{"id":3368,"date":"2022-11-03T11:15:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2022-11-03T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T15:15:11","slug":"individual-assignment-3-representative-user-test-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/?p=3368","title":{"rendered":"Individual Assignment 3: Representative User Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>Website Being Evaluated<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"824\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM-1024x824.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM-1024x824.png 1024w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM-300x242.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM-768x618.png 768w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM-1536x1236.png 1536w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-8.54.31-PM.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The website being evaluated is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sarahmaker.com\/\">Sarah Maker<\/a>. It is a crafting tutorial site for multiple mediums including crochet, knitting, punch needle, cricut, quilting, tie dye, and more. The website is organized by medium, and the tutorials are given in blog post format with photo examples vs. video.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Users<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The users of the site will be people interested in crafting and be of various skill level. I can see anyone from beginners to advanced crafters using this site for their crafting needs. The users will be creative with artistic tastes\/interests and will most likely respond well to visuals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our group persona is a social-media savvy young woman who is just starting her journey in crochet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I did not have someone available who would fit this persona, so my user is a highly advanced tech male in his mid 30\u2019s. He has a computer science degree and works in cyber security. While he is interested in creating \u2013 he dabbles in 3D printing and painting vs. the more fiber\/yarn-based crafts on this website. I think this effected his choice of Christmas gift tutorial \u2013 he is way more practical minded and less \u201ccutesy\u201d when it comes to tastes, which may not be accurate for above persona.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The User Test Method<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The user test method utilized was the Think Aloud method. He sat at a computer while I sat at a chair next to him. I asked him to narrate his process as much as possible and took notes while he completed them. I chose this method because it was a great option as far as tools available went as well as created a relaxed environment for the user to narrate and complete the tasks. I was able to sit and closely observe their process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Tasks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I stuck to the original tasks which were as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 1: Find instructions for a complete crochet beginner who has no idea where to even start with the craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 2: Learn what different types of yarn and thread are good for different types of crafting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 3: Find a beginning crochet project that would make a good holiday gift for friends or family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Analysis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Task 1 he started at the home page. First instinct was to click Crochet from navigation. This landing page is very wordy and he did not spend time reading it carefully and instead scanned the text, completely missing the paragraph about beginning to learn crochet. He noted that the links are way too close in color to the body text and were hard to see. He also noted that the visuals on this page were hard to differentiate from the advertisements. This caused him to glaze over the first few visuals\/links at first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"881\" height=\"773\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.37.36-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.37.36-AM.png 881w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.37.36-AM-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.37.36-AM-768x674.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When he got to the bottom of the page he exclaimed quite exasperatedly \u201cTHERE ARE 15 PAGES?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.38.33-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.38.33-AM.png 936w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.38.33-AM-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.38.33-AM-768x386.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once he realized that the images above are links and not ads he scrolled up and clicked \u201c27 Free Tunisian Crochet Patterns\u201d. I asked why he went with this one and he said it was because it mentioned \u201cBeginner friendly\u201d in the title whereas the others said \u201cBeginner to Advanced\u201d so he thought that would be the better option for him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here he scrolled down a bit and made note on how much text there was, while not reading any of it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clicked Tunisian hooks link under supplies and led him to Amazon. Said would buy this if starting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Went back to site and saw the first pattern \u2013 liked the look of it so he read the details. Noted he liked how clear this part is. Large image, brief description, suggested yarn, and clear link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"847\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.42.59-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.42.59-AM.png 847w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.42.59-AM-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.42.59-AM-768x579.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It leads to a tutorial on another site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point I slightly led, because I think he was a little confused on task and getting away from himself. So, I said \u201cif you didn\u2019t even have a clue on how to read a pattern and were just looking for the extreme basics, like stitches and casting on. Where would you go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Went back to the crochet landing page from navigation and read the top content more closely. Finally found the small link to the Crochet for Beginners Guide mentioned in very first sentence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"873\" height=\"578\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.45.59-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.45.59-AM.png 873w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.45.59-AM-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.45.59-AM-768x508.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On this page he mentions he likes the photos but would probably go to YouTube later for video tutorials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting again on the homepage, went to Crafts from navigation. Read list and decided that was not where he needed to be. Then clicked Knitting from navigation. Sat for a bit lost on where to go, then noticed the Search bar.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using the search bar, he searched \u201cTypes of Yarn\u201d. Made note that he had no idea what any of the terms meant, for example \u201cWorsted\u201d, \u201cYarn Weight\u201d, etc. Because of this he decided not to click on any of the links and instead adjusted his search to \u201cBest Types of Yarn\u201d \u2013 this produced the same results. He clicked out of search and exclaimed that at this point he would give up and use google to find a different website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Task 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, started from the homepage and then went to the Crochet landing page from the top navigation. Scrolled down the long page and passed over the Christmas themed patterns and went to page 2 instead. When asked why he didn\u2019t click those he said he thought they were a lame gift idea and wanted to go with something more practical, that people could use year-round.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead chose \u201c25 Gift Ideas\u201d link because the visual spoke to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.53.57-AM-1024x565.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.53.57-AM-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.53.57-AM-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.53.57-AM-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.53.57-AM.png 1058w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On this page he started to scroll down and stopped at the holiday list. He noted that he didn\u2019t like that only Christmas and Valentine\u2019s Day were links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"556\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.54.58-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.54.58-AM.png 706w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-10.54.58-AM-300x236.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kept scrolling and started reading a bit. Got annoyed when his reading was interrupted by the shadow effect that happens when you scroll over the email forms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also made note that it is annoying to have to scroll through each pattern one at a time instead of seeing them all at once to determine more quickly which one you would like to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Had to scroll for a bit until he came to a project he liked: \u201cEasy Crochet Can Cozy\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clicked \u201cContinue Reading\u201d to learn this pattern. Started reading the pattern a bit and missed the links up top that would teach the 6 Basic Crochet Stitches for Beginners. Saw lower that he needed the Moss Stitch for this pattern, but that there wasn\u2019t a clearly labeled link or tutorial for this stitch. Scrolled back up and clicked the stitch link. Used \u201cCommand F\u201d to search \u201cMoss Stitch\u201d on this page. Then had to click another link to finally get to the moss stitch tutorial. Needed to navigate 3 pages just to find the stitch tutorial needed for this pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Design Suggestions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>My design recommendations for this website would have the goal of reducing search time for the users. Each task in the analysis took quite a long time to complete. To do this I would do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reducing scrolling needed by revaluating the architecture of the pages \u2013 this can be done by creating clear categories that can be seen before the fold of the homepage. Instead of placing important links in content blocks, move them out into clear CTA buttons and lastly placing the tutorials in a gallery format vs. one on top of the other.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigation: the navigation can be organized more successfully by matching the categories linked on homepage: <span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Crochet, Knitting, Punch Needle, Cricut, Quilting<\/span>, Tie-Dye<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Vs. having quite a few of the crafts hidden under the \u201cCrafts\u201d category<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would also place dropdowns underneath each of the top navigation links and would have a clear link for beginners guides underneath the navigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other suggestions: remove shading effect over email forms and create videos for users (to keep them on this site instead of competitors on youtube)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The website being evaluated is&nbsp;Sarah Maker. It is a crafting tutorial site for multiple mediums including crochet, knitting, punch needle, cricut, quilting, tie dye, and more. The website is organized by medium, and the tutorials are given in blog post format with photo examples vs. video.&nbsp; The users of the site will be people interested &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/?p=3368\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Individual Assignment 3: Representative User Test&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-group-arts-and-crafts","category-representative-user-test"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3376,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions\/3376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~pmarty\/5275\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}