3pdf Mobile Usability White Paper

8/6/2019 3pdf Mobile Usability White Paper

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MobileUsabilityWhitePaper

February2006UserVisionLimited,2006. Allrightsreserved.

UserVisionLimitedFocusingontheuserexperiencePhone: 01312250850 Fax: 01312253609 Email: [email protected] Web: www.uservision.co.uk

RegisteredinScotlandNo.: 204097. Registeredoffice:55NorthCastleStreet,Edinburgh,EH23QA
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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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


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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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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3pdf Mobile Usability White Paper