High-Fidelity Prototyping, Evaluation, and Client Analysis MaxiMart Shopping Mall - Report Example

High-fidelity Prototyping, Evaluation and Client Report Prototype feasibility In order to find out the prototype that would best serve the purpose of MaxiMart shopping mall, it was decided to create high-fidelity prototypes of the proposed prototypes given in the earlier assignment. This also helped in illustrating the feasibility of these prototypes, which later on aided in evaluating, comparing and selecting the best prototype. Further, these prototypes were tested through a sample survey. In order to find out about the feasibility of these prototypes the researcher asked some shoppers to test these prototypes. Around 15 users over two days were asked to test the prototypes. These users were given certain tasks and were asked a few questions after finishing their tasks. The results of these tasks helped in finding out which prototype would be better accepted by the users. The researcher also recorded the time taken by the user to complete each task and a comparison of the data was made to find out which prototype was efficient enough to save time. Each user took at least 40 minutes to complete the tasks which also included the time to explain about the prototypes and various procedures (Nielsen 1990). However, while conducting this study, the researcher only interviewed those who volunteered to become a part of the survey. These users were also asked to sign a written consent form before undertaking the tasks (Preece et al 2007). These tests were conducted on a one-on-one basis so that the reaction of each user could be recorded properly (Rubin 1994). Further, the users were asked to fill the questioners at the end of each task which later on helped the researcher to evaluate and find out the efficacy of each prototype and the best prototype among the two designs. First prototype: Due to the nature of the product, i.e. a directory for a shopping mall, it was decided that the prototype should be horizontal prototype rather than a vertical one. Research has already indicated that users find it easier to use horizontal prototypes (Rettig 1994). This was also proved by the user survey conducted to find out about the feasibility of this prototype. When the users were asked whether they liked the horizontal prototype, around 95 per cent said that they found it easier to use. The first prototype lets the user input the data by selecting alphabets through a keypad. It is considered to be a very user friendly design that lets the users to search the store by pressing the first letter of the store itself. Further, the design also does not require the user to conduct any additional actions for finding the store name other than just feeding in the first few characters of the name of the store. When the users were asked about this feature, most respondents said that although they found the feature to be user-friendly, they however, were not pleased by the speed of the system. As the system had to update itself constantly to give the search results, the time taken to display the results was too high. In some cases, the search took as much as a minute to display. This was quite irksome for the users and some even commented that finding the name in a physical directory would have taken lesser amount of time (Snyder 1996). In this prototype, the home page provided details about the shopping mall floor-by-floor and the entire layout of the floor was also displayed. Further, users could also get the information about the restrooms and dining area in this screen. When being asked about the feasibility of this screen, the users were initially very happy with the screen as it was a welcome break from a manual copy where the map or layout of a floor could be hardly read or understood by the users. They were happy with such an interactive feature that provided them a bird’s eye view of the entire floor. However, soon they deciphered many issues with the screen. They were particularly troubled by the fact that the screen did not allow them to navigate between floors. Further, it also did not display the nearest exit. Also, the users said that the screen should have also shown their current location on the screen so that they could find out nearest route to the shop easily (Snyder 1996). The first prototype also provides the feature of searching the entire directory of the shopping mall. In this screen that user is able to see the entire store listing, which is being sorted in alphabetical order. The users were again happy with this feature. They said that often they are not able to recall the entire name of the store or have vague memory about the store name. Such a listing would help them browse through the entire selection to find out the relevant store. They said this was definitely an improvement from using manual copies. However, they also suggested that the system should have customised features like searching for stores as per various categories, floor etc. In this prototype the users were also given the option to select their preferred language. They could read the instructions either in English, Chinese or Japanese. This was another plus with the users. However, most of them were not able to distinguish between the Chinese and Japanese scripts as both looked similar. Further, these users also did not know these languages. However, this pointed towards a very vital point that the design had to provide distinction between various languages, which was rectified in the second prototype. Second prototype: After analysing the first prototype, it was found that this prototype had a lot of gap areas. Therefore, in order to address these gap areas, a second prototype was built. This prototype was similar in nature to that of the first prototype but had many customisable features that provided greater flexibility to the users. Similar to the first prototype, this prototype also had a horizontal design. The researcher decided to do so as such a design is being easier to implement and provides better functionality than the vertical design (Rettig 1994). Further, the users had already said that they like the horizontal design of the first prototype. On seeing the second prototype also of a similar design, the users expressed their satisfaction. Just like the first prototype, the second one also allowed the users to input the data through a virtual keypad. Such a design is also user friendly and is not that complicated to use. Further, similar to the first prototype, users over here could also find out about the store by feeding in the first few letters of the store. However, instead of getting a live update about the store as in the first prototype, in this one, the users are required to press the search button to get the result. This helped in lowering the time taken to find out the information about the store. When the researcher asked about this added feature to the users, most of them appreciated this feature as it took lesser time for the result to appear. However, some also felt that it involved using another step of initiating the search, which is often tedious. This prototype provided some added feature in the home screen. Similar to the first prototype, this design also provide a floor-by-floor layout. However, the user in this design could navigate between the floors easily. The three stories of the shopping mall were indicated by the three numbers at the right-hand corner of the screen and the user could easily jump to the next level by clicking on the desired floor number. Further, the user is also being notified about his or her current location on the floor layout in this design. Also, the user could also zoom in and out the floor layout. The users were quite appreciative about this design. They particularly liked the navigation function that helped them to easily move between the floors without having to come out of the main screen. This prototype retains the same features when it comes to searching the entire directory of the shopping mall. The user could find the listing of all the stores in this screen, sorted according to alphabetical order. Only one new feature was introduced in this screen that of a scroll bar, which allowed the users to easily scroll the data. The users were already happy about this screen and appreciated the introduction of the scroll bar very much. They also liked the search by categories feature a lot. In this screen, the user could also combine multiple categories for their search results. For instance, the user can search for multiple categories by selecting female, clothing and sporting goods. This search indicates that the person wants to shop for sporting apparels for female. Such narrowing down of searches was highly valued by the users. The second prototype also had the three languages given the first one, as it would have been difficult to incorporate more languages at this stage. Further, instead of the language script, this screen reflected the flag of country where the language had originated. For instance, to showcase that the prototype was using UK English, the Union Jack was represented. The users’ reaction was mixed for this feature. They said although the flags did make it easier for them to identify the language better, they still were looking forward to see the instructions in more commonly used languages such as US English, Spanish and French. Finding an efficient prototype After analysing both the prototypes and evaluating the reactions of the users, it was found that the second prototype was much better a solution for this type of requirement. The first prototype was merely an interactive version of a manual directory. It had many user issues such as lack of flexibility, user-friendliness and customisation. The first prototype did not provide the facility to navigate between different floors. Further, due to the live update search feature used in the first prototype, the users had to wait for a long time to get the results. This prototype although provided the entire directory listing to the users, however, did not offer them the feature of customising the search results as per various categories. The users also were confused about the language feature given in the first prototype. The second prototype on the other hand was able to bridge these gap areas. It was designed as a better version of the first prototype. Although, this prototype was similar to that of the first one, it still had many added features that helped in customising the prototype as per the user’s requirements. The first and the foremost feature that the user appreciated the most was the navigation facility provided by this prototype to juggle between various floors. Further, they also liked the feature of pointing at the location where the user was currently standing. The user said that this feature helped them in finding the route to their desired store in a better manner. This prototype also added the search button in the search for store screen. Now the user had to go an extra step by pressing the search button to find out about the store. This helped in cutting the time to get the search results. Similar to the first prototype, this one also gave an option to the user to read through the entire directory listing. However, a scroll bar was added to this screen for easier navigation. Also, the users were not able to customise their searches by performing searches based on categories. Further, the users were also able to recognise the language easily on the screen due to the use of the flag of the country of the language’s origin. However, in spite of so many changes, the researcher decided that the second prototype still needed more modifications and after undertaking these created a final prototype which was again tested by the user. Final prototype After analysing the user comments and the second prototype in detail, it was found that a few more modifications in the second prototype would make it a perfect prototype to be used in the shopping mall. Thus, in this final prototype, the researcher built it keeping in mind the end-user’s needs and requirement. This was also being made highly flexible and customisable. The virtual keypad of this final prototype was kept similar to that of the second prototype. However, it was also made clutter-free along with being user-friendly. The researcher added the feature of hide numbers button in this screen. The user could still search by typing in the first few alphabets of the store. However, the live update feature was taken off, as it was found that the feature used to take too much of time to update the screen. Therefore, the search button was retained, although it meant adding another step to get the result. However, it reduced the time taken to get the final results. The home screen of the final prototype was similar to that of the second prototype. It provides all the details of each and every floor and gave easier navigation tool to switch between two floors. Further, the user could also find out about his or her current location. It had the feature of zooming in and out of the layout as well. The users liked the home screen and appreciated the fact that it was not changed. They found this screen to be a very user friendly one as all the features of the screen was presented upfront. In the final prototype, the user could use the full directory search feature in the similar manner as it used in the second prototype. Further, this prototype also retained the features for letting the user customise his or her search by providing them the feature of searching by multiple categories. In the language selection screen, the final prototype used the same screen as that of the second prototype. However, the researcher also incorporated the suggestions given by the users about including more language option in this screen. Therefore, the researcher included US English, Spanish and French language in this screen. The selection of these three languages was done based on the survey, wherein the users gave maximum preference for these languages. However, instead of cluttering the page by giving too many icons of the flags of the country where the language was originated, the researcher decided to add a scroll bar that indicated that more language options are available in the screen. The store location screen went through a major redesigning. In the previous prototypes, this screen just displayed the store layout. However, in the final prototype, a bubble was added to help the user in identifying the route to be taken to reach the desired floor. For instance, the bubble would show from where the user can take an escalator or elevator to reach the desired floor. Further, each map was given separate zoon icons. This meant that the user could even zoom in the bubble to find out the exact location of the escalator. This design also took care of the disabled people and provided the route that disabled people can take to reach their destination within the shopping mall. Further, alternate routes were also provided in case the user preferred to take stairs instead of elevators or escalators (Virzi et al 1995). The users liked this feature a lot. They said that it was definitely a very big improvement from the second prototype. They liked the concept of providing routes in the bubble within the same screen of the floor layout, as it helped them in locating the site in an easier manner. Also, they appreciated the fact that the researcher thought about providing alternate routes for health conscious people who might prefer taking stairs rather than elevators or escalators. Further, the users applauded the thoughtfulness of the researcher for helping the disabled people find out about disabled accessible routes without any help. In the final prototype, the users were provided with a very user-friendly screen to find the nearest washroom. This screen was redesigned in a similar manner to that of the finding the store screen. Although, this screen does not show a bubble describing the route to take to get to the washroom, it instead indicates the route that one needs to take to reach the nearest washroom located in the floor the user is currently standing. Users were also provided with the option to find an alternate route. Further, the disabled people could also find disable-friendly route easily in this screen. The researcher also labeled the washroom clearly with an icon of the washroom instead of a star. The users were again appreciative of these added features. They particularly praised the researcher for adding the disabled route feature and said that the inclusion of such a feature has certainly raised their respect for the shopping mall. One of the most important additions that were done in the final prototype was that of finding the nearest exit. It has been seen that most people are not aware about the exits in a shopping mall, even the ones they frequent regularly. Further, even when the exits are labeled properly, it might take a long time for the people to take the right route to reach the exit point. Therefore, such a screen, especially in times of crisis could be of immense help. It would help the users in finding out the best possible route to the nearest exit. The look and feel of this screen was kept the same as the finding a store and finding washrooms screens. This was done so that the all the design remains consistent and the user does not get confused. Report and findings This section is intended for the owner of MaxiMart shopping mall. In this section, the researcher provides a clear outline of the processes undertaken by the researcher to create two prototypes of a virtual shopping mall directory, to conduct a through user research to find out the best of the two prototypes, to modify the selected prototype as per the user requirements and create a final prototype to be implemented in the mall. First and foremost, the researcher discussed about possible prototypes for the shopping mall. It conducted an initial survey to find out what were the problems users were facing with a manual directory. This survey revealed that manual directories were too much of a hassle as these were bulky and required too much of patience to find the information. Users also complained that a manual directory is often not organised properly and the user would have to conduct various manual searches to find the required information. Also, the users stated that often such a directory is not maintained properly and people tear the pages or soil the directory. This also results in losing of valuable information. Often it has been found that these directories are kept at the reception and can only be accessed if someone is present at the reception. This results in delaying in finding the information. Therefore, the initial research revealed that the shopping mall required an interactive directory that could provide real-time information to the shoppers. Thus, the researcher created a prototype that provided an alternative to manual directories. This directory provided many interactive and user-friendly features. It helped in providing the information in a cohesive manner as well as representing it in a graphical form, which provided much more impact on the users. Further, it was decided to create this prototype using a horizontal design. It was found that such a design is better accepted among the users than the vertical ones, as it could be read much more easily. Further, it is also easier to implement a horizontal prototype design (Rettig 1994). The researcher also decided to provide a virtual keypad for the users to input the data into the system. The user could search for a specific store name just by entering the first four letters of the store and it would automatically search for the desired name. However, this automated search option slowed down the system and the search results often took a longer amount of time to display on the screen. A floor-by-floor display of the stores was also given through this prototype. It also provided information about the restrooms and dinning area at the bottom of the screen. This prototype also focused on providing full directory search feature and the users were provided with the entire listing of the stores in the shopping mall, sorted in alphabetical order. Further, the prototype also allowed the users to choose from three language options. After developing this first prototype, it was tested among its target audience to find out about its feasibility. In order to conduct this test, the prototype was developed into a high-fidelity prototype. The prototype was then put to test through a sample survey wherein around 15 users were asked to carry out certain tasks on the prototype and thereafter fill a questioner detailing about their experience using this prototype. The researcher also noted down the time taken by the users to complete each task. However, while conducting the test, it was taken care of to only interview those people who were willing to become a part of the survey. These people were even asked to sign a written consent form even before starting the test (Preece et al 2007). The researcher conducted the test on a one-to-one basis so that the individual reaction could be measured in a proper manner (Rubin 1994). This measurement of the user experience helped the researcher in finding out the efficacy of the prototype and the gap areas in the first prototypes. Once the researcher could identify these gap areas, he started to work on them and created a second prototype. This prototype become much more interactive and contained various user-friendly features as well. Further, this prototype provided customisable features and greater flexibility to the users. Similar to the first prototype, it also had a horizontal design and virtual keypad. Only difference was that instead of using a live update, the user was required to press on search button to get the result. The home screen went through a major redesigning and incorporated the navigation facility which allowed the users to switch between various floors in the same screen. Further, the user could also zoom in and out of the floor layout. The user was also able to find out about his current location. The other changes undertaken in this prototype was again minor in nature. For instance, the language screen showcased the languages in terms of the flag of the country where the language was being originated rather than the script of the language. This prototype also added the feature of category search which helped the users to customise their searches by choosing multiple categories. Similar to finding about the loopholes in the first prototype, the researcher conducted another survey of the users with the second prototype. This was done primarily to find out the best possible prototype for the shopping mall. This also helped in illustrating the feasibility of these prototypes, which later on aided in evaluating, comparing and selecting the best prototype. The results of these tasks helped in finding out which prototype would be better accepted by the users. After conducting the study on the second prototype, the results of the survey were analysed to come out with a final prototype. Although, the final prototype was similar to that of the second prototype, some modifications were conducted to create the prototype as per the users’ requirements. Some of the main features of the final prototypes were the detailed display of the floor layout and the provision of the shortest route between the present location and the intended site. Further, this prototype was also appreciated for the inclusion of disable friendly features. Reference: Nielsen, Jakob 1990. Paper versus Computer Implementations as Mockup Scenarios for Heuristic Evaluation. Human-Computer Interaction-Interact `90, D. Diaper et. al. (ed.) Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North Holland), 315-320. Preece, Jenny, Rogers, Yvonne & Sharp, Helen 2007. Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Rettig, Marc 1994. Prototyping for Tiny Fingers (Everything I Need to Know About Prototyping, I Learned In Kindergarten). Communications of the ACM. Rubin, Jeffrey 1994. Handbook of Usability Testing. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Snyder, Carolyn 1996. Using Paper Prototypes to Manage Risk. Software Design and Publisher Magazine. Virzi, Robert A, Sokolov, Jeff, & Karis, Demetrios 1995. Usability Problem Identification Using Both Low- and High-Fidelity Prototypes. Read More