POSTMATES
HEURISTICS EVALUATION
To improve usability of the Postmates website, I led two usability experts through the Heuristic Evaluation approach focusing on the most essential function of the Postmates website: browsing. The main areas of Postmates.com contained usability issues:
1. Homepage
2. Search Bar
3. Individual Restaurant Pages
DURATION
October 2018
MY ROLE
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Research
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Mockups
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Usability Testing
To evaluate the usability of the Postmates website, I led two expert evaluators through the Heuristic Evaluation approach focusing on the most essential function of Postmates website: browsing. Using Neilson’s ten usability heuristics as a guide, evaluators were asked to visit www.Postmates.com and complete a series of tasks. The scenario highlighted the needs of a first-time user while selecting a nearby restaurant to order delivery from. Evaluators recorded their findings that identified the problem description, where the problem occurred, the heuristics violated, and a rating of the severity of the problem.
HEURISTICS AND SEVERITY
Both the heuristics and severity ratings selected for this evaluation were defined by the Neilsen Norman Group, and are as follows:
Ten Heuristics for User Interface Design
H1: Visibility of system status
H2: Match between system and the real world H3: User control and freedom
H4: Consistency and standards
H5: Error prevention
H6: Recognition rather than recall
H7: Flexibility and efficiency of use
H8: Aesthetic and minimalist design
H9: Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
H10: Help and documentation
Severity Ratings for Usability Problems
The following 0 to 4 rating scale can be used to rate the severity of usability problems:
0 – I don’t agree that this is a usability problem at all.
1 – Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project
2 – Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority.
3 – Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority
4 – Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released
RESULTS &
RECOMMENDATOINS
In total, all three evaluators identified 12 unique problems on Postmates.com. Of the 12 problems, 6 problems were given very low severity ratings, thus are not of immediate attention for this report.
Recommendation #1:
Provide sorting option
for results
providing a drop-down box next to “Results” that includes an option to
sort the results based on: Price, distance, popularity etc. would benefit the user and
Recommendation #2:
Expand on Cuisine list
Provide a larger list of food categories that includes main cuisines such as Japanese
and Sushi. This expanded list will help users speed up the interaction to selecting a
food category immediately.
Recommendation #3:
Provide Price Recognition
for Efficiency
The user experience would benefit by providing clear price fees throughout all pages
of the website.
