Traveler Search Usability Test ResultsConducted 4/2-9, 2013 Page 1

Traveler Search (Responsive Design)

Usability Test Results

Conducted by Jayne SchurickUsability Consultantjschurick@gmail.com

(408)353-1293

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Objectives• Determine what parts of the interface travelers are drawn to when looking for a rental, both

when they have specific criteria in mind and when they are browsing.

• Determine whether they notice and use the filters and sort option.

• Get feedback about the map – can users find it, is it clear and helpful, would they use it?

• Determine whether users can use the Favorites functionality (save, move, add note, and share).

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Test Format and Participants• Remote test using WebEx to allow participants to view and control the computer displaying the

prototype

• Conducted April 2-9, 2013

• 7 travelers:

– 6 used the site on a laptop

– 1 used it on an iPad

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Results Page• If just browsing, participants went straight to the

results. If they had specific criteria in mind, they discovered the filters.

• Some noticed that the location of the filters was different from the existing website; others didn’t. In general, moving the filters wasn’t considered a big deal. There was only one comment about the filters being slightly more convenient on the left because you don’t need to scroll to the top, but this wasn’t considered a problem.

• Most participants noticed and used the sort control but said they didn’t understand “HomeAway Sort.”

• Although no one mentioned the new placement of ads on the right, users might find this annoying, or they might learn to ignore them, as they do on a lot of websites (or click on them!).

• Most participants paid no attention to the featured listings either because they didn’t know why they are there and the listings don’t contain the same/enough information as those below, or they knew that owners paid more for these listings, but being featured doesn’t make the listings more interesting.

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Results Page• Another problem with the featured listings is that,

except for location, they don’t take the users’ filters into account. This is not only unhelpful after they’ve gone to the trouble of using the filters, but it makes it appear that the filters don’t actually work.

• Several participants noted, and didn’t like, the popups that appeared when scrolling the mouse over one of the featured listings because they get in the way of using the filters. (This seems to have been fixed on 4/10.)

• Participants did like the information contained in the popups. One participant was complaining about having to drill into a property to find its calendar when it happened to pop up on the results page; her comment: “This is grand!”

• The overall look of the page is stronger and the contrast is better than the existing site.

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Filters• While the location of the filters is more consolidated

on the new site, the lack of consistency might make them somewhat difficult to use, for example:

– Mix of links, radio buttons, and single selections.

– Some include “apply” and “clear” buttons and others don’t. Plus more filters includes a “cancel” button.

– “More” filters is really “all” filters.

– Price, Sleeps, and Bedrooms have different control types when shown as individual filters than when they are in more/all filters.

Inconsistencies like these probably won’t make the filters completely unusable, but they raise subtle questions in users’ minds and often cause users to go back and forth, comparing one list/filter against another to see what’s different.

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Location Filter• There were several comments about not knowing the

areas well enough to choose from the list of regions, or knowing the name of a town but not knowing what area it’s in. Several participants said they like the way VRBO displays a map of areas from which they can choose.

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Price Filter• The drop-downs need labels indicating “minimum”

and “maximum.”

• This filter shows prices per week, but most properties display prices per night, and most travelers think in terms of nightly rates.

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Sleeps (and Bedrooms) Filter• A couple of participants didn’t know what the

numbers in parentheses meant. Even though this is becoming fairly common on websites, I wonder if it’s truly useful information here.

• Some participants thought they were specifying an exact number (not n+), and were surprised and annoyed to see properties that slept more than what they indicated. (Note: I know from experience that if you’re traveling with 1 other person, you are annoyed to have to look at places that sleep 5 or more, and you end up having to filter these out in your head. Savvy users would sort instead of filter but it appears that most users think first about sorting by price.)

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More Filters• Most of the other filters don’t require users to

“apply” the filter so many users won’t look for or notice it on this page. Plus the apply button is below the fold on many monitors, so it will likely not be noticed. Regardless it seems that the filters don’t need to be applied, so what’s the point of including this functionality?

Page fold on a monitor with 768 pixels of vertical resolution.

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Map• Participants didn’t notice or recognize the map icon.

• However, when the map was pointed out to them, they generally found it useful and usable, although no one could explain the location icons (teardrops and circles). A couple, who had some favorites, noticed immediately, and liked, that these were marked with a red heart.

• Note that if the map is displayed and the user applies a filter, the display reverts back to the list view.

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Favorites, Notes, Sharing• Most participants weren’t aware of the Favorites

functionality. When pushed, however, they generally found it and the Share function.

• Most participants were surprised and disgruntled that Facebook pops up so prominently when they want to favorite a property. Even though this is becoming common on many websites, they misunderstood signing in using their Facebook account. No one looked at the link “Why use Facebook” and most didn’t notice that this is an alternative to creating an HA account.

• There are three instances of the Favorites icon, and all of them work differently:

– In the title bar, the heart links to the user’s Favorites page.

– In search results, it opens the menu of Favorites options.

– On the details page, it toggles between saving and unsaving.

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Favorites, Notes, Sharing• On the details page, most participants didn’t notice

that there is different functionality associated with clicking on the Favorites icon/button and the arrow to open the menu. Generally clicking anywhere on the control opens the menu.

• The menus are different depending on whether it’s on the search results page or details page. The one on the search results page seemed to be easier to understand and use.

• When asked to add a note to a favorite, participants generally found the Add Note function. Once the note was added, however, it wasn’t obvious which property it belonged to (the one above or the one below).

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RecommendationsGeneral Recommendations

• Consider a map display like VRBO that allows users to choose their region on a map.

• In the sort menu, consider changing “HomeAway Sort” to “Default.”

• Use a more recognizable map icon or add the word “map.”

• Explain the icons used on the map (teardrops and circles).

• If users are viewing the map and then apply filters, keep them on the map view.

Filters

• Make the filters more consistent:

– Use (or don’t use) Apply, Clear, and Cancel on all filters

– Use radio buttons or single selection

– Use the same controls for Sleeps and Bedrooms on the individual filters and more/all filters

• Add labels for minimum and maximum prices and show nightly rather than weekly prices.

• In the sleeps and bedrooms filters, consider not showing the number of properties in parentheses. These really crowd the drop-downs and makes the plus sign (+) hard to notice.

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Recommendations• Consider ways to let users choose (or limit) the number of bedrooms or sleeps.

• Rename “More Filters” to “All Filters.”

• In more/all filters, group the filters by those that appear as individual filters and those that are new in this display. This will help users form a better mental model of what is where.

• Consider applying the user’s filters to the featured properties list. This would make the website more believable, and would help travelers and owners alike.

Favorites

• Change the heart icon in the title bar to words: “View Favorites.”

• Use the same menu when adding to Favorites from search results and details, and preferably, use the menu that’s currently used in search results.

• On the details page, open the drop-down if users click anywhere on the control, i.e., don’t have different functionality for clicking on the control vs. opening the menu.

• Make signing in with Facebook less or of equal prominence to creating an account on HA.

• Better associate notes with the property it applies to.