User Experience Paper

1. Briana Wesley
March 5, 2018
Introto Web Publishing
Test Preparation
Before beginning the usability test I prepped, I did such by reading the prompts as
assigned. After reading the prompts and fully understanding the instructions and the scenario, I
began the test. When I started, task one I read it aloud and typed in the search bar chefd.com. I
noticed that the site loaded in a quick amount of time so it was easy to remained focused.
When the page loaded I scrolled up and down noticing the theme, colors they had going on
with the orange and white.
I went to the tab, partners and scrolled down the list until I seen Spoon University. I
clicked on it and it lead me to a list of allergens I might possibly have I choose none. When I
selected none the color of the circle lit up orange. Then it went on to ask me about what kind of
meats I prefer or if I wanted vegetarian options. I choose chicken, beef, pork and turkey. The
next question asked me how many times a week would I like to receive the meal plan and I
choose seven. This was a problem because Chef’d did not have any meal plans to fit that order.
Therefore, I went down to three day, and it gave me other options that totaled to $88. I could
not find a meal plan that was $65 and under so this was a huge problem because my budget is
only $65.
I moved on to the second task and found that it was much easier than the first. I went to
the all meals tab and then chose the side filter that was labeled spices. I proceeded and clicked
on the filter that said hot. In the results, it showed foods that were hot; I looked through a few

2. and then chose firecracker wings for two. The cost was $35 and the time it would take to make,
it would be approximately 50 minutes.
Task three required me to find a grab and go or desert less than 450 calories. I went to
deserts first. When I didn’t find anything I went to the search bar and typed in “Grab and go”, I
clicked on the first thing to pop up. It was a grab and go bundle that was breakfast items. It was
only 200 calories per serving so that was my choice.
Finally yet importantly, task four. I was asked to determine when my spicy meal would
be delivered. After finding my spicy meal and moving on to task three, I went to the search bar
and typed firecracker wings. The first thing that popped up was the wings I clicked it and then it
lead me to a page that was the checkout. It asked me for my address, zip code, and then to
choose a date. The dates that I was able to choose from were all before Saturday. I chose Friday
and I was able to easily complete the task.
Choosing Participants
Tester 1: Devyn Martinez
My first tester is Devyn Martinez, she is my roommate but we are very much
different. We are not close friends and her most desired environment to use the internet is the
library. The reason I choose Devyn to be my tester is because she is a high experience user of
the internet and Devyn is unfamiliar with meal prep websites. She was willing to help me with
my testing and very cooperative in speaking aloud when conducting the tasks. Devyn is the
average college student she lives on campus, she is a sophomore, a female, and age 19, with a
major in graphic design. Devyn does not work on campus but she does work at TJ Maxx, back
home in Kansas City. Devyn spends a lot of her time involved in school and class artwork

3. projects on campus. She spends about 15 hours a week or more using the internet if that were
a percentage, it would be 20%. That being said, I consider Devyn to be a reasonable tester.
Environment for Tester 1
When conducting the usability test Devyn requested that we meet in the library. This is
a place where Devyn does most of her internet usage and feels most comfortable. The test was
conducted during the day so the lighting was bright but did not affect the view of the computer
screen. Though there were, many people around we conducted the test on the first floor of the
library, which is the talking floor. People sat around us and conversed a lot and laughed, got
coffee, worked on the computers, and walked by. When these actions were, happening Devyn
was not distracted and paid close attention to the tasks the whole time.
The usability test was conducted on my HP laptop and we used the Google Chrome
browser. When typing in the URL there were no problems and it went straight to Chefd.com.
The connection was strong so as Devyn looked at the screen there were no glitches, or
disconnections. There were no browser add-ons or pop up questions as Devyn entered the site.
Overall getting to the site was fine, the connection was good, and the environment was
pleasant.
Tester 2: John
John is my second tester; he is someone that I met through a friend. John was also a
willing participant to help me with my testing. He was cooperative and gave lots of useful
feedback. John is a freshman age 19, Male, and considers himself a high experience user of the
internet. John does not work on campus but he spends majority of his time involved in school
activities such as the gospel choir and studying. John spends about 84 hours on the internet a

4. week and if that were a percentage, it would be 45%. John was not familiar with meal prep
websites and was very excited to see what Chef’d had to offer. He was cooperative, high
experience, and unfamiliar with meal prep websites. With that being said, I consider John to be
a reasonable tester.
Environment for Tester 2
When conducting the usability test John requested we do it in the Trio Office. The Trio
Office is a student involvement office for first generation students, that offers extra help,
mentors, and free services; such as printing, and fee waiving for certain events. This location
was chosen because this is a place where John spends most of his time using the internet. He
feels comfortable here and it is close to his residence hall. The usability test was conducted
during the day so the lighting was bright. We sat at a table close to the window so the sun
beamed in just a bit making it a little harder to see the computer screen. There were people
around but not many; it was a quiet environment with very little distractions. John was able to
fully focus on the tasks. The test was conducted on my HP laptop also in the Google Chrome
browser. The connection was strong and we had no problems connecting to Chefd. Com. When
we got to the site there were no browser ad-ons or pop up messages. John was able to see
everything at one time and we did not have to wait for anything to load.
Test Results
Initial Site Thoughts
When first going to chefd.com there was instantaneous reactions from both testers.
Tester 1 commented on the typography of the website in which I thought was very interesting.
She talked about how she liked the bold lettering and the color themes on the website. Tester 1

5. then went on to talk about how she liked the slide show at the top of the page while
commenting that the food looked good. Tester 2 also commented about how the food looked
saying that it looked delicious and healthy. Tester 2 mentioned how much of a variety they had
based on the homepage alone. Although both testers looked at the exact same page, they had
such different views of it. Tester 1 never mentioned anything about the food looking healthy
but tester two did. Tester 2 did not really give much attention to the typography of the page
but yet and still looked closely at the pictures of the food.
Both testers had a good idea that they would be shopping for food. Tester 1 mentioned
that it was easy to maneuver around the site. She then stated her opinion about where the
sponsors were located, and that they should be placed somewhere else. Tester 1 thought that
they took up too much space and that people would not think they were important enough to
be on the homepage. Tester 2 stated that the meals look easy to prepare and that he would
want to prepare the meals. Both testers gave some interesting insight about what their initial
thoughts were of Chef’d.
Task 1: Build a Spoon University meal plan and determine the total weekly cost.
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 1 3 2
Success Rate 0% 0% 0%
Highlights

6. 1. Testers were surprised at how hard it was to find Spoon University. Tester 1 never
found Spoon University and said “I didn’t do it right”. Tester 2 did not have trouble
at first but then realized it was a tad bit difficult.
2. Testers could not decide where to look for Spoon University. Both testers had to do
some clicking around to find it. Testers went back and forth from tab to tab and
even the search bar. There was no separate tab labeled Spoon University.
3. Testers were unsure how to build the actual meal plan and how many days they
should select. Tester 2 found Spoon University and then had a hard time creating a
meal plan that was $65. In trying, he at first made a meal plan for seven days
including all the food options and then clicked vegetarian too. In doing so, he ran
into some issues.
BiggestProblem
The biggestproblemintaskone istryingto create the actual meal plan. Tester 1 never found
Spoon University and said “I didn’t do it right”. Tester 2 found Spoon University and then had a
hard time creating a meal plan that was $65. In trying, he at first made a meal plan for seven
days including all the food options and then clicked vegetarian too. In doing so, he ran into a
pop up saying to choose at least one protein. This caused some confusion and then tester 2
tries it again and it worked. His total came up to $140 and he went back again and lowered his
days to four meals a week. After doing so he tries to swap out some of the meals for lower
costing ones and the price was still too high. Tester 2, tried again this time lowering his meal
plan to two days a week and swapping meals out for cheaper ones. This try was also a fail,

7. tester 2 started to get frustrated and said, “I don’t know what to do now I really don’t”, and
then we decided to move on to the next task.
Alignment to Heuristic: Error Prevention
What I noticed when observing both testers is that they did not know what to expect or
what they were doing. The reason I chose the error prevention heuristic is because I feel like
some of the errors the testers went through could have been prevented in a simple way. Even
better than a good error message is a careful design which prevents the problem from
occurring. When creating the meal plan for Spoon University testers were not able to filter
anything out cost wise; this would have been a big help in knowing what meals would be
available for purchase. Instead, the meal plan just goes straight into asking what kind of foods
you would like and how many days you would like the plan to be. This is an error that can be
prevented by ruling out expensive foods that you would not be able to purchase. Also the
number of days that you would be limited to as well. With a filter for cost it could prevent pop
ups that the testers experienced and having to keep going back and guessing the number of
days that works for the cost.
Task 2: You have the budget to coverone extra meal per week, but you want it to be a spicy
meal. Determine your spicy meal options and choose one meal that you are willing to
prepare.
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 5 2 3.5

8. Success Rate 100% 0% 50%
Highlights
1. Testers were often deceived by the spiciness of a meal. When Tester 1 looked at spicy
meals, she often found that they were just mild in spice and not actually hot. Tester 2
did not leave his meal plan options in Spoon University and they did not offer anything
but one spicy meal. When Tester 2 clicked on the meal it turned out to be just mild but
with spices included that were not hot.
2. Testers were surprised to find that there was a filter to find spicy meals. Tester 1 found
a filter to determine how spicy she could make her meal. Tester 2 did not find the same
filter and struggled to find a meal that was actually spicy.
3. Testers found it harder to find spicy meals in particular. Spicy meals were a challenge to
find compared to meals that were not spicy. When finding meals that were spicy the
testers got little results for meals that were actually hot.
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem in task 2 was choosing the right spicy meal. I observed that the
testers were looking for meals that were hot instead of the ones mild in spice. It was harder
to find those meals because Chef’d offered very little variety to choose from. Tester 1
clicked on the tab All Meals, and Personalized then clicked on spicy, she finds a meal called
Ahi Tuna and looks at it. She then reads the description to find out that the tuna was not
spicy at all. Tester 1 says “So not spicy this is false advertising, why would I want to cook it”,
and then proceeds to find another meal. She then stumbles upon Spicy Pan Fried Chicken,

9. which is actually spicy and takes 45 minutes to prepare. Tester 1 chooses this as her spicy
meal. Tester 2 did not find a spicy meal in his meal plan and proceeded to look at fruit. I
decided we would move to the next task.
Alignment to Heuristic: Consistency Standards
The words Chef’d used to describe foods that were supposed to be hot were deceiving
to the testers. Users should not have to worry about different words meaning the same
thing. I observed that the testers were looking for foods that were spicy expecting them to
be hot foods and instead they were not. The testers were confused by this and had to use a
filter to figure out which foods were actually hot, and which foods just included the word
spicy in the title. Foods that are not spicy should not be labeled as spicy and then in the
description say that it is mild or not hot at all. Chef’d should follow platform conventions in
order to not confuse future users.
Task 3: Ensure none of your meals, “Grab ‘n’ Go’s” or snacks is more than 450 calories per
serving. If the calorie count is too high, swap the item for another
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average satisfaction 5 5 5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights

10. 1. Testers did not have a variety to choose from with snacks and grab and go’s. When I
observed both testers they came across the same few snacks and grab and go’s.
2. Testers were confused on finding the tab on the nutrition facts. I observed that they
looked around for a while until they noticed the tab amongst other tabs that they
spotted first.
3. Testers were unsure looking at some of the images if they were snacks or not. I
observed my testers looking in confusion at some of the snack images.
Biggest Problem
One of the biggest problems testers had with task three was, clicking the back button
and exiting out of the meal plan and having to do it over again. When tester 2 decided, he
wanted to choose another snack he hit the back button and had to start his meal plan all
over. When realizing he had to start his meal plan over again he said “This is difficult I don’t
pay attention to this type of stuff”. When tester 2 had to start his meal plan over I could tell
it caused him frustration. When he made it back to his meal plan options he scrolled to find
another snack or grab n go. He found a peperoni pizza in a mug but it was too high in
calories, so he finally found some muffins, which were only 120 calories.
Alignment to Heuristic: Error Prevention
This heuristic matches my biggest problem because a user losing their place by
accidentally clicking on something and having to start over without a confirmation option is
an error. Users should have a confirmation option before they commit to an action. I
observed tester two get frustrated after having to start his meal plan over because he hit
the back button. Tester 2 was not expecting the website to make him start his whole meal

11. plan over. This is an error that could be prevented with a prompt asking “are you sure you
want to leave this page?” Something like this could prevent errors that frustrated
consumers.
Task 4: Assume/ pretend that it is Monday at 3:30 p.m. and you plan to prepare the spicy
meal on Saturday night. Will the meal arrive in time?
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 3 2 2.5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights
1. Tester 2 was having a hard time seeing the computer screen with the sunlight
beaming through the window.
2. Testers had to go back through the meal plan to find their spicy meal again. This
created some frustrations.
3. Testers wondered when the options for meal delivery would pop up; it was a bit of a
wait.
Biggest Problem
What I observed as the biggest problem was going back to find the spicy meal
after performing other tasks. Testers did not want to go back through all the other
meals or repeat steps to find their spicy meal. This caused some frustration and

12. uncooperativeness. Tester 2 decided to select a different meal instead of finding the
one he had previously selected. Tester 2 got closer to the computer screen and
squinted as if he could not see the words. He then said “ hold up now”, as if he was
confused. He clicked on the first spicy meal he saw and proceeded to checkout. The
prompt asked for a zip code and was it a residential address or commercial. Tester 2
selected residential and it gave a list of dates. Tester 1 did go back to find her meal that
she had with no problem. She proceeded to checkout and completed the same tasks.
Alignment to Heuristic: Recognition rather than recall
Recognition rather than recall aligns with my biggest problem because Chef’d should
minimize the users memory load. Users should not have to remember things going from one
task to another and then back again. Information should be retrievable whenever appropriate.
Testers should have been able to bring up the spicy meal easily without having to go through all
the steps they went through before. If Chef’d had a site history or something, that would have
been perfect for the testers. This alignment is a match and should be considered in fixing the
problem for future users.
Final Site Thoughts
Testers 1 and 2 thoughts on the site were similar but also different. Tester 1 said her
experience was pretty easy, she liked the bright colors and pictures. On the other hand tester 2
said he hated it and that it was very stressful and frustrating. Both testers were glad at the end
that it was over. Tester 2 said “finding calories and doing a budget is too much I don’t have time
for it, I really need someone to do it for me”. Tester 1 said “I like that its personalized and that
the images show preparation of the meals”. Both testers gave good feedback and cooperation.

13. Recommendations toimprove user experience
Single problem being fixed: The big problem I will be fixing is task 3 where users
had to start their Spoon University meal plan over.
Puts usersin control Grabs the usersattention
Problem Improvement:
To improve my problem I will be creating a pop up to prevent users from having to start
their meal plan over. By creating this google pop up to confirm navigation I will save users time
and frustration. If they accidentally press a key or button they will be saved by the navigation
pop up; therefore they will have a chance to say no they don’t want to leave this page or yes I
do want to leave this page. The changes that they have made to their meal plan will not be lost
or erased. Users will be grateful for this feature because they will be made aware of what is
going on or what is about to happen. This gives users the control and the opportunity to decide
what to do.