top 10 usability challenges and how to solve...
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Top 10 Usability Challenges –
and How to Solve Them
Bill Albert Executive Director, Design and Usability Center
Bentley University
Ryan Hennig
Vice President, Marketing
Miles Kimball Company
Usability Challenges:
Pre-Checkout Experience
Usability Challenge #1: Pre-Checkout Smart and Easy Search
• Search should be in a predictable location (top) and easy to notice (high visual
contrast).
• Search input box should be big enough to easily enter text.
• Search should guide the user to help narrow down the possibilities.
• The search engine should be smart and be able to differentiate different types of
terms, such as item numbers, ISBN’s, ticker symbols, etc.
• Search results should not show too much information – focus on the results, and
not ancillary information that is likely to be a distraction.
• Search results should show the most relevant results at the top, with a minimal
amount of distractions.
Usability Challenge #1: Pre-Checkout Smart and Easy Search
Tip: Search should be in a predictable location and easily noticed.
Do This
Not That
Usability Challenge #1: Pre Checkout Smart and Easy Search
Do This
Not That
Tip: Guide users with search, help them narrow the results.
Usability Challenge #1: Pre Checkout Smart and Easy Search
Do This Not That
Tip: Be flexible with search. Users want the search engine to know what
you are typing and return relevant results.
Usability Challenge #2: Pre-Checkout Intuitive Product Categories
• Avoid jargon, organizational, and overly stylized terms. Product categories
or labels need to make sense to the typical user, no special domain
knowledge or guessing should be required.
• Product categories should be at the same conceptual level (don’t mix
computers with sand paper at the same level).
• Product categories should have a minimum amount of conceptual overlap so
users are confident of their choices, and always feel they are on the correct
path.
• Allow users multiple ways to find the same product, even though the product
may “live” in just one area.
• Select the right level of granularity for product categories, so users don’t
have to look at every single product, or click more than 4-5 levels to find what
they are looking for.
Usability Challenge #2: Pre-Checkout Intuitive Product Categories
Do This Not That
Tip: Show the right level of granularity
of product categories, letting the user
drill down.
Usability Challenge #2: Pre-Checkout Intuitive Product Categories
Do This
Not That
Tip: Allow the user to access the
same product(s) in multiple ways.
Usability Challenge #2: Pre-Checkout Intuitive Product Categories
Do This Not That
Tip: Be careful with the product category labels.
Avoid jargon, organizational terms, or overly
stylized terms.
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout Narrowing Down Choices
• Include an easy and obvious way to filter a list of products. Filters are
typically located on the left side of the page.
• Let users filter in different ways, such as by price, brand, specs, date, and
other relevant attributes.
• Show the number of products within each criteria, so users know what to
expect from each filter applied.
• Don’t let users easily get to “0” results – they should understand the impact
each filter has on their results.
• Filters should automatically update the results, and allow the user to switch
their attention back/forth from the filters to the results page without having
to leave the page.
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Tip: Show the number of results within each category.
Do This Not That
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Do This
Not That
Tip: Provide relevant filters – know the user and their needs. Allow users
to expand/contract different filters if too many.
Usability Challenge #4: Pre-Checkout Showing Relevant Product Information
• Provide overview information about the product that is helpful to the user
and supports their decision making process. Address the most important
points about the product first.
• Provide information such as Photos, reviews, specs, and accessories –
use progressive disclosure (not showing all the information at once).
• Allow users to easily compare products, based on key features. Users
want to make sure they are choosing the right product.
• Don’t distract the user with irrelevant information or unrelated products –
let them focus on the product.
• Make it easy and obvious how to add the product into their shopping cart,
or save the product if they want to come back later.
Usability Challenge #4: Pre-Checkout Showing Relevant Product Information
Do This
Tip: Show relevant product
information, such as a
summary, photo, reviews,
videos, etc. Don’t throw
everything at the user at
once.
Usability Challenge #4: Pre-Checkout
Showing Relevant Product Information
Not That
Tip: Only show relevant information. Every other pixel is a distraction
from purchasing.
Usability Challenge #4: Pre-Checkout
Showing Relevant Product Information
Do This
Not That
Tip: Make product comparisons obvious, easy, and relevant.
Usability Challenge #5: Pre-Checkout Seamless Experience Across Touch Points
• Maintain a common look and feel across each touch point, including
visual design, interactions, terminology, and tone.
• Carry information about users across channels. Remember who they are,
and what they do/want.
• Each channel should be contextual – understanding the most common
use cases with each platform.
• Eliminate unnecessary touch points – don’t force the user to different
channels.
Examples from Miles Kimball:
Pre-Checkout Experience
Usability Challenge #1 Pre-Checkout: Smart and Easy Search
How would you
design your site
differently if your
average customer
age was:
18
or 70
Know Your
Audience!!
Usability Challenge #1 Pre-Checkout: Smart and Easy Search
Multiple Levels of Search Results = KISS Principle
1. Product Search Results
Usability Challenge #1 Pre-Checkout: Smart and Easy Search
Multiple Levels of Search Results = KISS Principle
2. Item Detail Results
Multiple Levels of Search Results = KISS Principle
3. Information/FAQ Results
Usability Challenge #1 Pre-Checkout: Smart and Easy Search
Usability Challenge #2: Pre-Checkout Intuitive Product Categories
How do they shop?
What terminology do they use?
Know Your Audience!!
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Usability Challenge #3: Pre-Checkout
Narrowing Down Choices
Limited the number of
options in our filters
We had to aggregate:
Sizes
Colors
Vary our filters by
product search
Usability Challenge #4: Pre-Checkout
Showing Relevant Product Information
From To
Usability Challenges:
Checkout Experience
32
Usability Challenge #6: Checking Out Collecting “Just Enough” Personal Information
* Jared Spool, The $300 Million Button:
http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button
Your user has selected products, put them in the
shopping cart, and is ready to check out.
They want to get through the process quickly without
being asked for unnecessary information about
themselves:
“I'm not here to enter into a relationship.
I just want to buy something.”*
You want to know everything about your user so you
can cross-sell and reach out to them in the future.
33
Usability Challenge #6: Checking Out Collecting “Just Enough” Personal Information
Do This
Not That
Tip: Let users check out without forcing them to register or
set up an account and password.
34
Usability Challenge #6: Checking Out Collecting “Just Enough” Personal Information
Tip: When asking for information that might be perceived as irrelevant
(e.g., phone number) to the checkout process, provide an explanation for
why this is being asked and reassurance for how it will be used
Do This
Not That
35
Usability Challenge #6: Checking Out Collecting “Just Enough” Personal Information
Tip: Only ask for information that’s truly necessary for the purchase. Any
other information should be optional, and defaulted to unselected.
Not This Or That
36
Usability Challenge #7: Checking Out Supporting and Validating the Checkout Decision
• Users may have questions about shipping, returns, the safety of
their credit card information, or other aspects of their order.
• If they can’t get these questions answered, they may abandon
their purchase on your site and go to another site instead.
37
Usability Challenge #7: Checking Out Supporting and Validating the Checkout Decision
Tip: Highlight the security of the site during the checkout process.
Do This
38
Usability Challenge #7: Checking Out Supporting and Validating the Checkout Decision
Tip: Provide easy access to shipping costs and descriptions.
Do This Not That
39
Usability Challenge #8: Checking Out Preventing and Correcting Errors
• Users want to complete the checkout process quickly, and have
strong expectations for how certain information should be entered
(based on their experience using other sites).
• If they make a mistake entering information, they want to be told
exactly what they need to do in order to correct their mistake.
40
Usability Challenge #8: Checking Out Preventing and Correcting Errors
Tip: Allow users to enter information in any format (e.g., phone
numbers, addresses).
Do This Not That (image from the No Dashes Or Spaces Hall of
Shame: http://unixwiz.net/ndos-shame.html)
41
Usability Challenge #8: Checking Out Preventing and Correcting Errors
Do This Not That
Tip: If the user makes an error, be
specific about what needs to be done to
correct the error. Use more than just
color to indicate the problem!
Examples from Miles Kimball:
Checkout Experience
Usability Challenge #6: Checking Out Collecting Just Enough Personal Information
From To
Usability Challenge #8: Checking Out Preventing and Correcting Errors
Usability Challenge #8: Checking Out Preventing and Correcting Errors
From
To
Usability Challenges:
After the Purchase
47
Usability Challenge #9: After the Purchase Checking on Order Status and Returns
• Once a user has completed a purchase, their relationship with you
is not over.
• They are expecting a confirmation for their order, estimated arrival
and tracking information, and reassurance that they will receive
what they purchased.
48
Usability Challenge #9: After the Purchase Checking on Order Status
Tip: Send a confirmation email
immediately after the user has
completed a purchase,
including estimated arrival dates
and links for tracking the order.
Do This
49
Usability Challenge #10: After the Purchase Remember the User
If a user returns to a site they’ve previously purchased
from, they expect the site to:
• Remember who they are and what they’ve done, and
• Make that information available to them.
50
Usability Challenge #10: After the Purchase Remember the User
Tip: Provide easy access to order status for current orders and
information about previous orders.
Do This
51
Usability Challenge #10: After the Purchase Remember the User
Tip: Remember the
information they’ve
previously used for
purchasing, and
default to those
options.
Do This
Examples from Miles Kimball:
After the Purchase
Usability Challenge #9: After the Purchase Checking Order Status
Providing Immediate
Confirmation of the Order.
- If you do not, the
customer will wonder if the
order went through and will
contact you!
Usability Challenge #9: After the Purchase Checking Order Status
What if order confirmations are delayed from your system?
Questions?
Bill Albert, PhD
Executive Director, Design and Usability Center
Bentley University
walbert@bentley.edu
www.usability.bentley.edu
@UXMetrics | @BentleyDUC
Ryan Hennig
Vice President, Marketing
Miles Kimball Company
RHennig@mileskimball.com
www.mileskimball.com
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