Heuristic evaluation
To identify usability problems within the Lotto app, we performed a Heuristic Evaluation to analyze how well the Lotto app complies with recognized usability principles. This method is used mainly to find probable usability issues in the user interface by gathering constructive critiques from professionals [1]. In this case, we were the evaluators. We evaluated the site to measure its user experience and we constructed summaries for each heuristic and found potential issues users may have, listed the heuristic violated, and then rated the severity of the problem.
The list of heuristics are:
- Visibility of system status
- Match between system and the real world
- User control and freedom
- Consistency and standards
- Error prevention
- Recognition rather than recall
- Flexibility and efficiency of use
- Aesthetic and minimalist design
- Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
- Help and documentation
Taking the heuristics list in consideration, each of us started to search for what we considered usability issues within the Lotto app. After discussing our findings, we related each problem to a heuristic from the list above.
| # | Issue | Heuristic Violated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | There are too many graphical elements on the home screen. [2] | 8 |
| 2 | Green button with white label is difficult to read. [3] | 8 |
| 3 | Menu contains too many links that don't need to be available there. [4] | 3 |
| 4 | No feedback to the user when selecting lines to play. [5] | 9 |
| 5 | Font sizes varies throughout the app. [6] | 4 |
| 6 | Button varies in sizes, colours and font size. [7] | 4 |
| 7 | No information hierarchy. [8] | 3 |
| 8 | Navigation is inconsistent. [9] | 3 |
| 9 | No breathing space between elements. [10] | 8 |
The can of worms: what is your problem Lotto app?
To identify the problems with the Lotto app we designed a questionnaire on Google Forms and we sent to all channels available to us (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Email). A sample of the questionnaire can be found on this link and the responses can be found here.
It’s important to point out that the questionnaire has no valid representation of the user population but it’s interesting to notice that while 91.8% of the users responded that they play the lottery, 77.6% of them don’t use the Lotto app. From this percentage, some used the app but uninstalled afterwards for various reasons. Below are some problems pointed out by the users.
- I get the lotto [tickets] when I’m buying fags.
- Not enough space on the phone to download.
- Mortgage application.
- I prefer to go into a shop.
- Didn’t know about it.
- Easier on laptop [desktop version]
- Poor user experience compared to the responsive website.
- Phone apps are not secure.
- All you can do is check your results.
The Android version doesn’t allow users to buy tickets due to some restrictions with Google Play, on Android the users need to go to the Irish National Lottery website and download an APK file, this app has the same visual and the same functionalities as the mobile website. The iOS version is the same as the mobile website and allows users to play online. Because of this restriction, we decided to focus on the Lotto app targeted at iOS devices.
Narrowing down
From the previous chapter it became clear that there are many issues with the Lotto app, the lack of awareness of its existence is one, being afraid that playing Lotto somehow could affect the mortgage application was another. These issues are educational and marketing efforts that are out of the scope of this exercise. We wanted people that use the app but are not completely satisfied with it or have used the Lotto app at some stage and for some reason gave up on it. These two user descriptions are our proto-persona.
We decided to release the second questionnaire, gathering qualitative data about the problems our users are facing when using the Lotto app. The questionnaire was used as guidelines for us to collect data and we decided that the users would be driving the interviews and we would just nudge to the questions we wanted to be answered if necessary. [11]
- Have you ever used the Lotto app?
- What do you use the app for?
- How do you find the overall usage of the Lotto app?
- What games do you play? Bingo, Euromillions
- How often do you play?
- What did you think of the sign-up process?
- What do you think of topping up your account?
- Do you buy tickets online? If yes, how do you find the process of buying tickets?
- Do you find you have a better chance of winning using the app or buying a physical ticket?
[1] Preece, J. (2002). Interaction design: beyond human-computer interaction. New York: Wiley.
[2] Komischke, T. (2011, May 16). The Impact of Screen Clutter on the User Experience. Retrieved from https://www.infragistics.com/community/blogs/b/ux/posts/the-impact-of-screen-clutter-on-the-user-experience
[3] Longo, L. (2017, May 6). Best Practices for Buttons. Retrieved from https://uxplanet.org/best-practices-for-buttons-b7048479d440
[4] Whitenton, K. (2015, November 29). Menu Design: Checklist of 15 UX Guidelines to Help Users. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/menu-design/
[5] Hogue, D. (n.d.). Principles of Interaction Design. Adobe MAX.
[6] Babich, N. (2017, June 23). 10 Tips On Typography in Web Design. Retrieved from https://uxplanet.org/10-tips-on-typography-in-web-design-13a378f4aa0d
[7] Babich, N. (2016, March 15). Button UX Design: Best Practices, Types and States. Retrieved from https://uxplanet.org/button-ux-design-best-practices-types-and-states-647cf4ae0fc6
[8] Dodd, J. (n.d.). How to define a successful content hierarchy. Retrieved from https://gathercontent.com/blog/define-successful-content-hierarchy
[9] Lin, S. (2017, January 31). The Rules for Modern Navigation. Retrieved from http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/the-rules-for-modern-navigation/
[10] Babich, N. (2017, June 30). The Power Of Whitespace. Retrieved from https://uxplanet.org/the-power-of-whitespace-a1a95e45f82b
[11] How to Conduct User Interviews. (2017, November 10). Retrieved from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-to-conduct-user-interviews