Prototype Review - Persona Interview - Joyce and Winston

Now all aspects of the prototype product are complete, it is time to review the system using the personas previously made. We conducted a mock interview with the Barringtons to see how they rated the system compared to the ways they normally conduct their shopping. To make the interview more structured and relevant, it will be split into ten sections to represent Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics.

1. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design - Joyce liked the fact that the menu system was basic and natural to use, especially combing the on screen display with the coloured screen buttons. In terms of aesthetics the couple thought supermarket looked very authentic and were impressed by the graphical features.

2. Match with Real World - Although hard to get used to, the couple eventually found the use of the trolley handle device good enough to enjoy the shopping experience. Winston noted that it was frustrating shopping as a couple because together you can only look at and buy one thing at once. They agreed the system was a lot less tiring than shopping in a supermarket.

3. User Control and Freedom - The Barringtons enjoyed the freedom of browsing offered by the system, agreeing that it was a realistic shopping experience. Joyce made the point that she found it hard to quickly buy an item she knew she wanted. For example when wanting to purchase a loaf of bread, she hard to go the bread aisle, select the type of bread, choose and brand, then confirm her choice. Joyce was frustrated about how much time it took to get many essential products. Winston recommended that an undo feature was incorporated into the system, to concur with his brief experience of Internet Explorer's 'back' and 'undo' facilities.

4. Recognition over Recall - Since this was the first time that either had used the system, and that neither Joyce nor Winston have very much experience with technology, recall of system functions and features is not relevant. However Joyce thought the menu system was very intuitive and self-explanatory, each option being clearly displayed.

5. Flexibility and Efficiency - Joyce was impressed by the recipe suggestions and level of nutritional information that the system offered. She found it navigating products easier as the test went further, liking the trolley display and list options. In terms of efficiency, Winston commented that sometimes product selection was slightly too laborious to keep him interested in doing a long shop. Joyce agreed that sometimes there were too many products to choose from, although for some products she appreciated the range available.

6. Error Prevention - The couple agreed that the number of errors they encountered was fairly low. However, Joyce mentioned that when she accidentally pressed a wrong button and added an incorrect item to her trolley, it was a tricky task to get the erroneous item out again. Winston liked the fact that the video tutorials showed him how to perform basic shopping tasks.

7. Recognize, Diagnose and Recover from Errors - Joyce confirmed that the only errors to occur in the system were from incorrect button presses. These were sometimes hard to recover, and the couple got confused a number of times during their first use of the system.

8. Help and Documentation - Joyce also enjoyed the video tutorials on the system, but felt that more assistance could have been at hand whilst mid-browsing. Winston commented that the absence of no keyboard meant directly searching for a specific type of help was too hard.

9. Visibility of System Status - The couple thought the visual representation of the shopping trolley was extremely good, commenting that it made the shopping experience more realistic and enjoyable. Joyce liked the fact the she could see a running total of her trolley contents throughout the shop. She also like the shopping list feature, however she commented that it was hard to set up the shopping list using the four button system. Winston stated it would probably be quicker to use a pen and paper!

10. Consistency and Standards - The couple agreed that the colour coded screen button system was consistent throughout, although stifling at times. They agreed the system's intuitive interaction was realistic, although hard to get used to. They thought the standard of graphics were excellent, and that the video tutorials made them much more confident in browsing freely.

http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html