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8/6/2019 3pdf Mobile Usability White Paper
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MobileUsabilityWhitePaper
February2006UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved.
UserVisionLimitedFocusingontheuserexperiencePhone: 01312250850 Fax: 01312253609 Email: info@uservision.co.uk Web: www.uservision.co.uk
RegisteredinScotlandNo.: 204097. Registeredoffice:55NorthCastleStreet,Edinburgh,EH23QA
mailto:info@uservision.co.ukmailto:info@uservision.co.uk8/6/2019 3pdf Mobile Usability White Paper
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MobileUsabilityComparison 09/04/2008
1.ExecutiveSummaryThisWhitePaperreportwascompiledbyusabilityconsultancyUserVision,basedonaresearchstudywhichsetouttoexamine,indetail,theusabilityofmobilephonehandsets.Theaimoftheresearchwastoidentifyexamplesofbestpracticeinhandsetandapplicationdesignandtorecommendareasforimprovement.TheresearchtooktheformofacomparativeusabilityevaluationoffourofthelatesthandsetsfromOrange,Nokia,SamsungandSonyEricsson,allofasimilarspecificationandallrunningontheOrangenetworkforconsistency.Thestudyfocusedonbothproductdesignandapplicationsfromtheenduserperspective;andwasconductedusingninetestsubjectswhohadaminimumthreeyearsexperienceusingamobile,andhadneitherusedorownedanyofthetestphones.Awithin subjects designwasemployedwherethesubjectswereaskedtoperformthreetasksoneachofthefourmobilephonesforwhichtheorderofpresentationwasrandomized.Thetaskswereasfollows:
Task1:SendingatextmessagetoaspecifiednameinthePhoneBook. Task2:Changingthephonescurrentringtone. Task3:AccessingtodaysnewsfromtheBBCwebsite.
TheevaluationwasconductedattheUserVisionfacilityduringOctober2005.Theninesubjectswereaskedtoperformeachofthetasksoneachofthefollowingfourmobilephones:
OrangeSPVE200 Nokia6630 SamsungD500 SonyEricssonS700i
Themethodologyemployedwasasfollows: Post task questionnairecompletedaftereachtask Post phone questionnairecompletedaftereachindividualphonetest Post test questionnairecompletedaftertestingallfourphones(toprovideacomparison
betweenthephonestested)Inaseparatebutrelatedpieceofresearchwesurveyed144peopleaboutthefactorsthataremostimportanttothemwhenchoosingaphone. Thesamplewasmadeupoftheninesubjectswhichtookpartintheuser test studyandafurther135respondentsselectedfromUserVisionsdatabase.Thefullresultsofthisresearchstudyarealsoincludedinthisreport.
UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved. Page2
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MobileUsabilityComparison 09/04/2008
ObjectivesTheoverallobjectiveofthestudywastogatherempiricalqualitativeandquantitativeevidenceoftheabilityofuserstocompletecommontasksusingarangeofhandsets,andtoidentifyanydifficultiesencountered.Theaimsofthestudywerethereforeasfollows:
Tocompareandcontrastfourmobilephonehandsetsintermsofbothapplicationandproductdesign Toevaluatetheextenttowhichtheysucceededinattemptingeachtask,andthe
problemsencountered Toexaminetheextenttowhichusersweredissatisfiedorsatisfiedwiththeoverall
experience,providingratingsforeachhandset Toinvestigateusersattitudestowardstheperceivedimportanceofarangeofphone
attributes Togenerateaseriesofusabilityrecommendationsforthedesignofmobilephonehandsets.
Figures1and2:MobileUsabilityTestingatUserVision
2.FindingsThissectiondetailsthestudyfindingsforeachofthehandsetsinturn.3.1 OrangeSPVE200UsabilityFindingsGeneral Thehomekeyisanexcellentfeaturebecauseitactsasashortcut(escape)
outofacomplicatedinterface.Occasionally,subjectsthoughtthehomeiconmightrepresentthehomepageofawebpage.Manysubjectsexpectedtheredhang up buttonwouldtakethembacktothehomescreen.
Subjectsoftenfoundtheuseofthedirectionalandselectjoysticktobeawkwardandcumbersome,particularlywhenmovingleft,right,upordown.Carryingouttheselectactionwasparticularlyfrustratinganddifficultbecausetheyneededtopressthejoystickdownwards,oftenmistakenlypressinginanotherdirectionasaresult.Occasionallythejoystickwasmistakenlyperceivedtobeaselectbuttonratherthana4directionaljoystick.
Theiconsatthebottomofthedisplayweregenerallyregardedastoosmalltobeclear,withsubjectsoftenstrugglingtonavigatetothemeventhoughtheyfeltitmustbepossibletogetthere.Whenhighlightedbytheorangesquare,usersoftendidnotrecognisethattherelevanticonhadbeenhighlighted.
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Per
MobileUsabilityComparison 09/04/2008 NotallsubjectswereabletorelatethestartlabelasreferringtotheMenu.Somesubjects
thoughtthattherewereonlyfivemainsectionsonthephone;thoseshownatthetopofthehomescreen.Althoughsubjectssuspectedthatthehorizontaliconswereselectable,theywereoftenunabletonegotiatethejoysticktogettotheselectableoptionsbelowtheiconsacrossthetopofthescreen.
Thedefaulttimerforthebacklightwasfelttotime out tooquickly(between10and15seconds).Task1:Sendingatextmessage. Subjectswereoftenunsurehowtouse/navigatetothebottomhalfofthescreentobegin
creating/typingatextmessage.AlthoughanInboxoptionisavailablefromtheStartmenu,allsubjectsfeltthatitwasinappropriatetohavetheinboxastheprimaryoptionfortextmessages(andiscontrarytotheirexperience).Theoverallconclusionwasthatitwasillogicaltogototheinboxtocreateanewmessage.
Thedifficultiesinusingthejoystickmeantthatsubjectsrarelysucceededinselectingtheoptionsunderneaththeicons.ThetextmessagetaskwouldhavebenefitedfromusersabilitytoaccesstheWritenewmessageoptionunderneaththemessageicononthedisplay.Selectingthemessageiconitselftookthesubjecttotheinbox(notdesirable).
Wheneditingorcreatingatextmessageitwasnotimmediatelyclearhowtodeleteacharacter.Thereturnbuttonwasoftennotidentifiedasthedeletebuttonbecauseitisagoback
1
step/screen
button
on
other
screens/sections/modes.
Subjects
only
resorted
to
trying
the
returnbuttonintheabsenceofadedicatedcancel(C)button.
Task2:Changingthecurrentringtone. Showingtheringtonenameonthehomescreen(underneaththeSettingsicon)isgood
feedbackespeciallyforlettingusersknowthattheyhavechangedtheringtoneorforlettingthemknowthenameofthecurrentringtoneinuse.
Thereappearedtobenoobviousmethodofpreviewingringtonespriortochangingthem,whichwasntregardedasfavourabletothemajorityofsubjects.
Task3:AccessingtodaysnewsfromtheBBCwebsite. SubjectswereallfamiliarwiththeinternetExplorericonthereforemakingiteasiertoaccessthe
webfeature. UserswereabletoaccesstheAddressbaroptiontoenterorspecifytheirownURL.Thisoptionis
availablebypressingtheMenubutton(softkey)atthebottomrightoftheinternetExplorerscreen.TheuseofthelabelMenufortherighthandsidesoftkeywasnotclearorobviousforindicatingaccesstosub menus. Subjectsthoughtitwouldbeclearerifthelabelwas,forexample,options.
Subjectsdidnotfeelconfidentwhendisconnectingfromtheinternetbecausetherewasnoclearoptiontodisconnect.Userscandisconnectbypressingtheredhang up button,whichwillreturnthemtothehomescreenofthephone.However,therewasnofeedbackuponpressingthehang up buttonthereforesubjectswerenotconfidentthattheyhaddisconnected.
RatingsperPhoneAttribute
UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved. Page4
OrangeSPV E200Key:4=Verygood,3=Good,2=Average,1=Poor,0=Verypoor
4ser 3ocse 2garev 1A
0n y e it s y sl u res esig n us aa u l oe u f t p tD q o fa o ist d utt f r fe eo s f bc fu no e a on e omfd E o io o o zr C h i Sizet S P p P
ec
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MobileUsabilityComparison 09/04/2008Despitegoodratingsintermsofsizeofdisplayandbuttonstheeaseofuseratingwasrelativelylow.Themainreasonsforthisweretheerraticbehaviourofthejoystickandthedesignoftheapplication.Inthetimepermittedduringthetestingsubjectsdidnotworkouttheshortcutsavailable.Overall,themeanscoreswererelativelylow.Onesurprisingresultisthelowperceptionofquality.Thefitandfinishofthephonewasgoodhowever,andthejoystickusemayhaveimpactedthesubjectsperceptionoverall.
3.2 Nokia6630UsabilityFindingsGeneral Subjectshadgreatdifficultyidentifyinghowtoaccessthemenuforthe
phone.TherelevantMenubuttonisunclearduetotheunintuitiveiconwhichsuggestssynchronizationorconnectivitymoresothanmeaningmenu.Subjectsinabilitytoidentifythemenuaccesskeyaffectedtheirperceptionofthephonefromtheoutsetbecausetheycouldnotobviouslylocatethemenu.Theaudibleclickuponpressingthejoypadisgoodfeedbackandgaveconfidencetosubjectsthattheyhadactuallypressedthekey.WhennavigatingtheGridstylemenu,thegraphicaliconsforeachsectionwereshownwiththetextlabelbelowtheicon.Thecombinationofshowingiconswithtextlabelswasbetterthanshowingiconsalone.
The6630issignificantlydifferenttothenon smart phoneNokia's,thereforethelearningcurvewasslightlyhigherthanexpected.Stumblinguponthemenu,subjectsfeltthattherewerepossiblytoomanyoptions.Manyofthefeatureswereunfamiliar,andmostsubjectsfeltthattheyprobablywouldnotusemanyoftheadvancedfeaturesavailable.Thehorizontaltabstylefornavigatingsub menus isagoodfeatureasitallowsuserstotraverseacrosssecondlevelpeeroptionswithoutnavigatingawayfromthecurrentscreen.
Task1:Sendingatextmessage. ThePenciliconbuttonwasoftenmisunderstood,withsomethinkingthatitwouldtakethemto
thetextmessagefacility.Withinthetextmessagefacility,somethoughtthatthePencilbuttonwouldtakethemtothesymbolsmenu.
TheCreateatextmessagescreenwasunfamiliartosubjects.ItpresentstheToentryfieldabovethemessageentryfield,onthesamescreen.Thismethodofaskingusersfortherecipientdetailsalongwiththemessagewasmostlyunfamiliartosubjectsasmanyparticipantswereusedtoselectingtherecipientaftercomposingthemessage.TonavigatethephonetheNokiausesa
joypadwhichhasaconcaveindentforthethumbthatcanbepressedtoselectahighlighteditem,orpushedtoanyofthefourdirectionstonavigate.Oftenusersstruggledtograspthattheyneededtomovedown(pressdownonthejoypad)inordertoedit/createamessage.
Whenediting/creatingatextmessageorwhenenteringaURLaddresswithinthebrowser,subjectswereoftenconfusedandnotconfidentwhenitcametodeletingacharacterorenteringnumbersandsymbols,e.g.commas(,),forwardsslash(/),etc.BetweentheC(cancel)buttonandthehang up buttonusersdidnotknowandwerenotconfidentwhichofthetwokeystopress.
Searchingthroughthecontactslistwasconfusing.Forexample,whensearchingforJoeSmithunderJ,subjectsarenotsureiftheyarebeingshownalistofthesurnamesorfirstnamesbeginningwithJ.Althoughsubjectssearchbyfirstnamethecontactlistreturnedisdisplayedintheformatofsurnamefirstname(thereisnocommainbetween).
Althoughthesoftkeyshortcutsareuseful,thosepresentedduringtesting(contactsandcalendar)werenotthemostusefulforthetasksrequiredintheevaluation.However,whensubjects
could
not
locate
the
menu
button,
for
sending
a
text
message
(first
task)
they
went
throughthecontactslist,foundtheentryforJoeSmithandwereabletosendhimatextthroughthatmethod.
Task2:Changingthephonescurrentringtone.UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved. Page5
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UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved. Page6
MobileUsabilityComparison 09/04/2008 Tochangetheringtone,userscandosoviatheProfilesfeature/option.However,manyofthe
subjectswerenotabletogaspthattheyneedtoeditaprofileinordertochangetheringtone. Theconceptofeditingandcustomisingprofilesfortheringtonestaskwasunfamiliarandusually
notunderstood.Anotherwayofchanging/accessingtheringtonesfeatureisthroughtheFileManager.LocatingthesoundsoptionintheFileManagerfolderwasconfusingtothesubjects.Itwasexpectedthatthiswouldhavebeenlocatedinthesettingsmenuoption.
Task3:AccessingtodaysnewsfromtheBBCwebsite. TheoptiontoenteraURLisnotshownupfrontandsubjectsdidnotlikebeingtakentotheservice
providerscontentpagefirst.Subjectsexpressedthattheywouldliketoseetheaddressbarfirst. Theiconontheinternetbuttonwasnotobvioustosubjects.Subjectsfeltthatitwouldbemore
representativeoftheactiontosynchroniseratherthantoaccesstheinternet.RatingsperPhoneAttribute
Key:4=Verygood,3=Good,2=Average,1=Poor,0=Verypoor
Boththecomfortofuseandtheeaseofuseratingswerelowrelativetotheothermetrics.However,theeaseofuseratingwasstillhigherthanboththeSPVandtheSonyEricsson.Thephonefeaturesscorewasalsorelativelylow.Itshouldbepointedoutthisquestionwasdifficulttoanswerfromtheusersperspectiveastheydidnotusemanyofthefeaturesonthephone. Theythereforecouldnotbuildupanaccurateappreciationofallofthefeatures.
3.3 SonyEricssonS700iUsabilityFindingsGeneral Somesubjectsthoughtthattheswivelactionwasgimmicky.Subjectsdidnot
o know h w toreveal n mberthe u padatfirst;somet oughth thephonemightbeaclamshellstylephone.The labelMoreisusedtoindicatethattherearefurthersub sections withinthecurrentsection.SomesubjectsdidnotthinktheMorelabelwasobviouseno hforug indicatingtheavailabilityoffurthersubsections.Thecentralbuttononthejoypadwasnotobviousasbeingthemenubutton,n wasor itobviousthatuserscanuseittoselectanoption(intheabsenceofthe selectsoftkey).Onesubjectthoughtthebuttonwasajoystick(evenbeforetheyusedtheOrangeSPVE200phone).When navigating the icon menu system, anassociated text label was
presented at the top of the screen. The associatedtextlabelatthetopofthescreen was not always noticed. In thatinstance,subjectsfeltthatitwasmorehelpfultopresentthemenuoptionsintextformatbecausetheiconswerenotfamiliaroreasytoidentify.
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