Web Publishing paper #2

1. Cory Finch
Web Publishing
3/8/2018
Usability Test for Chefd.com
TestPreparation
In preparation for conducting the usability tests, I first began by thoroughly reading over
the assignment sheet to get a clear idea of what it was I would be doing. After doing this, I began
thinking about whom I would select to perform the usability test for me in order to get good,
noteworthy results from which I could draw conclusions. I then read the usability test script and
corresponding tasks and then ran through them myself before observing the two people I
selected.
I began with Task 1; building a Spoon University meal plan with a budget of $65
supplied by my generous “rich aunt.” I rolled over the items in the navigation bar to examine the
contents of the site’s various pages, and when I finally came to “Meal Plans,” I didn’t
immediately see anything about Spoons University, so I clicked “View All Meal Plans.” From
here I was taken to a page detailing the partnered meal plans offered by Chefd and scrolled down
to find the one curated by Spoon University. I then started creating a meal plan by selecting my
food allergies; none, and proteins of choice; beef, pork, and poultry. Selecting proteins was
somewhat confusing to me, as I couldn’t tell if the protein being lit up orange meant that it was
selected or unselected, but after playing around with the same buttons on the allergens page, I
was able to figure out how to select them correctly. I discovered that my allotted budget would
only cover one, two-serving main meal per week along with the grab-n-go’s and study snacks for
a total cost of $62.

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For Task 2 I went back, added one more meal to the plan, and started looking through the
menu to see what spicy meals were offered and which I wouldn’t mind preparing. I settled on the
black bean chicken brown rice bowl which was labeled as having a “mild” spice level. A
problem I noticed while completing this was that there was no clear indication as to which meals
were spicy without clicking on the picture of each individual meal. Also, I saw no way of
filtering the meals to show only those labeled as spicy, which would have been much more
convenient for completing this task.
Task 3 had me look through the meal plan and confirm that none of the meals, grab-n-
go’s, or snacks contained more than 450 calories per serving. This was fairly straightforward, but
viewing the nutrition information for each food item required clicking on every single picture,
scrolling down, and clicking “Nutrition Facts.” None of my food items had more than 450
calories per serving. As with the previous task, an option to filter the meals by calorie count or
even showing the calories for each one on or beside the pictures would have been much more
convenient and user-friendly.
Finally, for Task 4 I had to determine if it was possible to purchase the meal plan I
constructed on a Monday afternoon at 3:30 and have it delivered by the following Saturday
night. Upon clicking add to cart, reviewing my plan, clicking checkout, and entering my zip
code, I was then given the option for three delivery dates. The earliest date was a week away, so
I concluded that the meal in the scenario wouldn’t have arrived by Saturday. For this task, I
thought that the ability to view more shipping options or select other future dates would have
been helpful.
Choosing Participants
Tester 1: Zach Brown

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For my first tester I selected a mutual friend of mine, Zach Brown. Zach is a 21-year-old
male and is a senior Broadcast major here at Northwest. As well as being a full-time student, he
also works part-time at Pizza Ranch and, in his free time, enjoys playing video games and
watching television. Zach considers himself a high-experience internet user and spends roughly
50-60 hours per week on the internet with 40% of his time devoted to social media and 60% to
browsing.
Zach was unfamiliar with Chefd, but came into the test with some knowledge of meal kit
sites and online food shopping. I believe that Zach was a good, reasonable choice as a tester
because he is an experienced internet user and frequently buys and sells products online via Ebay
and Amazon, so he has a working knowledge of how ecommerce sites function and established
expectations for their functionality and usability.
Environment for Tester 1
 Location of test: I conducted Zach’s test in his dorm room at his desk. I chose
this location because this is where he spends much of his time on the internet,
keeping his usual internet-using environment consistent to avoid skewed test
results.
 Physical environment: The dorm room in which the test was conducted was
well lit with overhead fluorescent lighting. The television was on quietly in
the background with a broadcast of a sports game and the occasional
commotion of people and voices in the hallway was present throughout.
 Technical environment: Zach used his university laptop to perform the test;
an HP Elitebook 840 G4 with an Intel 7th generation I5 processor and 8gb of
RAM, connected via WiFi to internet from internet service provider

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Suddenlink. A default version Internet Explorer with no external plugins was
used as the internet browser or Zach’s choice.
Tester 2: Jake Hollon
For my second tester I selected a friend of mine, Jake Hollon. Jake is a 21-year-old male
and is a junior Business major here at Northwest. Jake is full-time student and works part-time in
the Hy-Vee kitchen. In his free time, he likes to play video games and watch Netflix and
YouTube. Jake also considers himself a high-experience internet user and estimated his internet
usage at 50 hours per week with a 30/70 split between social media and browsing. He had not
heard of Chefd before the test but was aware of similar sites such as Blue Apron.
Unlike Zach, he is not very experienced in buying and selling online, so he came in with
a different point of view of what to expect out of the site. I thought that this and still being a
high-experience user made Jake a reasonable choice, because he offered a different point of view
than Zach. However, I believe an even better option would have been to find a second tester who
was a low-experience internet user in order to have findings that were more representative or
users as a whole.
Environment for Tester 2
 Location of test: I conducted this test in the living room of Jake’s
apartment. This location was chosen because of its convenience for Jake
and to be consistent with his usual internet-use habits.
 Physical environment: The test was conducted after dark and the room
was dimly lit by two table lamps. It was almost silent for the duration of
the test and lacked any noticeable distractions, other than another friend’s
housecat walking back and forth through the room.

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 Jake used a custom-built, high-performance desktop PC to conduct the
test, with an AMD 8-core processor and 16gb of RAM hardwired via
Ethernet into his router with internet provided by Suddenlink and a
download speed of roughly 200 Mbps. He used Google Chrome as his
browser and had no noticeable add-ons or plug-ins.
TestResults
Initial Site Thoughts
There were both similarities and differences in initial site thoughts between the two
testers. At first glance, both testers said that they liked the look of the site and described it as
“clean” and “inviting.” Both put together that the site was about food and meal-kits almost
instantly and Jake made the comment that it looked similar to something like Blue Apron. Both
also noticed and commented on Chefd’s partners and partnered meal plans. Zach noticed that
rock and roll musician Sammy Hagar was Chef of the Month, which he thought was very cool
since he is a fan of his music and saw him in concert the previous year.

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In terms of different observations and comments, Jake said that he was impressed with w-
the amount of personalized meal kit options (650) and that they looked somewhat expensive. He
also commented that the site looked family oriented and geared towards people with an interest
in eating healthy. Zach noticed a few other different aspects of the homepage. He quickly
commented on the “Why Chef’d” section header and liked how they listed the three reasons of
“hundreds of choices,” “personalized recommendations,” and “no subscriptions.” He rolled over
the main navigation items a few times and then commented that it seemed kind of confusing and
possibly redundant because “collections” and “meal plans” seemed too similar to be separate
tabs, and he wasn’t sure what the difference was between them. In class, we discussed
consistency in standards in web design and content and how users shouldn’t have to wonder if
different words mean the same thing. Zach’s comment could indicate a possible usability/UX
problem.
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 2/5 4/5 3/5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%

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Highlights
1) Both testers had trouble correctly selecting their preferred proteins.
When attempting to complete this step, both testers experienced confusion on how to
properly select their preferred proteins. They initially seemed to complete this with no
issue, but upon seeing their meal choices, realized that they were given options from
proteins they didn’t mean to select and none from proteins they thought they had
selected. Both thought they had experienced a glitch in the site, and had to go back and
re-select their choices.
2) Both testers were initially confused on what the “1-7” selection meant when creating the
meal plan.
There was some confusion for both testers on what these numbers meant, and they didn’t
see that the numbers represented how many meals to add to the plan. Zach thought that
the numbers could possibly mean days or servings instead of number of meals. However,
once the testers clicked “Next” they realized their meaning. In trying to build a plan for
$65 or less, both testers started with three meals per week, realized that was too
expensive, tried again with just two, before finally settling on one. They commented that
seeing the how the number of meals chosen affected the total price would have been
helpful and would have saved them the trouble of trying multiple times to stay under
budget.
3) Zach was unsure of where to go to build a Spoon University plan and was confused by
the navigation options.
Zach was unsure of where to look for the Spoon University meal plan and was confused
by the navigation bar options. He said that the Spoon University plan “sounded like a

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collection,” so he started by looking in “collections” before looking through “meal plans”
and finding Spoon U’s. He felt that this was unnecessarily difficult and that “collections”
and “meal plans” were too similar to be different headings and that renaming them and
reorganizing their content would fix this issue.
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem for both testers with this task was successfully selecting their
preferred proteins on their first attempt. Zach began creating his meal plan by choosing “no
allergies” and then went on to select his proteins; beef, poultry, and pork. After originally
choosing three meals for his plan, he made the comment that he would have liked to have known
the prices per meal before deciding. He experienced some confusion and frustration on the next
page as the three meals listed featured only proteins that he did not select, including fish tacos
with cabbage slaw gluten and dairy free thai shrimp stir-fry.
The same thing happened with Jake, and both testers had to go back and restart their
plans from the beginning. They both attributed this to a glitch in the website and were sure that
they had properly selected the proteins they wanted. After trying a second time, they were both
successful and were able to look through their preferred protein options. From my observations,
it appeared as if the site’s buttons for choosing proteins did work properly, but knowing whether
a protein was selected or unselected was what confused both testers. By default, they are all
selected and are highlighted in orange. Both testers thought they started off as unselected, and
went through and clicked each of their preferred choices, unknowingly unselecting them and
choosing the exact opposite options than what they intended.

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Alignment to Heuristic: Error Prevention
This problem aligns with the heuristic of error prevention. This heuristic calls for careful
design that eliminates problems from happening in the first place or prompting users to confirm
what they are trying to do before committing to it. After observing both testers create their meal
plans, the way the protein selection buttons are designed is definitely error-prone. Beginning the
with options all unselected, as is the case when selecting allergens, would potentially be less
confusing and problematic. Also, a more obvious way of telling whether or not choices are
selected or unselected could be more user-friendly.
Task 2: You have the budget to cover one 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 3/5 3/5 3/5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%

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Highlights
1) Testers had difficulties finding spice levels on meals, as there was no way to filter
options.
Both testers looked around in confusion for a few moments when initially trying to
find spicy foods. They noticed that there were no filtering options, which they found
annoying, before figuring out that the meal pictures had to be clicked individually in
order for spiciness to be displayed. Jake had a particularly difficult time with this, as
he wasn’t aware that the pictures could be clicked on to expand their displays.
2) Testers encountered spinning load wheels on a couple items, preventing them from
clicking to view spice levels.
Once the testers figured out where to view meal spice levels, they began clicking
through all of their available options in order to check. Both testers encountered
spinning load wheels with a couple of their choices, preventing them from doing this.
This same issue occurred later during Task 3, and once they attempted to check out,
users eventually saw that the choices they were unable to click were unavailable due
to them being sold out. There was no indication of this during the selection process,
which confused and frustrated the testers.
3) Jake was unsure what descriptions of spice levels meant and wanted them to be more
specific or offer a comparison.
When Jake was going through the process of checking spice levels, he came across
the descriptions of “none” and “mild,” He was unsure how spicy mild would be and
wanted a more descriptive explanation. He also wasn’t sure on how many categories

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came after “mild” on the spiciness scale, which didn’t allow him to gauge the relative
spice levels.
Biggest Problem
Difficulty finding spice levels for meals due to a lack of a filtering option was the biggest
problem encountered for this task along with the inconvenience of having to go through and
click each picture to know its spice level. Zach began by adding another meal to his plan and
then scrolling through his given meal options. He saw the smoky buffalo chicken grilled cheese
and said that he thought that was probably at least mildly spicy before clicking the picture.
There, he saw that the meal was mildly spicy. Before finally deciding on the grilled cheese, he
went through all of the other available options to gauge how many spicy choices he could choose
from. Having to click on every meal was noticeably frustrating for both testers, and both said
they would have really preferred a way to filter results or at least see the spice levels next to the
pictures.
Alignment to Heuristic: Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
This heuristic matches the biggest problem of Task 2 because it deals with efficiency of use and
allowing users to tailor frequent actions. Being able to filter the meal options for things such as
spice level would have really improved both flexibility and efficiency and would have saved
both testers from clicking through every single option. I believe this option would be an
“accelerator” as described in the heuristic’s definition; something that speeds up a process for a
user.
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:

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Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 2/5 2/5 3/5
Success Rate 0% 100% 50%
Highlights
1) Both testers felt that far too many clicks were involved and it was too difficult and
tedious to find calorie info for each meal.
Testers were unsure a first where to find calorie info for meals in their plan, but both
eventually found this by clicking on meal pictures, scrolling down, and clicking
“nutrition facts.” However, clicking pictures stopped working midway through this for
both testers, as doing so stopped opening up more information.
2) Zach was unable to complete this task because on his “Grab ‘n’ Go’s” and the alternative
option were both over the task’s maximum allotted calories per serving.
When checking his “Grab ‘n’ Go” options, he came across the curried chicken salad wrap
and found that it was over the calorie limit and 470 calories per serving. He then went
back to the previous screen and selected “Swap Meal.” Pepperoni pizza in a mug was the
only other alternative option, but it was also over the limit at 480 calories. This kept Zach
from completing this task.
3) No nutrition information was listed for snacks or fruits, keeping testers from knowing
their calorie counts.
Upon scrolling down to the “Fruits & Snacks” section, both testers noticed that clicking
on either of the two pictures didn’t open up a similar page as clicking the pictures for the

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meals or Grab ‘n’ Go’s did, and no nutritional info was listed. Clicking the “fruits”
picture listed which fruits would be included for the week and doing so with the “snacks”
picture only showed, “Curated selection of healthy study snacks.”
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem with this task by far was the difficulty in finding the nutrition facts and
calorie information for every item in the meal plan, and once testers did figure this out, both
thought that there was far too much work involved to check the calories for each individual item.
This led to more problems for Jake, since he was unable to click one of his meals; the mac n’
cheese in a mug. This meal showed a spinning load wheel and was un-clickable, therefore
keeping Jake from even viewing nutritional information just like in Task 2 when attempting to
view spice levels on a meal. Both testers suggested that showing basic nutritional information
beside each food item would have been much more convenient and timely and would have
allowed them to avoid clicking each item three times. This also would have allowed Jake to view
nutrition facts for the unavailable meal in his plan and have that information for the future, even
though he would not have been able to add it to his plan until it was back in stock.
Alignment to Heuristic: Visibility of System Status
I believe the heuristic that most closely aligns with this task’s biggest problem is
visibility of system status. The system (Chefd.com in this case) should be designed in such a way
that certain important things are visible at all times (basic nutritional information in this case).
This heuristic’s description states that, “The system should always keep users informed about
what is going on…” I do not believe the site does a very good job of this in certain aspects, and
this was found to be glaringly obvious when testers attempted to complete this task.

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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 2/5 4/5 3/5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights
1) No option was given to order in advance and have meals delivered at a later date.
While Jake was completing the checkout process and looking over his shipping options,
he noticed that there was no option to order in advance for a later date. He thought this
was an important option that was lacking in the checkout process. One reason for this is
that if someone wanted to purchase a meal plan as a gift, they’d likely want to order it in
advance or at least have more than three options when choosing a delivery date.
2) Only three delivery dates were listed to choose from with the earliest being eleven days
from the date of the test; meaning the meal kit wouldn’t have arrived by Saturday in Task
4.
Neither tester was able to complete Task 4 and have their meal kits delivered by the
upcoming Saturday. Zach’s earliest delivery option was eleven days while Jake’s was
eight. While delivery speed itself is outside the realm of user experience on a website,
listing more diverse options and offering a description explaining their delivery methods

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would improve UX by helping users understand the delivery process better, in my
opinion.
3) The checkout process was described as “confusing” by a tester.
Zach commented on the overall checkout process, calling it “confusing.” He felt like he
didn’t know what he was getting into while trying to checkout and choose his delivery
date and didn’t like the lack of options. Finally, he said that instead of having only three
free delivery options that faster delivery options should have been offered at an additional
charge.
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem with this task was the inability to choose a delivery time at a later
date and only having three consecutive days to pick from, roughly a week to a week and a half in
the future. On the flipside of this, including “premium” shipping options for quicker delivery at a
higher price was also something that both testers mentioned they wanted. During the checkout
process, Zach was confused about the checkout process and his options, so I think that adding
“FAQs” and “Help” buttons at the bottom of the “Your Cart” and “Set Delivery Date” pages
would be beneficial for users.

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Alignment to Heuristic: Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
This task’s biggest problem is an example of the heuristic of flexibility and efficiency of
use. Not having the option of ordering meals in advance for a later date limits the user’s
flexibility, as does the lack of faster “premium” shipping options. On top of this, providing help
and guidance during the checkout process would improve users’ efficiency of use. The
implementation of “Help” and “FAQs” buttons during checkout also ties into to the heuristic of
help and documentation.
Final Site Thoughts
Overall, both testers experienced some problems and frustrations with Chefd.com as well
as some aspects of the site that they both enjoyed. Both talked about their difficulties (and
perceived website glitches they encountered) with selecting proteins for their plans. How meal
plans were structured and what was all included in them was a point of confusion for both. It
wasn’t until the end of creating their plans that both testers realized the amount of Grab ‘n’ Go’s

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and snacks stayed the same each week and wasn’t dependent on how many meals were selected.
The overall length of time it took to complete the tasks and the number of clicks necessary to do
so was also a final negative talking point.
Recommendations to improve user experience
Single problem being fixed: Task 1: Users have trouble correctly selecting preferred
proteins when creating a meal plan.
I decided to choose this as the single problem to fix because it was both testers
encountered it, and seemed to cause the most trouble and frustration compared to any other issue.
Problem Improvement:
When brainstorming ideas on how to best improve this problem, I began reviewing my
observations from both testers and examining the buttons that users interact with to select their
proteins on Chefd. I believe that the root of this problem lies in how the inconsistency in how the
selection buttons are used on the “I’m allergic to” section compared to the “I like meals that
include” section. No buttons in “I’m allergic to” are lit up orange by default as they are when
clicked on by users. When selecting proteins directly after, all buttons are orange and selected by
default. This inconsistency is shown below.
BEFORE:

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I concluded that both testers thought no proteins were selected by default because no
allergies were selected initially in the previous section. I think that if the buttons in the “I like
meals that include” section were unselected and not orange by default, that this problem would
be nearly eliminated. Even though proteins were all selected and orange like allergies in the
previous section turned once clicked, both testers still thought none were selected initially since
no allergies were.
I believe that the fix for this problem is a very simple one, albeit important. By simply
leaving all proteins unselected initially, as with the allergies, I believe users will be prevented
from unintentionally selecting every protein BUT the ones they intended. This fix contributes to
the heuristic of error prevention, and implementing it will help to keep the meal kit creation
process as consistent and user-friendly as possible, optimizing usability and user-experience.
AFTER: