CASE STUDY
Academic: 5 day Sprint. Heuristic Evaluation and Redesign
Present a 5-8 minute Stakeholder Presentation summarizing our Hueristic Review
Present a 5-8 minute presentation outlining a High Fidelity solution and redesign
Figma
5 days
Steph Lipton, Rejeanne De Jong, Patrick Wong
We worked as a team to deliver this as a whole.
For this project we were to imagine ourselves as UX designers at Emerge Technology, a growing consultancy based out of New York. The company is trying to win work and expand the client list. My team has decided to submit a response to an RFP. A design challenge has been issued that asks submissions to evaluate the usability of Expedia’s design product by conducting a heuristic evaluation and redesign.
We began with research. The highlights on Expedia’s Fiscal Year Highlights for 2019
Clearly the mobile division needs to be cognisant of the user for the sake of future sales.
Following the design general design of the current brand, we knew our design constraints would be as follows:
The primary font for Expedia was Centra No 1, however lacking budget, we settled with Lato Black and Medium as sufficient replacements:
The redesign would reflect primary brand colors:
We begin by examining the app and identifying points of opportunity within the flow with which we can engage our redesign. From there we review potential painpoints and identifying what we are looking for with a Heuristics Overview:
For this project, we went through a two tiered process. First we created a 5-8 minute pitch that summarized our heuristic evaluation in order to persuasively outline the how and why’s the changes were needed. Then we created another pitch that culminated in a presentation of our High Fidelity solution further reinforcing the how and whys, side by side with the realized design.
That changes we made to the Expedia App were as follows:
Heuristic Violation
Visibility of System Status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time
Observation
Expedia App does not show where the user is in the process of navigating the purchasing flow
Recommendation
Provide visual road mapping to be transparent in what steps the user is taking in their journey
Heuristic Violation
Visibility of System Status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time
Observation
Search results are automatically sorted by price.
There is no feedback informing users of this.
Recommendation
Provide feedback. Tell users what is happening when it happens. Offer sort functions on the same page immediately.
Heuristic Violation
Aesthetic & Minimalist Design
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed
Observation
The icons indicating Wi-Fi, entertainment and charging are bolder than relevant flight info in our search results
Recommendation
Adjust the contrast of the icons to not be as bold as compared to pertinant flight information
Heuristic Violation
Visibility of System Status
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing
Observation
The colours and style of the checkout screen seems completely different from the screens. Is this a third party page API?
Recommendation
Align the style of previous steps with the checkout page
Heuristic Violation
Visibility of System Status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time
Observation
The checkout screen “times out” and you lose your flight selection after a set time, but users are not made aware of any time limit.
Recommendation
Give your user feedback. Indicate a time limit on the checkout
Heuristic Violation
Error prevention
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution
Observation
For legal and security reasons, information on the tickets and with the airline MUST match what is found on the passport. There is no error prevention reinforced in verifying that the names of users match their passport.
Recommendation
Don’t let the error happen. Force the user to verify their full name and that it matches their passport. Verify that it is correct and allow them to continue only after they confirm it is correct so as to avoid any errors.
Heuristic Violation
Help & Documentation
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation
Observation
The checkout has a clearly substantial (4 screen) process. Throughout there is no interface to talk to someone to ask questions.
Recommendation
Offer support of any kind, or at least communication channels to help users with checking out.
When considering redesigns, the starting point should always be to consider opportunities in context of the painpoints, motivators and behaviors of our user needs. It should prioritize the needs of the user and utilize opportutinities to offer a clear path to design wth the interests of the user as the primary driver of changes. From start to finish, with our new solution, this was the intended goal; to design with the needs of the user as the primary reason to make change.
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