Last weekend I helped to run a small community festival, celebrating cultural diversity in our neighbourhood. We set up marquees in the local school ground, and invited traders to present their wares – everything from ice cream and hotdogs to hand-woven woollen blankets.

My job was to sit behind a desk by the main entrance labelled “information”, to answer questions and hand out paper guides to those who requested them. It all seemed very self-explanatory.

But a bizarre thing kept happening… over and over again, people would approach my desk and say “what’s this then?” or “what do we do here?”, even just an inquisitive “Hello?”. I found myself repeatedly explaining, “This is information – what would you like to know?”.

I had a good long think about this, to understand the situation from the point of view of those enjoying the festival. Why were they confused and what could we have done to clarify things?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Convention

As we know, people don’t like to think unnecessarily. On a hot sunny day, they wander into a gate marked ‘Entrance’ and what’s the first thing they expect? To be stopped, counted, charged, given a ticket or wristband… some sort of authority is supposed to step in and ratify their entry through that gate.

Similarly there are very strong conventions on websites. People know by now that a company logo is on the top left and links to the homepage. They know that underlined text is a link to something… On eyetracking studies we see that customers gaze in the place they expect something to be, creating a hot spot in conventional areas even if that area is blank on the page they’re using.

So this was a free community festival. We had no interest in stopping people. We had a counter under the table to make sure we didn’t exceed site capacity, but there were no tickets, wristbands or bag searches. So, like the eyetracking studies on a webpage, people thought “there’s something missing here – I should stop and wait for it”, and when nothing happened they habitually sought out that expected authority.

Sheep Mentality

It’s still considered a slur on our personalities, but countless studies have demonstrated this to be very valid indeed. In a situation that people are not especially passionate about, they will happily follow the crowd and do what they know other people will do.

Amazon famously took advantage of this when they introduced ‘People like you bought…’, now copied across the web with great commercial success. And at this festival, it was a simple matter of following the person in front of you. When the first person approached me to ask a question, everyone else behind him followed and approached without knowing why.

Labelling

So those are probably the main insights into human psyche but often the most effective solution is the most simple. How well did we really signpost the stall? We had a big sign saying “Information”, sure, but it was propped up against the low-level table. So as soon as a crowd started to form in front of it, it was unreadable to anyone else entering the site.

And how descriptive is that word “Information” anyway? Does it tell them all they need to know? Considering what we’ve learned about convention, perhaps it would be more effective to have a clear sign on the gate saying “Free festival – come on in!” or similar.

Does your website, Facebook welcome page, or mobile app have a problem like this? Have you labelled a button or link with a completely logical word or phrase, only to find that customers don’t see it or don’t get it? I know it’s happened to me before – and you don’t find out until you watch it happen to someone in real life! But then, that’s exactly what usability testing is all about, isn’t it?

It’s a subject that’s been studied extensively. In the year 2000, researchers at Columbia University investigated how the amount of choice available to a person affects their ability to make and feel good about their decisions. Best known of these experiments involved asking customers of a delicatessen to sample different flavours of jam. Customers in Group A were offered an exciting array of 24 various jams to taste, while those in Group B were shown a more limited 6 flavours. The result was that, although more people were attracted to the large display, just 3% of Group A chose a pot of jam to buy. Meanwhile 30% of the restricted Group B walked away pleased with their purchase.

The research even extends into sociology, where theories are abound that human beings given too much freedom and flexibility in their daily lives actually struggle to choose a path and are less satisfied with the one they finally take, fearing that it may not have been the best available.

As fascinating as all that is, how can we relate it to an online business? Well it’s all about how you display your products and services. Retailers know that, given a range of similar products, very few will buy the cheapest and only a small number will buy the most expensive – the vast majority will choose a comfortable middle-ground between price and quality. In fact, it’s been proven that introducing a high-end product to your portfolio can dramatically increase the popularity of your next most expensive option.

We’ve also seen repeatedly in AB and multivariate tests that a webpage with too much information, too many buttons or too much general noise can confuse the customer and damage user flow through the site.

So if all this is true, how do we make sure that people are able to reach a conclusion? Show a customer too few choices and they’ll feel constrained, but show them too many and they’ll have no idea which way to turn. Could you introduce new options to widen a very small range? If you have a lot of options can you hide them, displaying only your most disparate products until the customer chooses to search further? The balance is different for every organisation but, with a little experimentation, it won’t be hard to find.

Senior Customer Experience Consultant, Gurvinder Sandhu takes an in-depth look at the user experience of the Game mobile app.

What is it?

The Game app was created to allow users to easily browse and purchase video games from the store. The app is currently on version 2.01.

Purpose?

The App store suggests that the app can be used to locate the nearest Game store, shop for games, view game screenshots, watch videos, read user reviews, and members can check their reward points.

Download?

The Game app is free to download however will require Wi-Fi or 3G to browse and purchase video games.

Overview

Overall the Game app offers limited functionality and features. The features which are present are basic and are not up to the standard Game users would expect from one of the premier retail stores for purchasing video games.

So what does it do?

When the app is started up, the main screen (Fig 1) allows users to scroll through various options such as ‘shop’, ‘reward card’, ‘videos’, and ‘store finder’.

fig 1: Main Screen

Within ‘shop’ (Fig 2), users can scroll in a similar fashion as to the home screen and select any console type, be it Xbox360, Nintendo DS or a PC to filter the different products.

Fig 2: Shop

Within a console, the ‘top sellers’ and ‘pre order chart’ are shown (Fig 3). The ‘top sellers’ chart would be more informative if displayed in a numerical list to show the top ten and also by allowing users to filter by date e.g. top 10 of all time and the current top 10.

The ‘pre order chart’ (Fig 4), although useful, would be more informative if displayed in list form, by month so that users know which month a certain game title is due out.

fig 3: Top sellers

fig 4: Pre order chart

The shopping process works relatively well, although the ‘add to basket’ button may possibly be overlooked as it is quite small and at the bottom of the page. To purchase, users are required to either ‘login via Game’ or alternatively ‘login via MoBank’. This could potentially be a deterrent for users to purchase off the Game app as MoBank isn’t a well known means of purchasing.

Mobank is a free mobile banking service that works securely with existing bank accounts, similar to PayPal but developed for purchases using the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The search function works well however some users may not know exactly what title they are searching for, and may want to browse the full offering from Game; users cannot currently do this unlike on the Game website.

The ‘video’ (Fig 5) section works slightly differently to that of previous sections; in this section users do not scroll to select a console, but have to instead select a small console icon at the top of the screen to view a few games which have video content available. The video icons on the game pages are not immediately obvious and they also hide the cover images of the game (Fig 6).

fig 5: Video

 fig 6: video icon

The ‘store finder’ (Fig 7) opens up into Google maps format to allow users to search by postcode, however this does not work well if a Game store is not near to the location entered. The app does not tell the user where the nearest Game store is. The ‘store finder’ would work better if users could search by a postcode to see a list of Game stores ordered by proximity to the searched location, and then be given the choice to see the Game store of choice on Google maps.

The ‘reward card’ section allows users to view the number of points they have through the Game reward scheme. A suggestion is also provided on what these points can be used to purchase. A greater list of suggestions (currently only one suggestion is made) would be a welcome addition especially since people have different budgets.

What doesn’t it do?

The key issues with the Game app are listed below;

1. Users cannot browse the entire product offering from Game. If the user doesn’t know of a specific game then the ‘shop’ section could be redundant for some.

2. The ‘top sellers’ would be more informative if displayed in a numerical list to show the top ten and also by allowing users to filter by date e.g. top 10 of all time and the current top 10.

3. The ‘pre order chart’, would be more informative if displayed in list form, by month so that users know which month a certain game title is due out.

4. The video icons in the ‘video’ section are not obvious and also obscure the game cover images.

5. The ‘store finder’ section does not notify the user of where the closest Game store is to their entered location. Conventionally store finders work by the user entering in their postcode to see a list of Game stores ordered by closest to the entered location. This is usually followed by the ability to see the location of the store on a map.

What others have to say

The average rating given to the Game app is 2.5 stars out 5.

Reviews on the App Store mentioned the following;

• Users described the content of the app as being ’vague’ and said that they expected better from Game.
• The shop section was described as being limited and users said that it was good if you knew what you were looking for.
• Users mentioned that the app did not display all the Game stores.
• Users were critical of the app not displaying enough options and suggested the inclusion of a list of categories by which they could filter to their desired product.
• Users expected more freedom when browsing the shop section, similar to the Game site.

Final thoughts

The app has generally been received negatively due to the limited functionality and features on offer to the users. The main improvement for users would be to be able to browse the full offering from Game rather than have to search for specific titles or only be able to see a select few titles in the ‘top sellers’ and ‘pre order chart’.

One to One Insight believes that if the above mentioned issues, particularly the ability to browse the entire store are included, then the app will provide a better experience for users and possibly encourage more users to purchase through the app.

What is ethnography?

Fundamentally, ethnographic research is the study of people and communities within their own environment. With a founding in anthropology it harnesses social research methods such as participant observation and informal/formal interviews, which are conducted within the subject’s natural settings. Qualitative data is gathered which helps build up an understanding of behaviour, attitudes and relationships within real world contexts. The data collected will be dependent on the researcher and the situation, but it will most likely be comprised of field notes, sketches, audio/video recordings, and photographs etc. which are captured as they happen.

In addition to gathering data, and perhaps most importantly, the method is dependent on the analysis of this data. In order to be able to translate observations into valuable insights the level and rigour of the analysis is key. The analysis generally entails the researcher(s) going through and identifying themes and patterns within the data, often referred to as ‘coding’, and should be aligned to the question that initiated the research. Generally a degree of synthesis is required to convert the conclusions into a digestible format and the report/presentation should be tailored to its audience.

How does ethnography relate to the user experience?

Ethnographic research is increasingly being used within corporate situations. Many global design and technology companies use anthropologists and ethnographers in order to gain a better understanding of the people using their products and systems. Although the ethnographic methods used are different to what academics would consider to be traditional ethnography, as they are constrained by variables such as budgets and timescales, it can be a highly effective way of engaging with customers within their own environments and seeing how they interact in specific contexts.

As well as understanding how a user directly interacts with a product or service ethnographic research can reveal users’ actions before and after use, motivations for use, as well as any problems that may prevent them from using the system effectively. Participant observations can also highlight the way in which a person genuinely uses a product, as opposed to what a person says or believes they do, which can differ significantly from reality.

The subjective nature of ethnography has also been examined as it can be argued that the researcher will bring biases to the data as their own background and experiences will influence their interpretation of what is seen. Ultimately it is the awareness and skill of the researcher that will ensure the research is as impartial as is possible as even the presence of the researcher in the subject’s environment can affect their behaviour. An effective way of ensuring that the research is reliable is to combine the observational findings with complementary data for example from depth interviews, diary studies, participant shadowing or surveys.

In order for the outcomes of a study to be valuable to a company it is important that the researcher is aware of their client’s needs and the most effective way to communicate the findings back to them. The insights obtained from ethnographic research should be instructive and help to guide the next steps. The recommendations can be used to help create personas, scenarios and frameworks that aid a product or service’s development, and can also influence the way in which a product is marketed.

Ethnographic research can allow companies to gain a deeper and more holistic understanding of their customer’s needs, actions and opinions, and is ideal for customer research across sectors, including product development, service design and retail environments.

For information on One to One Insight’s ethnography services see:

http://www.onetooneglobal.com/insight/customer-experience-research/ethnographiccontextual-studies/

One to One Insight, Senior Research Consultant, Jenna Cosquieri has conducted usability testing with kids for The British Council and five – here she offers her top tips for usability testing with kids.

Millions of children today are web users and there are many websites which specifically target children with educational or entertainment content. Despite this however, there is little current insight on usability testing with children, and little knowledge on best practices in terms of web design specifically with children in mind. Usability testing with children provides us with insights into another generation of web users and can prove extremely rewarding in today’s modern world where more and more children are becoming internet users at an early age. This article outlines insights based on One to One Insight’s experience of interviewing children for usability.

The arrival of the child participant into the user testing lab is one of the key moments that can affect his/her experience (and behaviour) during the interview. Children are a lot more susceptible to stress than adults when in an unknown place and with people they are not familiar with. As a result, they are likely to be quiet or shy and therefore the interview will not be an accurate representation of the child’s behaviour in their own environment. It is vital that the child is as relaxed as possible. Communicating with the parent is a useful way of making the child feel at ease – if the parent is calm and comfortable with the situation the child is likely to feel more secure in the environment and engage freely with the website.

Allow the parent to stay in the room where the interview will take place, however ensure that they are aware that they should not attempt to assist the child unless they actively seek guidance.Allow the parent to stay in the room where the interview will take place, however ensure that they are aware that they should not attempt to assist the child unless they actively seek guidance. Explain that it would be valuable if they could help to encourage the child to attempt the tasks alone. It is important to also make this clear to the child and explain that you want to see how easy or difficult they find the test material without help. Clearly explain to the child that it is a not a test for them. Children may become frustrated and disappointed if they cannot complete a task, so it is important not to let a child attempt the same task too many times. Provide positive feedback throughout the interview and motivate the child. A useful way of doing this is by letting the child know that they are helping you to improve the website and make it easier for their friends and other children to use.

Children lose interest a lot faster than adults and get easily distracted in the environment around them, so it is important to remove as many distractions as possible from the studio. Also, ensure to take short breaks for the child as they are less able to focus for long periods of time. It is not advisable to conduct interviews lasting longer than 60 minutes if possible, as the child will lose interest by this point and feedback may not be accurate, however One to One Insight has conducted successful interviews with older children lasting up to 90 minutes. If possible, avoid giving the child long tasks which they would be unlikely to complete themselves at home. Ensure to prioritise tasks if there are key areas of the site the client wants feedback on, so that children are not attempting these at a stage where they may be losing interest. Also, allow for natural exploration, if a child begins to explore a later task, allow them to do so and bring them back to the other tasks later.

The use of images is highly recommended in order to capture the child’s feelings towards aspects of the site. Interestingly, children are likely to be less verbal than adults throughout an interview. This may be due to shyness, fear of saying the wrong thing, or the simple fact that children find it more difficult to communicate their thoughts. Therefore, it is important to observe the child carefully for reactions and facial expressions as they provide huge insight into the child’s perception of the site. The use of images is highly recommended in order to capture the child’s feelings towards aspects of the site. For example, in past studies One to One Insight has used ‘smiley face’ images indicating varying levels of happiness from ‘very happy’ with a large smile, to a face with a frown and tears, and asked the child which one suits their feelings best.

One to One Insight’s findings have shown that children are not as likely as audlts to scroll down pages of a website, so information below the fold of the page is likely to be overlooked. Children enjoy websites with bright colours, simple navigation, and appropriate content. If the child is not interested in the content they are unlikely to want to explore and return to the site. Ensure there are fun games and music on the website to keep a child’s interest, and reward children for completing puzzles and progressing on the site.

Bearing these factors in mind, structure a usability interview with a child with care, and ensure that a pilot study is completed with a child at least a day in advance; finding out that your test scenario is inappropriate on the first participant is already too late. If done correctly, interviews with children can unlock insights which can reveal how engaged your young audience is and therefore the extent to which they might become brand advocates to their friends and parents.

In the September, 2010 addition of the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR), Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s Jenni Romaniuk and LogicLab’s Craig Gugel provided an overview of the journey the Advertising Research Foundations (ARF) 360 Media and Marketing Council undertook to reevaluate the role that exposure to communication channels play in moving consumers along the path to purchase. The article was titled “The ARF 360 model: Update to a Human-Centric Approach” [Download PDF].

Below is One to One’s first attempt to visualize and consolidate the evolution of THE ARF 360 Model into it’s most recent iteration:

In keeping with the spirit of the original model, the stages that are detailed above are not meant to be linear in nature. The ARF 360 Committee felt it was important for this model to be circular to “highlight that there is no single starting point that applies to everyone”. Indeed, the Committee highlighted that the process can be initiated by either the marketer or the person seeking to satisfy specific needs. They continued “to refer to the “human” rather then the “consumer” to remind the industry that consumption is only one part of their lives”. And with consumers in control of media, the “onus rests squarely on the advertising community to “adapt to the choices consumers make”.

To that end, I think we still have some work to do on this infographic. This Version 1.0 attempt to summarize the good work done by The ARF 360 Committee should be viewed as an initial draft. One to One is open to any/all feedback to make this asset as clear and as helpful as possible. We will continue to evolve this design and provide additional formats for download. In the spirit of starting a dialogue, we felt this was at least “good enough” to share with a broader audience.

One to One Insight’s Sam Tilson takes a look at the updated version of the BBC News App, giving his thoughts on the Apps functionality and overall user experience.

What is it?
The BBC News app tested on an iPhone 3GS (also available for the iPod Touch and iPad).

Purpose?
The app is designed to provide the user with the latest news through up to date articles and additional content such as streamed video.

Where and how to Download
Free to download from the Apple ‘App Store’.

Overview
On the whole the BBC News App is useful and provides current news through a simple interface.

So what does it do?
The BBC News app supplies fairly basic but clear information. The ‘home’ page presents a list of categories which each has a number of stories illustrated horizontally by a thumbnail image and headline. By selecting a story the next page presents the article in a clear format and will generally include an image or a video link at the top, similarly to the full site. Additional features in the application include article scrolling and a refresh which uses swipe gestures to update the page.

Fig.1 and 2: ‘Home’ page with categories and headlines and refresh tool

The article pages also have further functionality and include tools to share the page via Email, Facebook or Twitter, and also have an option to increase/decrease the font size.

Fig.3: An article page

The ability to personalise/customise the layout of the app allows the user to choose which categories will be displayed and in what order. The ‘Edit’ button takes the user to an intuitive screen where they can drag and drop the bars into desired positions.

Fig.4: ‘Edit’ page

Finally, the user can also view a live streaming of the BBC News channel by selecting the ‘Live’ button at the top of the home page.

Fig 5: Live streaming of BBC News channel

What doesn’t it do?
From the home page it is not initially clear that the user has to swipe to view further stories in each category, but this is a minor issue, as once it is realised it is simple to use.

If the screen is rotated on to a side view the navigational structure of the site changes completely which may frustrate some users as they will not be able to view the ‘More’ section and the way in which the user selects articles to read changes. From the horizontal view it also becomes difficult to select different categories and the scroll function also becomes difficult to use.

Fig. 6: Application in landscape view

Some users may also expect to be able to select the ‘Latest’ headline and be taken to further information in an article page; however this is only a text description and cannot be selected.

Within the live stream there is a button that will restart the video at the point where the user began watching. The icon has the number ‘30’ which may confuse users and could be misinterpreted to mean 30 minutes previously etc.

Occasionally the application will freeze, particularly when loading new content e.g. if the user scrolls to view more stories the loading screen will show and is sometimes jerky

What others have to say?
On the whole the application has been received reasonable feedback. The negative reviews on the ‘App Store’ have generally referred to ‘bugs’ and ‘crashes’ from software updates, problems with the speed of transitions and the ‘sluggish’ scrolling. Many of the negative reviews also state that the Sky News app is better. The positive comments state that it is ‘handy’ and provides the latest news without issues.

Final thoughts
Although efficiently they can access information. In order to provide a useful application it is important that, as well as having engaging content and an intuitive interface, it should be quick and seamless in updating and refreshing.

OTOinsights presents our latest customer experience research findings for several of the most downloaded iPad magazine applications including Wired, PopSci, GQ, Dwell, and Time.

“Digital publishing has changed consumer magazine consumption; in the past three years over 1,000 have ceased publication,” said webinar presenter Dr. Philip Rhodes, Managing Director for OTOinsights. “The iPad offers magazines a new digital publishing platform that allows them to better present, control and monetize their content.”

OTOinsights’ task-based analysis focuses on the homescreen, navigation, layout, advertisement placement and overall user satisfaction based on these criteria:

• How does the layout impact user experience
• How intuitive is navigation
• What is the nature and quality of the content
• How efficient is it to use
• How likely are users to revisit the iPad magazine
• Does the application engender trust in the user

This webinar will help brands and publishers participating, or planning on participating, in iPad magazine applications as developers, advertisers or content authors.

Join us for this free webinar where we discuss this latest customer experience research and conclude with a best practice guide on how you can create the best experience for your customers. Webinar attendees will also receive copy of this presentation free of charge.

Presenter:
Dr. Philip Rhodes, Managing Director and Director of Research for OTOinsights

When/Where:
Thursday, July 29 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time

Click Here to Register for Free

Dr. Philip Rhodes, Ph.D.

Philip holds a Ph.D. in Information Design from the University of Portsmouth. He has extensive research and teaching experience in hypermedia design and information architecture. He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived and worked in Brazil. Before joining OTOinsights, he worked with US solution providers Rare Medium and Sapient, as Director of Information Architecture. Specializing in offering user-centric online solutions within the banking, education, and telecommunications sectors. He also taught at several universities in Brazil and the UK, and has been widely published. Philip is both the Managing Director and the Director of Customer Experience Research & Design at OTOinsights, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

OTOinsights Overview

Technology innovation continues to create increasingly sophisticated and complex interaction touch points between brands and their customers. A customer’s experience with these touch points define what a brand means to them and their continuing engagement with the product or service. OTOinsights helps brands succeed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape by providing customer experience research, brand research, neuromarketing research and user-centered design.

Paul Adams (User Experience engineer at Google) knows this and has released his findings about how we connect with our “friends” using popular social media sites. Turns out it’s not as simple as you’d think. His presentation is a must-read for anyone who is designing user interfaces and works in the social space.

Weighing in at 216 slides, it’s a bit of a biggie. Hang in there, the research that The Goog has done with regards to social influence, online and offline friends, strong vs. weak ties is information that you must be armed with.

Here are some of the highlights…

• People have multiple independent groups of friends that form around life stages and shared experiences. (Example: College friends, work friends, family, hobbyists.)
• There are three types of social ties: Strong, Weak and Temporary.  
• The stronger the social tie, the higher they influence us to buy products and services.
• Our brains can only keep up with a limited number of weak tie relationships.  For most people, that number is 150.
• People are increasing their reliance on social networks to make decisions.

With one in four people looking to spend less on their travel by as much as fifty percent this year, travelers are flocking online to find the best deals. More than ever, it’s imperative that travel companies capture the growing online bookings market by providing an optimum online customer experience.

Join us for this free webinar where we discuss this latest customer experience research and conclude with a best practice guide on how you can create the best customer experience for your customers. Webinar attendees will also receive a copy of this report free of charge.

When/Where:
Session 1: Europe & USA east coast
Time: 11:00am EST (16.00 hrs GMT)
Date: Thursday 25th February
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When/Where:
Session 2: USA & Latin America
Time: 11:00am PST (16.00 hrs EST)
Date: Thursday 25th February
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If you have any trouble registering for this webinar please contact marketing@fhios.com or call 0207 886 8245.