Streamlining Browsability on GeekWire

Overview: For this class project, GeekWire wanted to obtain a deeper understanding of the current usability issues affecting their site. They also wanted to create a mobile-first, responsive version of their site. So we employed a user-centered approach that focused on simplifying the navigation of their mobile site (and, ultimately, their desktop site) in a way that did not impact GeekWire’s business needs.

Goal (objective): Mixed-methods evaluative research to assess how users were able to navigate the GeekWire site so that we can find opportunities for improving the usability on both desktop and mobile platforms.

Team: I collaborated with two UX designers.

Duration: Mar - Apr 2021

Methods: survey, competitive analysis, usability tests, sitemap, heuristics evaluation, prototyping

Role: 

• Conducted a heuristics evaluation to identify usability issues affecting the GeekWire site.

• Created the survey questionnaire to ensure that our questions were properly phrased, ordered, and aligned with our research objectives before launching it.

• Crafted a problem statement based on survey data analysis; developed a user persona based on problem statement and survey findings.

• Conducted a competitive analysis of tech new sites to examine their layouts and features as well as identify opportunities for improvement.

• Created the usability test script to ensure our questions were properly phrased, ordered, and aligned with our objectives prior to testing.

• Developed a sitemap for determining the site’s content structure prior to redesigning it

User Survey Insights:

• The GeekWire website is cluttered by content and ads. This overwhelms users and causes them to opt for other sources of tech news that provide a more streamlined, browsable, and user-friendly experience. 

• Users also found it difficult to browse news articles by topic.

End result:

• Provided clearly labeled category titles as well as headlines and bylines for news articles.

• Placed trending news articles near the top to make them more visible to users.

• Reduced ad space so that users were better able to find news articles.

• Created a MyWire account page to make the site more personalized for users.

Next steps:

• Create the desktop screens, conduct usability tests on these screens, and make changes based on user feedback.

Reflections:

• One thing I would have done differently is conduct card sorting tests after analyzing the survey results in order to determine how users would best organize content. These card sort findings would help inform the layout and content structure of our site before proceeding to design.

• I learned the importance of trusting your teammates, but not taking that trust for granted. So we checked in with each other regularly to hold each other accountable while staying on track to complete the project on time.