User Experience: Testing Low- & Mid-Fidelity Prototypes

The following is a link to the LibScout paper prototype being used in a usability test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB75NgojWVM&feature=youtu.be.

The following are several screenshots of the medium-fidelity LibScout prototype in operation:

This is the homepage of the LibScout application. There are two options the user can select from this screen: Reserve and Preferences.

This is the Reserve screen of the LibScout application. From this screen, the user can find a table to reserve in the library, view his favorite tables, go to the Help screen, and go back.

   

This is the Second Floor screen of the LibScout application. From this screen, the user can select a table they would like to reserve on the second floor, or select another floor. The user can also go to the Help screen or go back.

This is the First Floor screen of the LibScout application. From this screen, the user can select a table they would like to reserve on the first floor, or select another floor. The user can also go to the Help screen or go back.

This is the Time Screen of the LibScout application. The User can select the time for his reservation on this screen, and press “Submit” to submit the times. The user can also go to the Help screen and go back.

This is the Your Reservation screen of the LibScout application. The User can view the reservation he just made, tap “OK” to return to the homepage, tap “Share!” to share his reservation with friends, go to the Help page, and go back.

This is the Preferences Screen of the LibScout application. The User can change the sound and language settings, go to the Help page, and go back.

This is the Sound Screen of the LibScout application. The User can turn the sound on or off, go to the Help screen, and go back.

            

This is the Language Screen of the LibScout application. The User can change the language of the application, go to the Help screen, and go back.

We obtained important information regarding the LibScout application prototype through the paper prototype usability test and the five usability tests we conducted with the medium-fidelity prototype. In general, the five users were able to work quickly and efficiently with the prototype. They all seemed to know how to navigate between the screens, for the most part. All five participants indicated that they enjoyed using the prototype to complete the task list.

The following are some issues regarding the LibScout prototype:

• Four out of the five users had difficulty viewing their reservations during the usability test. These four users went to “Preferences” from the home screen rather than “Reserve” to view their reservations. Upon realizing that they had to tap “Reserve” to view their reservations, the users indicated that this was not intuitive and that it confused them. One of the users suggested that more options or buttons should be on the home screen. This would make it easier to know where to tap to get to certain screens, including the “Your Reservations” screen.
• Three out of the five users suggested that there should be an option to go to the home screen from every other screen. This is a very good piece of advice. In several cases, participants wanted to go back to the home screen but had to keep pressing the “Back” button to do so.
• Two out of the five users suggested that the “Back” button should be located on the top left corner of every screen, rather than clumped with the other buttons. They indicated that this would make the application more consistent with other applications and web browsers.  They also suggested that rather than the word “back” the button should be shaped like a left-facing arrow, much the way it is on other Internet browsers. These pieces of advice will be taken into consideration upon future prototype development.

Our users had very interesting thoughts on extra features that might be useful or cool to have on the application, but that might not necessarily be feasibly integrated into the system.  Examples of these included an optional account creation that would allow you to display a user name on the table that you reserve so that you would be able to find your friends when you sat at the library, and an inclusion of campus center in the application as well.  They also suggested that the UI be “prettier”, which is to be expected from a prototype.  In all, the users found this application to be useful and intuitive, and we are excited about the improvements and suggestions that our users have provided us with.

Interface Design: Redesign & Reimplementation

Our revision of the LibScout prototype took into account comments and suggestions that we received from our users during our usability testing.  The revisions were minimal and mainly aesthetic as our users were generally happy with the functionality of the prototype.  As a result, the functionality of the prototype is the same, and the newer version has simply added some newer buttons and a few changes to the visual design of the program.  We decided that it was unnecessary to change the functionality of the prototype because both we and our users determined that the program worked fine in the first round.

            

The following are the two main changes that we made:

• Adding a home button to every screen in order to make it easier for the user to return to the main screen at any point.  This was an important addition to the “back” button that we also have listed on each screen, as it allows the user to easily navigate back to the beginning of the application.  
• Adding a button to the home screen entitled “My Reservations”, which immediately allows the user to view their current active reservations.  We added this as a result of user feedback, where users informed us that if they were to use this app regularly, they would not necessarily want to make a new reservation each time they opened the application, and would like the option to view reservations that they had already made.  This was an extremely valuable addition, as it takes into account the continuing use of the app rather than simply considering it as a one-off use.   

In all, we did not make many revolutionary changes to the prototype, but instead changed the interface around to make the app more user friendly and to make sure that it catered to the type of user that would be most likely to use it.  

We believe that these changes will improve the user experience for this application and will make LibScout a more viable program for its users.  We chose not to include features such as social media linkage and the capacity to create an account because, while these are valid and useful suggestions, they were beyond what we felt was the scope of this assignment.  This new version will be more intuitive and easy to use for our users. 

LibScout Project Domain

LibScout is an iPhone application for reserving tables at Tisch Library at Tufts University. This application can be used to perform functions including searching for a table by floor and section, reserving a particular table, and setting preferences for the application (language and sound). Users view an animated, bird’s-eye view of a floor of Tisch Library to search for and reserve a table. 

There are some similar existing systems to LibScout. The OpenTable iPhone application allows users to reserve tables at restaurants around the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This app does not, however, allow the user to select the exact table he would like to reserve. 

 




There are some similar existing systems to LibScout. The OpenTable iPhone application allows users to reserve tables at restaurants around the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This app does not, however, allow the user to select the exact table he would like to reserve. 

So, why is LibScout better than these other applications? First of all, there is no other app out there (that I have found through my research/experience) that allows a user to reserve a table at a library. Through personal experience, I feel that an application with this feature would be useful and in high demand, especially at a college or university. It is so often that I go to Tisch Library, spend 20 minutes wandering and searching for an unoccupied table, and then leave because none are available. It would be awesome to know this before making the walk to the library!

This application is for the iPhone. This makes it easy for those with iPhones (most students, nowadays) to search for and reserve tables without needing access to a computer. 

Some high-level features of LibScout include:

• Search for an available table. The user can view a bird's-eye view of each floor of the library with available tables highlighted and occupied tables faded out. "Quiet" sections of the library are red in color, while "conversation" sections of the library are purple in color.
• Reserve a table. The user can tap an available table and be led to a "Time" screen to set a start and end time for his reservation. A library staff member will receive a notification for the reservation and mark the table as reserved during the time entered by the user. 
• Set the preferences. The user can change the language of the application. The user can also turn the sound on and off.

Click here to watch a video clip of my LibScout low-fidelity paper prototype being used in a usability evaluation. The participant was able to quickly and effectively work with my prototype.

Thanks!
Marina