The Project

I had to conduct a complete usability study of a website of my choosing. I chose a restaurant that I was familiar with and knew was in need of a usability study. Layalina is a Mediterranean restaurant in Denton, TX that provides unique food, but whose site suffers from a lack of usability. This study had to consist of the following requirements:

• Survey 10 potential customers
• Interview 2 additional customers
• Create 2 personas
• Generate 4 journey maps
• Conduct a digital card sort with 12 participants
• Perform a heuristic evaluation
• Manage moderated and unmoderated think alouds
• Summarize the results into 1 deliverable report

The Process

I began the site study by distributing a survey to 10 potential customers. This survey consisted of 18 questions that related to the website, the participants’ dining habits, and basic demographic information. I followed this with 2 separate interviews of additional customers using 13 questions to assess their views on the site. All of this data was compiled and used to create 2 personas.

I used the personas to perform 4 separate journey maps. The information gathered from these journey maps would better inform my recommendations to Layalina.

I wanted to assess the menu layout of the site, so I conducted a digital card sort with 12 participants. Cards that represented menu items were created, and the participants sorted them in to categories that made sense to them. This data was represented by a similarity matrix generated from participant results.

The final parts of my study consisted of a heuristic evaluation using Xerox heuristics as well as moderated and unmoderated think aloud protocols. All of the think alouds consisted of 3 tasks that required users to interact with the site in different ways. I processed the unmoderated protocols using Camtasia software. This allowed me to produce video that focused on major site issues.

The Results

The point of this project was to conduct a thorough usability study of a website. Students were required to turn in a PDF that incorporated embedded video clips as well as data backing up conclusions. I successfully completed this assignment, and established conclusions that would help the client. The paper was written in a way that presented persuasive arguements to convince a client to adopt the suggested changes.

This was the most extensive assignment that I did while at UNT. It allowed me to learn skills that directly impact my career. I was able to apply these skills within 2 weeks of starting my current position, and conducting moderated and unmoderated think alouds are now a routine part of my work. In addition, I have created personas and conducted journey maps on several work assignments. At the present time, my team is assessing the viability of a new interface created for a client. I have had to write interview questions and think aloud protocols to assess how well employees are interacting with my company’s designs. The skills that I use on a daily basis were directly impacted by this assignment.