Final in-class usability test

1. When you first saw the homepage, what did you think this web site was about?

Real Estate for off-campus.

2.   If you were a student looking for housing on this website, where would you go to find an available property to fit your standards?

Search at the top.

3.   If you wanted to find out more about our company and contacting us, how would you go about finding this?

About Us at the top.

4.   If you are a student at OSU and you wanted to create an account where would you go about doing this?

Sign In at the top, then New Member Sign Up.

5.   How can you tell that this website is available only to OSU students? 

Says it in big bold letters at the bottom.

6.   Once logged into your new account, where would you look to compare properties you recently viewed?

Hesitant, I don’t know. Oh, recently viewed, it’s on the right.

7.   If you are interested in reading reviews about one particular property, where might you find this?

Click property review on the certain location.

8.   If you are interested in finding out where off-campus you might want to live where might you go about doing this?

Search button at the top.

9.    Explain the path you would take to look for a list of available properties you are interested in by starting at the home page.

Search button at the top.

 10. Where would you write a review about a property?

Scroll down to the bottom and then write a review.

 11. In your opinion do you like the design elements chosen for this website?

Yes

 12. Would you have any comments or suggestions to improve our website overall?

-Maybe put the “Write a Review” at the top

-Search button blow the sidebar on the left, never used it, might not be necessary

- “Recently Reviewed” box blended in with the “Advertisement” boxes.

- Search side bar should look different (drop down boxes)

Other Changes:

*Add social links

*Change the look of the new members box (forms)

*Make tagline bigger and white

*Make “contact us” text all white

*Add another black line around the “O” in Oval Portal to match the rest of the text and make rest of the text bigger to match the size of the oval

*Anonymous name when writing a review

Usability Test with 2 Ohio State student commuters

Questions & Answers: 
 

1. When you first saw the homepage, what did you think this web site was about?

Matt: About finding housing and apartments by noticing, “featured properties”.

Tim: About property searches, looking for homes or apartments by looking at the screen and noticing the word properties and the features list… of bedrooms and bathrooms.

2.   If you were a student looking for housing on this website, where would you go to find an available property to fit your standards?

Matt: Use the search function to look for price and number of bedrooms.

Tim: Search button on the top.

3.   If you wanted to find out more about our company and contacting us, how would you go about finding this?

Matt: Hit the About Us button.

Tim: Click the obvious button, “About Us”.

4.   If you are a student at OSU and you wanted to create an account where would you go about doing this?
 
Matt: Hit the Sign In button.

Tim: Sign In button clearly at the top.

5.   How can you tell that this website is available only to OSU students? 

Matt: Requires a user name and password. Can’t tell if it is just for OSU. Now way to know.

Tim: Doesn’t seem available to OSU students, usually it’s something you have to sign in to. There’s nothing requiring it. (finally sees the “dot number” selection in the new members area).

6.   Once logged into your new account, where would you look to compare properties you recently viewed?

Matt: By signing in and maybe it stored it.

Tim: (accidentally skipped)

7.   If you are interested in reading reviews about one particular property, where might you find this?
 
Matt: Under property review (when he was looking on the list of properties page, he found it at the top)

Tim: Search section

8.   If you are interested in finding out where off-campus you might want to live where might you go about doing this?

Matt: Using the location option.

Tim: Search section at the top.

 9.    Explain the path you would take to look for a list of available properties you are interested in by starting at the home page.

Matt: (clicked on the “HOME” button) Put in price, number of bedrooms, and location into the search sidebar. Then hit search to see if it matches anything I selected.

Tim: (clicked on the “HOME” button) Look at the current featured property, then click the search button at the top.

 10. Where would you write a review about a property?

Matt: I don’t know if I’m suppose to write it in the footer, I don’t see a link that says “write a review”, I don’t know.

Tim: (looked through most of the pages) on the About Us page where you could get on a social media link or send an email. 
 
    When analyzing these outside-of-class tests I realized a certain pattern that emerged. There were several problems we will have to address to fix this confusion. Our two major issues dealt with writing reviews and associating our site to OSU. If we created a “write a review” button on almost every page of our website then it will be easier to find because our website should be known as being fast and convenient. We should also put in a link from the “write a review” button to go straight to the “sign in” page to let people know that you have to create an account in order to put in your opinion about a property. We should also add an area to write the opinion on each saved property in the account. If we added the words “Ohio State University” in the footer and/or in the “New Members” box then it should show who the website is directed towards because our persona's were focused on only OSU students; ones who already live on/around campus and ones who commute to campus. Adding specific colors will help portray who we are and hopefully get our audience to recognize the specific university as well. If we also asked a question about availability of properties in our script then we could figure out how to address this issue in our website because we mentioned this aspect at the beginning of our project.   

Outside-of-class Usability Testing

Individuals Interviewed:

1. Sabina (Off-Campus student; junior)

2. Grace (Dorm; Living off-campus next year; freshman)

3. Rebecca (Off-Campus student; junior)

Look at home page.
 

 -When you first saw this homepage, what did you think this web site was about?

Sabina: Housing Safari

Grace: Student Housing

Rebecca: Housing of some sort from the tagline

Questions:


1.     If you were a student looking for housing, where would you go to find an available property fit to your standards?

Sabina: After clicking in my standards in the left toolbar I would hit search and my results would appear.

Grace: Clicked on search page and said she would fill out her standards for what she was looking for.

            Rebecca: Probably sign in a go from there.

2.     If you wanted to find out more about our company and contacting us, how would you go about finding this?

Sabina: Clicked on the about us Page

Grace: Clicked on the about us Page

Rebecca: Clicked on the about us page

3.     If you are a student at OSU and you wanted to create an account where would you go about doing this? (Do not hit the sign up button just yet!)

Sabina: Clicked on the sign in button and would type in my information

Grace: Would click on the sign in button

Rebecca: Sign in Button

4.     How can you tell that this website is available only to OSU students?

Sabina: I assume that you can only sign up if you are a student. Notice the dot number

Grace: no idea

Rebecca: In New member sign up there is a dot number question

5.     Once logged into your new account, where would you look to compare properties you recently viewed?

Sabina: Right column

Grace: Right column

Rebecca: Right column

6.     If you are interested in hearing reviews about one particular property, where might you find this?

Sabina: Next to each image there is a Reviews link and at the bottom of the page there is a review section

Grace: Review Link next to each photograph

Rebecca: Clicked on Properties reviews from the user profile page

7.     If you are interested in finding out where on campus you might want to live where might you go about doing this?

Sabina: Click on the map

Grace: After filling out my standards I would look at the locations and see what is still available

Rebecca: From the home page I would click on the map

8.     Find the path you would take to look for a list of available properties you are interested in. (Go back to the home page)

Sabina: Clicked search button in toolbar

Grace: When filling out the standards in the left column I would make sure available options were to be shown

Rebecca: Clicked on Search button in toolbar

9.     Where would you write a review about a property?

Sabina: Cant seem to find an option of where to write a review.

Grace: See there is a reviews link but no where to physically write a review

Rebecca: After Rebecca searched for a couple mins she found it once she was signed in to her account.