Postcards from the Sled

Over the past 10 months we have conducted over 78 user interviews and test sessions, resulting in around 60 hours of footage from our mobile 'sled' and wireless testing setup in the Boomworks lab.

We’d like to share some of the insights we have gleaned from these sessions, punctuated by actual video and commentary from users as they interact with mobile and tablet interfaces.

Specifically, we’ll focus on the following areas: How do users respond to conventions that we designers take for granted, for example the 'menu' icon convention that is rapidly becoming ubiquitous? How do users tend to navigate on mobile devices: browser/hardware buttons, site / app 'up' navigation, breadcrumbs? Do users who are interacting with a touch-device for the first time naturally discover and understand gesture-based interactions? What do users think about augmented reality features? What do users perceive is the difference between an app and a mobile site?

We’ll introduce each topic area with some example screens and a brief overview, then view some edited highlights of test footage. We’ll follow up with a summary of our observations in each area.

By Fred Randell & Diana Runkle, Boomworks

Transcript

1. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 1 Mar 2013 Designing for Mobility 2013: Postcards from the Sled
2. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 2 Your theorists Meet your team of astronomically talented pixel scientists accompanying you on today’s adventure…
3. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 3 Aim 71 hours 96 users Menu icon Navigation Native vs. Web Augmented reality Touch for the very first time Hmm…. Experiments 001 002 003 004 005 Feb 2012 – Feb 2013
4. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 4 Introducing The Sled, a light-weight, affordable way to test any mobile device. Method
5. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 5 Hypothesis menu icon #001 We need a standard show navigation icon for Mobile Websites.
6. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 6 menu icon #001 “I’m putting my weight behind three lines because I think it’s most recognizable as navigation to the average person.” ‘We need a standard show navigation icon for Responsive Web Design’ March 17 2012 ANDY CLARKE
7. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 7 menu icon #001 WHAT IS THE 3-LINE DEVICE?
8. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 8 menu icon #001 Results: ?? / 24 Notice, understand and utilise the ‘3-lines’ device?
9. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 9 menu icon #001 Notice, understand and utilise the ‘3-lines’ device… …with the word ‘menu’ underneath it? ?? / 13 Extra value at no additional cost
10. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 10 menu icon #001 << let’s check the tape >>
11. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 11 menu icon #001 Results: 5 / 24 Notice, understand and utilise the ‘3-lines’ device?
12. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 12 menu icon #001 Notice, understand and utilise the ‘3-lines’ device… …with the word ‘menu’ underneath it? Extra value at no additional cost 11 / 13
13. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 13 menu icon #001 WHERE IS THE 3-LINE DEVICE NOW?
14. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 14 navigation #002 Hypothesis Hierarchical navigation is preferable to traditional site nav on mobile.
15. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 15 navigation #002 WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
16. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 16 navigation #002 Results: ?? / 13 Prefer “up” hierarchy navigation device?
17. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 17 navigation #002 Desire a dedicated ‘Home’ navigation option But wait… There’s More ?? / 12
18. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 18 navigation #002 << let’s check the tape >>
19. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 19 navigation #002 Results: 12 / 13 Prefer “up” hierarchy navigation device?
20. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 20 navigation #002 Desire a dedicated ‘Home’ navigation option 9 / 12 But wait… There’s More
21. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 21 native vs. mobile web #003 Users perceive a difference between apps and mobile web sites Hypothesis
22. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 22 native vs. mobile web #003 Results: ?? / 15 Understood they were viewing a mobile site in a browser vs. a native app (after interacting for some time)
23. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 23 native vs. mobile web #003 Assume mobile will have less content than the desktop ?? / 12 Plus… For today only
24. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 24 native vs. mobile web #003 << let’s check the tape >>
25. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 25 native vs. mobile web #003 Results: 10 / 15 Understood they were viewing a mobile site in a browser vs. a native app (after interacting for some time)
26. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 26 native vs. mobile web #003 Assume mobile site will have less content than the desktop Plus… For today only 12 / 12
27. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 27 augmented reality #004 Augmented reality features are awesome Hypothesis
28. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 28 augmented reality #004 WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
29. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 29 augmented reality #004 Results: ?? / 24 Find augmented reality features useful?
30. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 30 augmented reality #004 Pointing your camera at a house to get an estimated price… …perceived to be an invasion of privacy? Buy one, Get one free ?? / 6
31. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 31 augmented reality #004 << let’s check the tape >>
32. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 32 augmented reality #004 Results: 12 / 24 Find augmented reality features useful? “I would probably pay up to 99c [for this app]… but the fact that you can [use the augmented reality feature]… You could maybe upgrade to that level and pay more for that feature.” “Wow! So you could [use the augmented reality feature]? That’s fantastic.”
33. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 33 augmented reality #004 Pointing your camera at a house to get an estimated price… …perceived to be an invasion of privacy? Buy one, Get one free 4 / 6
34. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 34 touch for the very first time #005 Touch-based gestures are intuitive for first-time users Hypothesis
35. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 35 touch for the very first time #005 Results: ? / 4 Never used a touch device before but understand swiping?
36. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 36 touch for the very first time #005 << let’s check the tape >>
37. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 37 touch for the very first time #005 Results: 3 / 4 Never used a touch device before but understand swiping? “I saw it on an ad on the TV.”  These users initially tried to scroll vertically, then discovered swipe. Preferred to scroll rather than swipe when presented with a choice.  4 out of 4 additional users who had previous experience using a touch device preferred to swipe rather than scroll when presented with a choice.
38. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 38 touch for the very first time #005 ?? / 10 Expected to be able to pinch to zoom everything Understood they could rotate for additional content? Preferred to view content in portrait (vs. landscape)? ?? / 8 ?? / 6 Everything must go
39. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 39 touch for the very first time #005 << let’s check the tape >>
40. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 40 touch for the very first time #005 Expected to be able to pinch to zoom everything Understood they could rotate for additional content? Preferred to view content in portrait (vs. landscape)? Everything must go 2 / 10 7 / 8 4 / 6
41. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 41 71 hours 96 users Menu icon Navigation Native vs. Web Augmented reality Touch for the very first time Aha! Experiments 001 002 003 004 005 Feb 2012 – Feb 2013 Result
42. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 42 Particularly Credits To our clients for investing in UX, and for letting us share. and…. SPECIAL THANKS
43. POSTCARDS FROM THE SLED 43 End @drunkleAU www.boomworks.com.au @fredrandell