A look at how our very own UXR team has improved the UX of our tree test results.
This week, with our Summer 19.3 Release not far away, we’re looking at some of the research our UXR team have carried out in support of the product and design decisions taken in this release. That’s right, we’re still drinking our own champagne – now the room is spinning a little and someone has very kindly just given us a coffee.
Team UXR: In the last UserZoom release we supported the Results team with the update to the Card Sort Results UI, both with discovery research around some of the unknowns of Card Sorts, and then iterative testing of wireframes and validation of the new UI.
Similarly, we’ve actively supported the Summer 19.3 Release with research that aided the Design Team with their initial investigations, including any outstanding questions they had before designing a new experience for Tree Test Results.
Some initial questions we had included: “What are the best practices for analysing a Tree Test?” “How does our current Tree Test UI compare with competitor products?” and “What pain points do users have when using either UserZoom or a competitor solution?”.
These initial discovery questions were followed by further questions as we moved through different stages of the design process.
As a showcase for the variety of research methodologies we used at this stage, here’s a little breakdown of how we answered each of the following questions:
Method: Literature review of best practices
We conducted an exhaustive search of all the literature on Tree Test best practices. Across all our source literature we were able to identify common steps and best practices that we were able to document and create an “ideal” user journey for analyzing Tree Tests. Our Design and Engineering teams were able to refer to this user journey as they designed and built our new Tree Test results from the ground up.
Method: Competitive Analysis
We were aware that the way our existing way of displaying results for Tree Tests differs from other solutions, and in order to deliver a new best-in-class results experience, it was important to compare our current approach with those solutions.
We conducted a full competitive analysis to understand both the features and approach taken by different solutions around every aspect of Tree Test results, from top-level ‘glance’ information, through to graphs, charts and participant level data. We augmented that with a series of moderated usability studies, where users analysed Tree Tests with different solutions.
Method: Remote Moderated Study
In these remote moderated sessions, we mainly looked to understand where the real pain points were with UserZoom’s existing Tree Test results. We began to understand that the majority of usability issues around analysing a Tree Test lay with the terminology used, and that making it easier to understand different terms and labels would be very helpful.
We also discovered a significant pain point around understanding where participants went in a Tree Test, and visualizing those participant paths.
Method: Remote Moderated Study
We also wanted to further explore how charts and visualizations could make it simpler to analyse Tree Test results. We discovered that users were looking for visualizations that were more flexible and dynamic. In addition, users also expressed their desire for visualizations that helped show both the directness of paths, and also the paths per participants.
Method: Remote Unmoderated Usability Tests (Advanced UX Project Type with Screen and Audio).
Next, we tested the early wireframes the Design Team came up with for the new Tree Test results. We set up a study to check that the information and visuals presented in the new UI were clear, that participants understood what was being shown and they weren’t missing any information that would prevent them from analysing their results.
We analyzed the results from the first few participants, then the Design Team used these insights to iterate on the designs before we ran studies with more participants to test these iterations. Further tests and design iterations followed, all of which helped lead to the new Tree Test results that UserZoom customers will see in the platform from July 30.
Answering UX questions like the ones shared in this post, help our Design and Engineering teams to deliver new product capabilities that improve our customers’ experience. The Summer Release that the UXR team have helped support includes the completion of our new powerful Results experience, including new results for Tree Tests mentioned in this post, as well as new results for Click Tests.
Moving forward, the team will be conducting research that supports our Fall Release, as well as strategic engagements that help define our long-term roadmap.
Join us again, where we’ll talk about some of the other projects the UXR team have been working on, the results of that research, and the impact on the UserZoom platform.