume video content wherever they go. In the Netherlands this app is well-known by Ziggo customers, who are using the Ziggo Go app to watch their favourite programs, movies and series.
Putting the Ziggo Go app to the usability test
After months of hard work, the new Ziggo Go apps were released at the end of 2017. Right after the launch was a perfect moment to test the product with real users and see what we could improve in 2018. Our design team organized the first usability test with the Ziggo Go application in which real users participated. As Lead of the Hike One design team I will guide you through our approach concerning the execution of our usability test at Liberty Global and the first improvements we have made based on the insights.
Preparation
We recruited 6 participants based on our preferred profile to test the Ziggo Go application. All users were Dutch, adults (30 – 57 y.o.) and already familiar with the app.
Together with our product owners we set goals and wrote the test script for the interview. We decided to ask one of our colleagues at Hike One to take up the role of interviewer. This was to make sure the results were not influenced by inside design knowledge of the project. With a few preparations, such as preparing the rooms for the observations and interviews, we were good to go to test the app!
Usability test
It’s not the first time we’ve conducted a usability test. It’s part of our design process to learn from users and improve the product. We’re even sharing our knowledge with other design teams with our masterclasses.
We conducted the test at Liberty Global in a specially set up test room. We took around 50 minutes for each participant. Each test consisted of a pre-interview, several tasks and a post-interview. This helped us to get to know the respondent, see how they executed certain tasks and see how they experienced the app. We asked the participants to speak freely and elaborate on their considerations and actions.
Observations
We set up a second room for the observation team, next to the test room. All 6 designers and all 4 product owners observed and took notes. We followed the test on TV by mirroring the app screen and actually seeing and hearing the userinteract with the app, the device and the interviewer.
We used post-its to write down insights and interesting observations during the usability test. The most important insights were placed on a wall that was prepared for clustering insights per task. At the end of the day the wall represented the outcomes of the usability test, ready to analyze.
Analysis
At the end of the usability test, the interviewer joined the observation team to make a first overview of the main insights. Everyone took a moment to go through all post-its on the wall before presenting the three most important insights to the team. This resulted into a prioritized list of insights.
The obversations made by the participants and designers can be grouped into three different improvement buckets:
- Some participants weren’t aware of all the possibilities the app offers.
- Some found it difficult to understand specific options and features within the app.
- Some participants mentioned a few features they stumbled upon within different and similar apps and mentioned that these might be a nice addition to the Ziggo Go apps.
New design tickets into our sprints
It’s up to us as a design team to come up with solutions to overcome the problems users experience while using the app. In close collaboration with the product owners, we set priorities to pick up some solutions and transformed feedback from the usability test into design tickets. We’ve started to work on a few of them, we even delivered improved icons and buttons already to development!
A/B testing
In addition, we’re exploring the possibility to A/B test a few new iconographic features. In this way we can find out ifthe Ziggo Go app users really understand these better than in the current design. This method will give us many insights for the future!
Up next
In the next few sprints we aim to come up with more improvements for other insights that came up. And secondly, we’re planning a new usability test to see how users experience the design changes. We also hope to find new potential issues. This way, we keep building an app with new features and parallel to that, improving what is already designed to make a better product for our end users.
Hike One Academy
Are you excited about usability testing as well? We would love to come and help you out!
We’ve developed our own method on how to set up a usability test with maximum impact, but minimal investment. During our masterclass “Usability testing? Just do it!” we teach you how to set up your own usability test cycle. Check out the upcoming masterclasses:
- Tuesday 3 July (in Rotterdam)
- Tuesday 6 November (in Amsterdam)
Myrthe Geldof
Design Lead at Hike One
