The document summarizes findings from usability testing of the NPS Find a Park mobile app. Five participants completed tasks in moderated one-hour sessions. Key findings include: 1) Users had difficulty finding a full list of parks without using filters on the homepage. They expected to see a list without interacting first. 2) When searching for a specific park, users lost the opportunity to search when having to scroll to find parks alphabetically. 3) Users missed or skipped the "Basic Information" section and had difficulty finding things like opening hours and fees. 4) Users wanted more activities displayed than the 6 shown and images to make the page more engaging. They expected consistency with the website.

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1
February 10,
2023
First Usability Test Findings Presentation: APP Find a Park
Usability Test Report

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Agenda
1. Overview
2. Usability Test Purpose
3. APP Task Analysis Findings
4. Next User Testing

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Overview
• One-hour virtual, moderated interview sessions
• One facilitator and one observer
• Five participants
• NPS app for iOS and Android

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Purpose
Why Do Usability Testing?
• Provides validation of usability
• It gives you real behavioral insights into how users
use your website
• Uncovers patterns of use across users and
uncovers confusions or errors
• Moves beyond the “stupid users” myth to uncover
un-intuitive features or functionality
• Provides insight and empathy for the user’s
experience to help fix design errors or issues

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Task Findings
Each user was measured based on success or failure of their ability to complete the task
correctly. To prioritize recommendations, a method of problem severity classification was used
in the analysis of the data collected during evaluation activities.

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1. Find a Park
Task Completion
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to find National Parks from
the homepage of the app?

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Task
Findings
1.1
Find a list of all the
national parks
1.2
Browse parks by
activity
SUCCESS AREAS
• The search bar was the user’s favorite tool
to search for parks.
• Users understood how to use filters to find
things like “Activity”.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• None of the users found the list of parks on
their first try.
• Users expected to see the list of parks
without using filters on the first page.
• Users expected to see a map when they
clicked on the “MAP” tab button.
• Users expect to have the parks list
displayed before they interact with the
screen.
• The label “My Lists” on the homepage
confused users, they expected to see a
complete list of parks, often clicking there to
start.
• None of the users used the icon/ button
“Filters” to search for parks.

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Subjective
Evaluation
Findings:
• The users ranked the experience 5 – very easy
and intuitive - even if they had to overthink the
interaction and got it wrong.
• The users defined the “Find a Park” button as
“straight forward.”
• Once a user filtered by activity, they expected
to have the parks alphabetically.
• The map option only worked in the option
“Parks near me”.
1.3
Finding a park
was easy and
intuitive.
5/5
1.4
The layout and
hierarchy of the
elements on the
page were easy to
understand.
5/5

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Recommendations
1. Reduce clicks, design the “Find a Park” button to
have a component on the homepage that allows
users to search by the park with filters from the
homepage.
• Activity
• State
• Region
2. Show the park list by name once the users click on
the search bar and make a predictive search when
users are typing the name of the park.
Recommendation 1 – Idea Concept

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Recommendations
3. Add an additional component/icon for the map on
the homepage, once the users click on the map it
will display “Parks near me”.
4. Always organize the list results in alphabetical order
so users have the insight to navigate the results.

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2. Yosemite Park
Task
Completion
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to find a specific National
Park in the app?

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Task
Findings
SUCCESS AREAS
• Users found the information and content
on the preview page relevant and exciting.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• When looking for “Park by name” users
lose the opportunity to use the search bar
and have to scroll down the complete list
to arrive at “Y” to find Yosemite.
• Users expect to have the same
information they have on the park
“preview page” once they click the
“Explore full park” button, and
disappointed there is less information.
• Users don’t understand why they need to
click the “Explore Full Park” button to see
all the park information or why it is hidden.
• The preview page is not acting as a
synopsis in some cases and the transition
to cards is hard to assimilate.
2.1
Find Yosemite National
Park in California
2.2
How would you
rank this page?
3/5

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Recommendations
1. Send the user straight to the park page, avoiding
the second click.
2. Add a descriptive text to the park’s landing page
and limit this section to the number of characters
used.
3. Add basic information to the park’s landing page
with a “cut visualization” and “Load More” button to
expand this section’s information.
4. Add the “Photo Gallery” section to the homepage
after the cards section.

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3. Basic
Information
Task
Completion
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to find the general
information inside a National
Park page in the app?

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Task
Findings
3.1
Find opening
Hours
3.4 Find Fees &
SUCCESS AREAS
• The labels for buttons inside the Basic
Information page are easy to understand
because they are commonly used terms.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• Almost all users could not find opening
hours and passes fees, and instead, most
went to the visitor's center to find this info.
• Many users skipped over the "Basic
information" button, not noticing it
because it was not in a card like the other
information.
• Once on the basic information page,
users don't have to click again to find the
actual address, contact number, etc.
• Users expect to see the basic information
page when they arrive at the park page
landing page.
• None of the users used the link to the
website.

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Task
Findings
3.5
Gas stations inside the
park
3.6
Main entrance of the
park
SUCCESS AREAS
• Imagery makes the page experience more
attractive and easier to understand.
• Users understand the card display layout.
• Users understand the icons inside the
Amenities card and relate them with
services (gas stations, bus stops, parking
areas, etc.).
CHALLENGE AREAS
• Users found the labels "Things to do" and
"What to see" similar and unsure of the
differences.
• Users relate basic information with the
visitor's center, thinking it will be a "Digital
visitor center.”
• Users completely missed the Basic
information button

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Recommendations
1. Since the "Basic information list view" layout had
good results with users, we suggest keeping the
listing view display but adding it to the landing park
page.
2. For the basic information page, utilize an
expandable component that uses either an
accordion feature or "Load More" and "Shows Less"
buttons to reduce users from having to click to
another page.
3. For the basic information page, rearrange the order
of the list, starting with Weather and Operating
Hours & Seasons (the most requested information),
and leave the last for contact.
4. Add Alerts to this listing view on the park landing
page, so users don't miss it.

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4. Park Site 1:
Activities Task
Completion
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to find a national park's
activities within the app?

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Task
Findings
SUCCESS AREAS
• The icons are understandable and help to
scan the cards faster.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• The app shows six (6) activities vs. the
website with Camping, Tours, Art and
Photography, Auto Touring, Biking,
Birdwatching, Fishing, Horseback Riding,
Picnicking, Rock Climbing, Stargazing,
Water Activities, Winter Activities
• Users expect to find the same number of
activities that they can see on the website
• The cards without images look that the
page is “Under Construction”
• Users expect to have imagery that invites
them to explore activities.
4.1 Find activities page
4.3
How would you expect the
page to be organized?
What are your thoughts
about the layout?
4.6
Find Rock Climbing
information

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Recommendations
1. Add images behind the "Things to do" tile cards to
create a more exciting experience.
2. Create a component to look for activities by the number
of participants and activity duration so users can filter
and search the activities according to their needs.
3. Add a map under the search component to illustrate the
users' activities near them. If they are inside a park, they
will know which activities/ services are near their
location; this map could be a shortcut to the park map
page.
4. Mimic the same number of activities in the app that
users can find on the website.
5. Rethink the page's name from "Things to do" to
"Activities" so the title reflects easier the content inside
the page.

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5. Park site 2:
Thomas Edison
National
Historical Park
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to find a historical National
Park in the app?

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Task
Findings
SUCCESS AREAS
• Users were able to find the park easily
once they were familiar with the “Find a
park” experience.
• Users mentioned that the photo banner on
top is something they would like to
see but expect to see a multimedia gallery
to continue exploring the park.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• Users expect to find some introduction
summary text about this park, like the
park preview pages.
• Compared to the park preview page,
users found this page to be sparce and
wished there was more information like
they had saw on the park preview pages.
• Users felt like having more information
like “Getting Around” or “Parks Near by”
could improve their experience on this
page.
5.1
Find Thomas
Edison National
Historical Park

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Subjective
Evaluations
• Calendar and guided tours
• Since it is a historical park is important for the users
to have a visitors center location so they can get
information
• Glad to find the Passport Stamp Locations
• Self-Guided tours are a highlight feature in this kind of
parks.
• Users expect to find the information of why this park is
important.
• Was it important to Thomas Edison? Why? Are there
random activities, or are there activities that Thomas
Edison did?
Task 5.2: What are three things you would like to see?
Task 5.3: What are three things you find most useful?
Task 5.4: What are three things you didn’t find and would
like to see?

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6. Park Site 2 :
Self- Guided
Tours
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to use the Self-Guided
Tours that a National Park offers
in the app?

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Task
Findings
SUCCESS AREAS
• Once they start the "Star audio tour" users
found the experience jumping from one
stop to the next easy and intuitive.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• When on the audio tour page, users
clicked on the audio tour stop list, thinking
that was the start of the tour, and got lost
a bit before realizing they had to click the
start audio tour button.
• Users tend to interact with the stops
before clicking the "Start Audio Tour"
button. This layout confuses them.
• It Is not clear that the list stops in a
specific number during the experience.
• Users found the information exciting but
expected better accessibility options
during this experience.
• Walking from stop to stop and having the
"Directions to next stop" received good
comments.
6.1
Walk me through your
experience while you
are interacting with the
app. Continue till you
get to the last 10th stop
of the tour.

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Subjective
Evaluation
Findings:
• Showing the duration and stops information was a
highlight of the experience.
• The label audio is confusing.
• Users asked for the text of the audio inside each
stop (accessibility reasons).
• One of the users was confused between car tour
and walking tour.
• The audio was “nice and effective brief”.
6.2.
How difficult or easy was
it using the self-guided
tour from stop to stop?
4/5
6.3.
How useful is the content
content in the self-guided
guided tour for someone
in the park walking
around?
4/5

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Recommendations
1. Re-design the layout of the experience to show
that the list is a sequence of stops with numbers
related to the map experience.
2. Add to the landing page of the tour the
characteristics of this:
• Distance
• Duration
• Number of stops
• Transportation option
• Photo Gallery of the stop

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Recommendations
3. Add the information texts to each stop, with the
option to make it Audio-text (see video), so users
can either hear the audio or read the text, or both
according to their preferences.
4. Highlight the text while the audio advanced.

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7. Park Site 2:
Save the park
offline
Is it easy and intuitive for NPS
users to save and find a
downloaded park?

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Task
Findings
SUCCESS AREAS
• The download icon is easily understood.
CHALLENGE AREAS
• 2 of 5 users were frustrated about saving
this park and not finding it later.
• Young users relate easier “My downloads”
with a profile page.
• All the users expect to have this park on
“My Lists” option.
• Is not intuitive to have this choice saved
under “My settings”.
• The icon (person) was related to “Profile”
not to “My Settings”.
7.1
Save the park to
offline access
7.2
Find your saved
offline park data

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Recommendations
1. Add the “Downloaded Parks” to “My Lists.”
2. Use the exact wording, so users relate this list
with the “Save this park for offline use” option; for
example, named the list “Saved parks for offline
use.”
3. Keep the world convention icon that users
recognize as “download.”

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General Recommendations

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Create multi-function
components

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Incentivize the map
interaction

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Avoid long user
journeys

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B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
64
Be consistent with
components

43. N
P
S
/
A
P
P
:
F
I
N
D
A
P
A
R
K
/
U
S
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
65
Improve UX features

44. N
P
S
/
A
P
P
:
F
I
N
D
A
P
A
R
K
/
U
S
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
66
Improve accessibility
features

45. N
P
S
/
A
P
P
:
F
I
N
D
A
P
A
R
K
/
U
S
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
67
Enhance Indigenous
information

46. N
P
S
/
A
P
P
:
F
I
N
D
A
P
A
R
K
/
U
S
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
68
Thank you.

47. N
P
S
/
A
P
P
:
F
I
N
D
A
P
A
R
K
/
U
S
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
R
E
P
O
R
T
69
Next Steps
1. Phase 2: WEB - Homepage Baseline Script
2. WEB - Homepage User Testing
3. Phase 2: APP - Homepage Baseline Script