Project Title
NJ.com Mobile Website Usability Study
Project Description
Advance Local, one of the largest media companies in the United States, partnered with my team to find solutions for enhanced usability and user experience. Using NJ.com as a template, my team conducted remote usability testing to provide our client with recommendations.
Methods
My team met with the Senior Director of User Experience and Design at Advance Local to determine the client’s goals and objectives. To prepare for user testing, we created user profiles, pre- and post-test questionnaires, and several tasks to measure user satisfaction on the website. After conducting remote usability tests on the platform Lookback, we analyzed the major usability and user experience problems we encountered. My team came up with five recommendations which we aggregated into a formal report, which was then presented to the client.
My Role
I worked with two other students, Jiae Oh and Nicholas Scott on this project. I conducted two remote usability tests and our team came together to come up with common problems among our participants. In the final report, I wrote the executive summary, introduction, and focused on our second recommendation, reorganizing the navigation menu.
Learning Outcome Achieved
Research
Rationale
This report illustrates my competence in research, as illustrated by the methodology of conducting user testing, analyzing the data, and developing complex conclusions supported by the evidence. The heavy emphasis on audience needs, behaviors, and experiences demonstrates my ability to identify user-centered solutions. Though Advance Media is not in the museum field, this type of research is easily translatable to identify engagement issues and audience needs of museum-goers.
Learning Outcome Achieved
Professionalism
Rationale
Working with a team on this assignment required excellent communication skills as we collaborated virtually. Though earlier in the semester we had been provided with test participants, for this project, we sourced our own users that fit our requirements. This meant I had to reach out to multiple subjects to inquire about getting involved in the research. It was really exciting for me to analyze the trends in user experience, something I had been interested in exploring, especially in my employment at smaller museums. Especially in the current environment, having a useful and accessible web presence is critical. This project taught me the value of incorporating digital technologies into the museum experience in order to ensure happy patrons. Our client was so impressed with our presentation that he invited our team to present our findings to 10 of his colleagues, saying, “I worked as a client advisor with a sharp group of Pratt Institute grad students this semester. Tbh, my expectations were modest, but the team delivered a very legit presentation tonight.” It was exciting to see my work having a real-world value to such a prestigious company.
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