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Picnik Usability Test: Assisting Users Master the Basic Elements of Picnik Photo-editing with a Step-by-Step Tutorial

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Introduction

Picnik is a user-friendly, online photo-editing site that provides a

wide array of free and premium photo-editing tools for anyone to use

for their personal or professional needs. Since Picnik is free and

popular to use, it is a great alternative to the expensive, complicated

photo-editing programs. However, Picnik’s instructions on how to

edit photographs and use other Picnik features were extremely

difficult to locate on the website. In addition, the Picnik instructions

did not cover many of the aspects the site had to offer to the users.

Picnik has a lot of amazing features with little instructions or

guidance on how to use various aspects or features, aside from a

small icon next to each feature that can be easily overlooked.

In order to make Picnik more user friendly for a larger

audience, our research group’s objective was to create a step-by-step

tutorial on the basic functions of Picnik that could be used by a large

range of users; regardless of age, gender, or technical prowess. Our

research group designed a set of instructions and collected primary

data with the purpose to improve the usability of Picnik.

Our research group is composed of English majors with an

emphasis in technical writing from Utah State University. As a part

of service learning activity and an innovative assignment designed

for real-world experience.

Starting from scratch, our research group designed a set of

instructions for most of the free features of Picnik: creating an

account, basic edits, and saving photographs. By covering these

basic parts of Picnik, all users following the tutorial would gain a

foundation on how to upload, manipulate, and share photographs

among friends and family. As most users are involved in at least one

online, social networking group, (e.g. Facebook or Twitter) knowing

how to share photographs becomes increasingly important. This

tutorial would provide all users, novice or seasoned, enough

information to edit and share photographs with anyone through

digital interface.

After creating a Picnik tutorial, we conducted a usability

study evaluate our instructions. By finding the gaps in our Picnik

instructions, we were able to add to the instructions and provide a

complete tutorial that would empower users to navigate Picnik with

ease and confidence. In order to analyze the effectiveness of the

tutorial, participants were observed following the tutorial and

completed a survey with closed and open questions. By collecting

Picnik Usability Test: Assisting Users Master the Basic Elements

of Picnik Photo-editing with a Step-by-Step Tutorial Malinda, Katie, Megan, and Stacey

Students of Technical Writing 3400, Department of English, Utah State University


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multiple types of data, we were able to obtain key information that

could improve not only our Picnik instructions, but the Picnik

website as well.

In our study, we found that the most complicated portion of

Picnik for users was sharing a photo across social networks. In

addition, each internet browser is different, which may call for

different instructions or each one. For example, the newest version of

internet explorer will automatically go to the main page of Picnik,

instead of the introduction page with the Get started now! button.

Our instructions were designed using Google Chrome; mild

modifications were needed to use Firefox, Safari, or Internet

Explorer. Overall, the instructions were designed for a wide range of

users, from inexperienced to experienced, computer novice to tech

savvy, and from young adults to elderly. While gaps were found,

95% of users found that the steps illustrated were in linear order and

75% were able to complete the instructions within the tutorial. Our

instructions have been clarified and improved based on our study,

and we would like to offer our results and methods for your

convenience.

Problem Statement

After researching Picnik, our research group discovered that there

were limited guidelines on how to use Picnik. Aside from user

forums, the guides provided by Picnik seemed to lack the basic

information on how to use the website. For this reason, our research

group created a tutorial illustrating the steps needed to: create an

account, upload and edit a photo, and save and share a photo.

Methods

In order to determine the usability of our Picnik tutorial, we

conducted a usability test that would allow us to observe the

participants following the instructions. We also collected surveys

reporting on the users’ reactions to the tutorial’s organization, clarity

of instruction, and visual appeal.

For the usability test, we used convenience sampling to

select our participants. We sought a wide variety of participants, for

the study. From our pool of potential participants, we selected a

variety of individuals representing different age groups and levels of

expertise. They ranged from nineteen to over sixty years old. Some

individuals had no prior experience with Picnik where others had

years of experience with the site. In addition, some individuals were

extremely technically savvy while others were internet novices.

Because of the variation among the participants, the results provided

key insights across the spectrum of user experiences with Picnik

Before each participant began the tutorial, he or she was

provided a Letter of Agreement, informing the participant of our

organization’s intentions relevant to the study, any benefits or

dangers in participating in the study, and full knowledge that

participation was voluntary. Each participant was read the same

instructions via a script in order to create a more uniform testing

environment among participants. Each participant was observed on a

one-to-one basis. By observing participants individually, researchers

were able to focus their attention on what each participant had to say

about the tutorial as they followed the steps. The information

provided by the participant was crucial to finding the gaps in the

tutorial to improve the tutorial for future use.

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Results and Discussion

The purpose of this usability test was to evaluate the effectiveness

and usefulness of the Picnik tutorial built to help new participants

create an account, upload and edit photos, and save photos to a

personal computer as well as upload them to a multitude of social,

online-networks by following step-by-step instructions. From the

observations and surveys collected during and after the Picnik

usability test, 75% of participants were able to complete the

instructions in the tutorial and 65% found the tutorial to be “well

laid-out and appealing”. Although most participants were able to

complete the tutorial, users also commented about being dissatisfied

in several portions of the Picnik tutorial, specifically: Creating a

Picnik Account, Basic Edits Menu, and Saving and Sharing a Photo.

From open-ended survey questions and observations, problem

portions of the tutorials were linked to the participants’ inability to

perform the task due to the clarity of instructions, lack of detailed

information, or unaddressed website errors in the Picnik tutorial.

As the tutorial tested for Picnik was primarily designed for

the benefit of new participants, it is important to recount the

significance of the sampling method selected. Due to the Picnik

usability study’s convenience sampling method, a wide variety of the

population was represented as each researcher sought out five

different individuals to participate in the usability study. As 75% of

the participants were unrelated and unknown to the others, there was

a variety, from age, sex, and technical level, among the participants.

Convenience sampling enabled the research presented to more

accurately reflect the variety of users that could have access to use

Picnik. For the purpose of study to facilitate anonymity, all

participants were given a three digit number to identify their

opinions and thoughts in the following research.

While 35.3% of participants answered the following survey

question: “Were the instructions easy to understand?” with “Clear &

Easy to Follow”, the majority of the participants (58.8%) felt that the

tutorial instructions were “Mildly Confusing”. The selections of the

tutorial that were found lacking by the participants were: Creating a

Picnik Account, Basic Edits Menu, and Saving and Sharing Your

Photo (see graph on next page). The other portions of the tutorial,

Uploading a Picture and Creating Effects, reflected minimal

difficulty from users as only 6% found those sections confusing.

While some difficulty was still assessed in those sections, Uploading

a Picture and Creating Effects sections represent how clear and

concise information can allow participants to feel satisfied with

elements in the tutorial. Participants recommended improving the

problem sections by including more instruction, more detailed

information, and correcting technical problems.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

19-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Nu

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art

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Age of Participants

Participant Age Groups


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Creating a Picnik Account

While all users were able to create a Picnik account, there were

many complaints about the lack of information presented in the

Creating a Picnik Account section. Complaints about Creating a

Picnik Account were largely gathered from observations and open-

ended survey questions. One participant commented during

observation that Picnik keeps providing the error: “this username is

not available!” (User 101). This error message was not provided in

the tutorial and made users upset when it occurred. Another

participant from a different observational group experienced a

similar problem, and had to try creating five different usernames

before one was available for use (User 204). While the reduced pool

of available usernames is not a fault of the tutorial, not noting in the

tutorial that not all usernames may be readily available is the

researchers responsibility. In Creating a Picnik Account, all relative

information, including error codes, should be accounted for to avoid

feelings of frustration and confusion in users.

An additional problem with Creating a Picnik Account was

the lack of commenting that an additional pop-up window will come

up and ask for personal information after clicking “I accept! Create

my account!” button. While the pop-up window states that inputting

the personal information is optional, nearly half of the users thought

it was a part of the sign-up process. As the optional information was

not an official part of the Creating a Picnik Account, it was omitted

from the tutorial. However, this lack of information also caused

confusion among users sense the new pop-window looked clearly to

be a part of the creating account phase. This information should be

included in the tutorial to the extent that it is optional information

and enables the site to keep record of users’ demographics. By

providing more information, future Picnik users using the tutorial

will have clearer expectations and knowledge about how to sign up

on Picnik.

Basic Edit Menu

Complaints about Basic Edit Menu were different from the

complaints cited in the Creating a Picnik Account section. In the

Basic Edit Menu section, participants had to fix or improve elements

of the photos that he or she desired. The Basic Edit Menu provided

information on how to use the feature, but multiple users commented

that they wanted “more detailed” instructions about features and

locations. When asked “what details could be added to make the

instructions more useful?” One participant stated to define clearly

directions to “zoom in the bottom right” corner. Another participant

0 2 4 6 8 10

More information

More instruction

Address technical problems

Nothing/Less info

Elements Participants Want to See Improved


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commented that the tutorial needed to further “explain golden ratio”

and its location “in the crop drop down menu”. The majority of the

complaints about the Basic Edit Menu section were derived from

either not enough information provided or unclear directions on how

to locate and use the feature. In order to provide new users the best

experience with Picnik, the Basic Edit Menu section in the tutorial

needs to include more information directing users how to use each

feature along with additional information about the feature itself.

This will provide the ability and knowledge to aptly use all the

features in the Basic Edit Menu.

Saving and Sharing a Photo

In concert with the Creating a Picnik Account and Basic Edit Menu,

the Saving and Sharing a Photo section faced similar problems and

complaints. While none of the participants complained specifically

about a lack of information or direction in Saving and Sharing a

Photo, participants experienced a plethora of problems sharing their

photos across social networking sites. This problem was expressed in

both the observations and in the survey. Participants were able to

save to their personal computers without a problem, but most

participants could not share photos between Picnik and social

networking sites.

The problem occurred when the participant was not already

signed into one of social networking sites or site information was not

saved on the computer. Without being connected to those websites,

Picnik was unable to connect and transfer the photos. Twenty percent

of participants were not able to save to their website of choice, and

half of those participants reported specific problems with Facebook

and Twitter. For example, during observing participant 105 complete

the tutorial, the participant read and error message that said:

“Whoops, we were not able to connect to your twitter account” (User

105). To ensure that these errors do not continue to happen,

information in the Saving and Sharing Your Picture section of the

tutorial needs to state that the user must first be signed into the

website and also have an album to save photos across sites.

Tutorial Layout Design

Across the entire tutorial, most participants (65%) liked the layout of

the tutorial. However, most also found the layout or the content a

little confusing (58.3%). In regards to the layout, 30% of individuals

across observations stated liking the use of circles and arrows to

visually direct Picnik users to the next item or to find a menu. Screen

shots were also praised for providing pictorial evidence of specific

places the participants needed to be in order to perform a certain

task. Participants also reported they felt the information looked

“crowded” or out of “place”. Participants also commented that

pictures need to be directly with their instructions, not beneath them

(survey and observations). By having the picture directly next to the

correct text, users will be able to correctly group information

together and move more easily through the tutorial. The use of

directors, like circles and arrows, also provide verification that users

are in the right place. These elements are essential to designing a

detailed tutorial and provide the user with a sense of empowerment

and skill to navigate through Picnik’s many features with ease and

confidence.

From the results of the Picnik usability test, we were able to

gather data from a wide range of people from varying backgrounds,

ages, and technical levels to test a tutorial for new Picnik users.

While using any type of convenient sampling produces a level of

bias, the answers to the survey questions (except for one question


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which was thrown out due to obvious bias on behalf of the

participants) were varied and provided insight into how well the

tutorial functioned as a guide and what needed to be improved for a

complete, finish tutorial. We have tried to limit the level of bias in

this study by using scripts and being professional during the data

collection.

Conclusion

The Picnik site provides a user forum and help center, however both

are limited in usefulness. When attempting to access the help center,

there is a pop-up asking if the person is a premium/paid. This leads

one to believe that they have to sign in or be a premium member to

get their questions answered. We created instructions for the site to

provide a platform for a range of users to “jump in” and begin

uploading and editing their photos. The Picnik site offers a range of

simple tools, which are mostly treated as self-explanatory. There are

more sophisticated tools that require a monthly fee for a premium

membership; those tools were beyond the scope of the study we

conducted.

Participants in our study were selected by convenience

sampling. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Picnik tutorial for

helping users to successfully navigate the software. 75% of the users

were able to complete the tutorial. While 58% of them found the

instructions to be mildly confusing. Overall, the users indicated that

their inability to perform a task was linked to lack of clarity in the

instructions, they were asked to follow the tutorial created and did

not know where to go to find the instructions from within the site.

The pool of participants varied in age and technical ability.

We found that some elements of the tutorial were clearer

than others, and participants requested more detailed information in

addition to the correction of technical errors. We have made changes

to the specific elements which proved to be the most problematic

with the hopes of providing future Picnik users with more

information, and clearer expectations.

We recommend making the instructions more readily

available to the end user. Even if the instructions were to remain

within the help tab, it would be helpful to have a sentence on the

home page to indicate that instructions for using the site are listed

under “mastery” or having an arrow pointing to the dialog box

containing the “tips and tricks” link above “Picnik Forums” and help

for “Premium Features” People do not want to scroll to the bottom of

the page to find out how to use the site if they are new to photo-

editing software. Also, in order to make the process of sharing a

photo less complex it would be helpful to address the differences

presented by the various browsers so that users do not have to toggle

between sites to make sure that they saved or shared the picture

successfully.

Very well laid out

65%

Most things in

place 10%

Crowded w/ some

not in place 25%

Mostly too busy / Too Busy

0%

Visual Layout Appeal

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