Daisy Castillo User Test 3B

Website: (http://www.gophermafia.com)

General Summary: User was to perform tasks navigating through the Gopher Mafia Games Website. This website is the online presence of the actual physical store that is located in Champaign, IL. The user was greeted, given an introduction, and asked if he could participate in testing some of the features of the website. The participant was then given the tasks for which he would attempt to find the answer to. It was conveyed that the purpose of these tasks was to take an in depth look at what on the site needed improvements and overall change. User was given a total of six tasks, one being mobile, therefore a laptop and phone would be required. As the user completed these tasks, he would be asked to think out loud, so that he may be observed. Once user test concluded, participant would be thanked.

User Details: User was a male who is 33 years old and works as an industrial engineer. He utilizes a computer at work daily and knows his way around navigating specific databases geared towards his line of work. However, he is not knowledgeable about interface design, coding, etc. The user is not a gamer, but plays video games socially every once in a while.

User Initial Reaction: From the very beginning the user was completely turned off by the site as he felt it was outdated, not visually appealing, and a bit slow. His first reaction was not a positive one towards because he felt there was no real site identity present.

User Test

Task one: When will there be an upcoming singles tournament?

●The user paused on the homepage then clicked on the ‘Special Events’ tab, browsed the calendar, took about 45 second doing all of this. Then he scrolled to the bottom of the page, clicked on the ‘October’ link and gave his answer which was, “October 12, Warhammer 40k singles tournament”. He was correct.

Observer Note: Due to the fact that the user did not know how to move forward to the next month’s calendar because the option was at the bottom of the calendar instead of the top, I think this caused him to second guess himself. The months are labeled in red font and there is no way of knowing it is clickable until you move your mouse over it and the link fades, which is also not that great of an indication. The line that reads ‘Event for 10/2019’ at the top of the calendar is barely even noticeable, which causes more confusion. All of this is a hindrance to users because of visibility. I thought the user would go to special events as his first option instead he looked at homepage first. I think I expected him to go to special events right away, but I can see how it could also be misleading that the homepage has a column in the right side that lists upcoming events.

Task two: Find the return policy for Gopher Mafia Games (this task was to de done on a mobile device).

●Accessed website on iphone, then clicked on option icon on top left to open different tabs. User picked the ‘FAQ’ tab and then clicked on the question “What is the Gopher Mafia Games return policy?” The user then proceeded to find the answer being that if there is no damage to product and the customer has their receipt then full store credit will be given within only the first 30 days.

●Although this was task two, I had the user complete this task at the very end of all the others because it was the mobile one and because he had already completed all the other tasks I think it was easier for him to think about going to the ‘FAQ’ tab first because he had seen the question already in his previous navigation for other searches. All in all, I had expected the user to search this exact tab.

●I think the user seemed to find the mobile site a bit easier to navigate, perhaps because the option tabs seemed more obvious and apparent to him in this type of mobile interface. However, I did find it interesting because the mobile interface is exactly like the one viewed on a desktop. I assumed the user would find it a bit more challenging, but it seems he felt it was the other way around.

Observer Note: The user found this task not as difficult because he had already navigated through the site on a laptop and the online site is exactly the same with just minor differences. Interestingly enough, he said he would prefer to view the site on his phone rather on the laptop. The user never looked at any other tab besides the ‘FAQ’ tab because of the experience he had with the previous tasks, seems he felt more prepared.

Task three: Find out how a personal event is scheduled?

●User clicked on homescreen, browsed and then scrolled down to the bottom of the page to look at contact information. Then clicked on the ‘contact us’ tab and looked over it as it takes you directly to a way of sending an email/message and decided to click out of it into the ‘FAQ’ tab. He then looks at the questions asked and clicks on the one labeled “How do I schedule an event?” he then realizes the answer says that he must use the ‘contact us’ tab to send a message with his event info.

●This question took him the longest to figure out as he kept second guessing himself going over to the home page and reading all his options then going over to the contact us tab as well as the FAQ several times.

●This task took the user about 4-5 minutes to complete.

Observer Note: I found it interesting that the user kept hesitating with this particular task because I personally would have also. I do not think it is very clear how you are able to schedule an event and it seems there is some back and forth with the ‘FAQ’ tab and the ‘Contact us’ tab. I think that for a first time user it can be very misleading as to how to properly schedule an event. I am also curious if you could only do it through the contact us tab via email, or by also calling is an actual option. There is no information on this. He seemed frustrated he could not find the proper answer to this task right away, which I understand as it could be tough with some of the back and forth information on the site. He eventually realized that it was the ‘contact us’ tab in which he had to inquire to host an event.

Task four: What is the address of the physical Gopher Mafia Store?

●Due to the fact the user had prior experience looking for this type of information he quickly went to the homepage to the bottom of the page to look for the actual location address. He was able to find the answer to this question that way.

●Without prior knowledge of Gopher Mafia Games he was not aware it was also a physical location, nonetheless, he mentioned he found this task the easiest so far.

Observer Note: This seemed to be the easiest task out of all of them simply because the user had some prior knowledge on how to look for company location information. He mentioned in most sites he has visited that it tends to be at the bottom of the homepage or the contact tab, so he said he knew already where to look for the answer. I found some truth in his response as my experience looking for this type of information has always also came down to finding it at the bottom of the homepage. User never looked anywhere else but homepage. I think this was so because he has prior experience looking for company information.

Task five: You are a new Magic the Gathering card collector and player, find out whether you can buy and sell cards for your collection at this store?

●User looked on homepage again and read over the information on it once more. Hesitant on which tab to click he ran the mouse over all of them, before deciding to click on ‘contact us’. He thinks about it for a few more seconds then changes his mind and clicks on the ‘FAQ’ tab finding the answer under the question “Do you buy Magic the Gathering singles and/or collections?” He finds that the answer is yes, cards are bought at 0.99 cent value or less at bulk rates.

●Since the user does not play with cards he found this question a bit confusing and was not sure how to begin his search for it.

Observer Note: This task was more specific as it centered on the Magic the Gathering game, so I kind of assumed it would not be as easy to find and it would take him sometime. I found it intriguing that he first went to the ‘contact us’ page because personally I would have picked the ‘FAQ’ tab first. The user never thought of going to ‘FAQ’ first even though there were several answers to some questions there. Considering he had gone to the ‘FAQ’ section by this time, quite a few times. I think he believed the answer would be on the homepage or another tab.

Task six: Find out how many different Role Playing Games (RPG) are available to play at this location (this task was optional, but decided to ask it).

●This question required the user to know some gamers lingo such as the acronym RPG which is used on the website. Thus, it took him a very long time to understand this as there was no exact explanation on the site.

●Since the user had navigated the site well enough by this point, he decided to return to the homepage as he remembered seeing something about RPG on there. He scrolled till he saw the link ‘RPG’s now listed on Warhorn’ he clicks on that link which directs him to another page that has another link that is highlighted and says “click here for current listings: RPG Gopher Mafia Games”. The user is taken to www.warhorn.net which requires him to create an account if he would like to attend these events. The user stops there and does not continue any further as he has no intention of creating an account.

Observer Note: Out of all the tabs this was the toughest because it would require the user to know what RPG stands for and if you do not come from a gaming background that may harder to decipher. I speak from my own personal experience as I did not know what that acronym stood for. The website makes the assumption users already will know what RPG means. As I had assumed the user had a challenging time with this task. User never looked anywhere else but homepage because he remembered seeing the word RPG in the home screen. Therefore, he knew he would be able to find the answer there.

Redesign Speculations:

●Clearer font size and color, as well as overall color scheme

●Different formatting of home page and several of the other page tabs.

●More information as to what the identity of the site is.

●Use of more inclusive language so that anyone who visits the site could understand references.

●Make the search bar more visible.

●Change the events calendar to make sure it is less confusing.

●Make some edits and adjustments to contact via email format.

Mobile Address: Task two addressed how to navigate the mobile site. However, much changes need to be made to the mobile interface as well such as:

●Better formatting of the tabs

●Changing the events calendar as the events are not as easily viewable

●Adding more content to the homepage

●Changing of font colors