Rose Keimig

challenge

Parents Forward asked us to evaluate their parenting class beta site to test its usability and make suggestions for how it could better reach and serve its target audience.

solution

Based on results from our team’s remote and in-lab usability testing, I prepared a recommendation report including suggestions related to tone, hierarchy, consistency, and feedback to enhance accessibility of the site.

Methods

• Remote Usability Testing

• In-Lab Usability Testing

• Interviews

• Card Sorting

Tools

• Trello

• Axure

• Sketch

deliverables

• High-fidelity wireframes

• Recommendation report

Mission: Increasing Accessibility to Parenting Classes

Parents Forward is a group of stakeholders committed to increasing equity and outcomes in parenting in Travis County, Texas. They have created a web database for searching for verified, evidence-based parenting classes with the broader goal of reducing parent-reported barriers (language, transportation, cost, availability) and increasing class enrollment. Although still in the early stages of development, Parents Forward asked us to evaluate their beta site in order to investigate how well users could search, identify, and register for classes.

Usability Testing: Goals and Methods

We used a team-based approach to analyzing the Parent Forward site. Four team members each performed an initial usability test evaluating criteria including readability, learnability, accessibility, and others, and then combined insights to create a usability test script for the site. We recruited participants for nine remote and four lab usability evaluations that consisted of two task-based scenarios and a card-sorting exercise.

Feeling the pain

At first glance, the vast majority of users commented that the site was “cold,” “unfriendly,” “impersonal,” and “dull.”  After working through the two usability scenarios, most users reported a decline in their impressions of the site. They found the user flows to be confusing and unpredictable and felt that the site was “not helpful.” Particularly vexing was the lack of feedback, consistency, and guidance. For example, when trying to register for classes, users were directed to an external website without warning or clear directions for proceeding, leaving them frustrated and decreasing their trust in the site. After hitting an unmarked dead end, one user lamented:

While much of the usability testing data aligned with issues that had come up in initial usability evaluations, what was most striking was the amount of empathy participants expressed for the site’s target audiences. Users imagined scenarios and gave voice to a number of concerns that had not been raised by our (currently) childless team members. Users reported feeling “sad” and “depressed” by their inability to complete tasks, and expressed deep empathy and understanding regarding how barriers, such as transportation, childcare, education level, English-language comprehension, might compound usability issues for the intended users. After getting lost on the site, one user commented:

As stated in their mission, these are the same concerns that motivated Parent Forward to create the site. However, the fact that accessibility, the very thing they were trying to improve, was one of the key usability concerns for their site, indicated that Parents Forward had not yet found a way to translate this shared value into practice through its interface.

Take your medicine

While they had significant concerns about usability and accessibility, users agreed that the site had great potential value. They also recognized that the site was ultimately a tool for helping parents and their case workers accomplish the very practical goal of fulfilling court orders and, hopefully, becoming a better parents. The importance of this task-based function was not lost on users, and one user reported that she “respected” the task-oriented interface for its simplicity and lack of “floof.” However, despite respecting the usefulness, the utilitarian presentation left them feeling cold:

Just a spoonful of sugar

Based on these results, I prepared a recommendation report for our client encouraging Parents Forward to adjust the visual styling and tone in order to increase the warmth of the site—just a spoonful of sugar—while still maintaining the simplicity and task-oriented functionality of the original site. In order to improve accessibility, I also suggested having the site in both Spanish and English, adding a FAQs section, and ensure links to outside pages are clearly marked with a clear path through registration process. Improving consistency and hierarchy would also provide better guidance and accessibility of information.

My goal was to demonstrate to stakeholders that, in line with their mission, the interface itself could be caring and helpful, and considering that their target audience will likely be coming to the site with heightened levels of stress and emotionality, a critical component for success.