I conducted two field tests in order to analyze the user experience of SunBasket.com. UX was definitely an interesting topic to cover, and I could definitely see myself doing this as a career when I am older!

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Usability Test for SunBasket.com
Test Preparation
To prepare for conducting field usability tests on other individuals, I first tested myself. I
went through each of the five tasks to see what exactly I was needed to analyze during other
individuals’ tests. The first thing I had to do was to go to www.SunBasket.com to look at the
home page. From there, I had to scroll through the home page and say aloud what stood out to
me. What interested me on the home page was the food, the pricing, and the amount of work I
would need to do to prepare one of the meal kits. Then the scenario was read aloud to myself so I
understood the pre-test part of the usability test. The scenario was, “Your rich uncle is helping
you eat healthy by giving you up to $65 per week for Sun Basket meals”.
After realizing the circumstances, I read the first task: “Determine the weekly cost of a
meal plan that appeals to you. Will your uncle’s budget cover the cost of your preferred meal
plan?” From there, I personally chose to click “Pricing” to the left of the websites name at the
top center. When I went there, I noticed that the area in the picture of the families eating food
there was what looked like a tab, but it was not. I tried to click on it because it said, “more choice
and best value”. Obviously, I saw that as a usability error because it was misinforming to me as a
user. After that, I clicked on the “2 servings per recipe” because I really only need the meal-kits
for myself. That option gave me three recipes per week for $11.99 per serving. When I went to
check out, a “Free Shipping” option popped up on my screen. After reading the FAQ page, and
the bottom of the checkout price, I concluded that the first order receives free shipping. The total
price for three recipes per week was $73.90. Obviously, my uncle’s $65 would not cover the
price of a meal kit. Especially because after the first time, the shipping is not free.

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The second task was, “Go through the process of building an order (customizing a meal
plan) and choose the specific meal you’d like to receive.” Well, after reading the second task, I
clicked on “pricing”, “view meal plans”, “lean and clean”, and then I chose three meals with two
servings. I did not really have any issues with building the order because it was simple to
understand. When I got to the “view meal plans” page there was clear instruction at the top
stating what I had to do to select the three meal-kit options I wanted.
The third task was, “Determine the cost of shipping your first order and all subsequent
orders”. In the first task, I had already figured out that, my shipping was free for my first order
and that after that the shipping would not be free anymore. I did not ever figure out exactly how
much shipping would be because there was only small writing underneath the total that said,
“Your subscription includes future deliveries. Your next delivery will be $80.89 including
shipping and estimated taxes. Change number of recipes, skip a week or cancel any time.”
Therefore, it stated that there will be a higher total for future orders, but there was not a specific
price for the shipping.
The fourth and last task was, “Assume you have a very serious food allergy. Determine
how to go about placing an order that accommodates that allergy.” During this section I clicked
the “Sun Basket” title in the left top corner of the checkout page so that I could go back to the
home page. From there, I scrolled all the way to the bottom so that I could click on the FAQs
button. *Pre-disposition* I probably would not have known to take this step, but during class a
girl stated she had to go to the FAQs page for this task, and so that is why I did that. I did find
the answer which was that I should not order Sun Basket if I have a serious food allergy. I think
this is definitely a usability error because I think allergies should be a high concern for food sites
since more and more individuals are starting to have food allergies. Overall, I realized that there

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were definitely some usability errors I ran into when going through the site, but definitely all
fixable. Throughout the next couple of tests I conducted, one will see other errors that popped up
for other individuals.
Choosing Participants
Tester 1: Vicki Brod
My first tester was my mother, Vicki Brod. I chose my mother because she loves to cook,
and I thought that maybe a meal-kit would be something she might enjoy especially as she gets
closer to becoming an empty nester. She was also a reasonable tester because she is always
willing to help me, she was able to spend 30-minutes of her time, and she was much older than
my other tester. The age mattered to me because most of the time older people have different
techniques of doing things on the computer and different opinions compared to someone who
might be 21 years of age. My mother is 59 years old, works as a registrar in the counselor’s
office at Maryville High School, and uses a computer probably 30 hours per week. She is not
familiar with shopping online for food since she does her shopping through a grocery store, but
she is familiar with shopping online for other various materials like clothes or furniture. Out of
the 30 hours per week, that my mother uses her computer, she believed that 10% of her time was
used browsing and 10% was used for social media. She valued her internet skills as “high
experience” since she uses the computer for 30-hours per week.
Environment for Tester 1
 Location of test: The test was conducted at our bar within our kitchen because that is the
place in which my mother does her shopping on the web.

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 Physical Environment: The lights over the bar were on for the test, but everywhere else,
the lighting was off. The distraction by her was her Diet Coke, but that was the only thing
distracting her during the test.
 Technical Environment: She used a Google Chrome computer, specifically Samsung.
The connection was great since we were at our family home with Wi-Fi provided by
Suddenlink. The browser my mother used was Google Chrome and she had zero browser
ad-ons within her web browser.
Tester 2: Karly Johnson
The second tester is one of my roommates, Karly Johnson. I chose Karly because she
receives HelloFresh, another meal-kit company, once a week. I figured her opinions on the
website and of the meal-kit, industry would be well valued since she is a regular consumer of
meal-kits. Another reason as to why she is a reasonable tester is that she enjoys cooking, eating
healthy, and thinking aloud. Karly is female, a Northwest Missouri State University student, is
21-years-old, and shops weekly for food online. Karly stated she spends 18-20 hours per week
on the computer with 30% of that time being spent on social media, and 70% used browsing the
web. She overall rated herself a high-experience user of the internet because she uses it so
frequently.
Environment for Tester 2
 Location of test: The test was conducted in Karly’s bed because that is where she
normally shops the web.

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 Physical environment: The lights were not on during the test because it was still
daylight out. There was some distraction from Karly’s IPhone during the usability field
test, but that was the only distraction.
 Technical environment: She used a Macintosh laptop as her computer for the test. The
connection was good because the Wi-Fi was connected through Suddenlink. The browser
she used was Safari and she did not have any extra browser ad-ons.
Test Results
Initial Site Thoughts
The initial site thoughts were definitely similar. My mother thought that the meal-kits
were most likely healthy. She liked that they could be made in 30-minutes. She understood the
process of the meals get delivered, and then the individual can cook the food. She recognized
that most of the produce is organic. She did not understand what “clean ingredient,” meant
within the text of the website. She understood that these meal-kits could potentially meet dietary
needs. She did not understand why there was a picture of a grower on the home page. She
literally said, “I don’t care to see who grows my food. I don’t need to see a picture of a random
grower.” Obviously, she was not happy with that picture being on the home page because it did
not make sense to her as a user to have that on there. The information about the chef threw my
mom off too because she stated, “This doesn’t really mean anything to me,” because she could
not relate to what the website was trying to say to the user.
Karly’s initial thoughts included something similar to my mom’s in that she stated,
“healthy, quick, easy, convenient, and delivery.” What stood out to me though was that after she
stated some similarities to what my mom said, she stated, “Those are some of the things meal-kit

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sites say,” because she had relatable experience from www.HelloFresh.com. She thought the
food looked good. She also mentioned, “It is kind of cool how you can pick paleo, gluten-free,
vegan, etc., based on your dietary needs. With HelloFresh you cannot do that.” At the end of
examining the home page of Sun Basket, she did state that the website seemed very similar to
HelloFresh.
Similarities between the two tester’s initial thoughts were that they both believed the food
to be healthy, quick and easy. Differences included my mother not liking the picture of a grower
and a chef on the home page. In addition, Karly stating she liked that there was options if
individuals had specific dietary needs. Another difference I would state is that my mom had zero
experience on meal-kit website, but Karly has had experience. Which gives her something to
compare to, where my mom is just seeing a meal-kit website for the first time.
Task 1: “Determine the weekly cost of a meal plan that appeals to you. Will your uncle’s budget
($65) cover the cost of your preferred meal plan?”
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 5 4 4.5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights
1) Testers were surprised how easy it was to get to the total price of the order.
 Both of the testers from the home page clicked on “Pricing”, and then selected the
“Order Now” button underneath the “Classic Menu” option. Then from there the
individuals picked out their “Build Your Order” options. Those options included

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“How many are you cooking for?”, “How many recipes do you want?”, “Choose
a meal plan”, “Choose a delivery week”, and “Where should we deliver your Sun
Basket?” From there the testers clicked continue, where they were taken to the
food options page. The testers were able to pick out their meal-kit options for the
week and then click continue. After, they were taken to the “Complete Your
Order” page where the “Free Shipping” pop-up happened. To conclude, I did not
see this as an issue during the process, but more a positive highlight for user-
experience since the process went so smoothly for the testers.
2) Testers were surprised, but not amused by the “Free Shipping” pop-up at the checkout.
 The “Free Shipping” pop-up caused the testers to say, “Well, that is great I
guess,” during the process of checking out. They said this because the testers soon
realized that future shipping would cost money since only the first order included
free shipping. The problem with the pop-up is that it did state information clear
enough and quickly enough, so the consumer was just thinking, “Great, free
shipping!” When actually they needed to know what the future costs of shipping
would be so they are not blindsided. This is a problem because consumers need to
know exact details about products, especially when dealing with a consumer’s
money.
3) Testers both stated, “Well, I guess I will choose the meal-kit for two people” when
choosing the “Classic Menu” option on the “Pricing” page.
 When clicking the Classic Menu option, there were only options for servings for
two people or four people. I believe this is a problem because there are

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individuals who are cooking only for one, but there is no option for just one
serving per meal.
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem within the first task is the issue that individuals were not able to
order for a single individual. When they clicked on “Pricing” on the homepage, then clicked on
“Order Now” underneath the Classic Menu there were only options for servings for two or
servings for four, leaving no option for one serving per meal ("Healthy Cooking Made Easy -
Meal Kits, Delivered"). Having tester two, Karly, say, “Ope, I guess I will order for two.” This is
a problem in my mind because there are many single individuals who only make food for
themselves, and probably struggle with finding the right portion size for just them. If a meal-kit
was available at one serving it could potentially increase sales because there are so many single
people within our world. In addition, having serving options for other “odd” number families or
houses since not every family has an even amount of individuals. The only “odd” number for the
serving amount on Sun Basket is three. Having a serving size option of one and five would help
individual use the website more clearly.
Alignment with Heuristic: “Match between system and the real world”
This heuristic matches the biggest problem within task one because we want the website
to be speaking the “users’ language”. To do this, Sun Basket needs to offer serving sizing options
for a variety of people. That way individuals can see the system matches the individual’s ideals.
For example, if I am needing a meal-kit specifically just for me I only need one serving size.
Sadly, that is not an option, but if it were, the ideals in my head would match the concepts on the
screen. To conclude, matching the system to the real world.

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Task 2: “Go through the process of building an order (customizing a meal plan) and choose the
specific meals you’d like to receive.”
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 5 4 4.5
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights:
1) Testers were surprised how smoothly the process went.
 The process went very smoothly because from the homepage, users clicked “Meal
Plans” clicked their choice of the meal plan, from there the testers were able to
choose “How many are you cooking for?”, “How many recipes do you want?”,
“Choose a meal plan”, “Choose delivery week”, and “Where should we deliver
your Sun Basket?”("Healthy Cooking Made Easy - Meal Kits, Delivered"). After
all those tasks were completed individuals clicked “Continue” where they were
taken to the selection of meals for the week, after selecting the meals they would
like the “Continue” button was clicked at the bottom. This took the testers to the
“Complete Your Order” page. The process went smoothly.
2) Testers had already done this task during task 1.
 This task was already completed during task one which did not help in finding
usability errors within the process. The process went so smoothly that I did not
find any errors when examining the usability field tests.
3) Testers did not have anything else to say about the task.

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 As I mentioned in the previous highlights, there was just nothing else they had to
say about the task because the process from step to step was well thought out.
Obviously, Sun Basket had taken time to understand what the users wanted and
needed for the process.
Biggest Problem
There was no problem within this process when I analyzed my testers and their
experience going through the meal plan process. Both users described the process as “Easy!”
They stated this during task 2 and that is the main reason in which I did not find any usability
errors within this task. The process of which the users took is mentioned in Highlight 1 under
Task 2 if one would like to see the process in which the users took to complete the task.
Alignment to Heuristic: “Match between system and the real world”
I think the alignment within this task really checked off this heuristic because it gave the
users simple tasks in which they could complete in a timely manner. I believe each tester spent
around 3-minutes on this process, which I believe to be short compared to other personal
checkout experiences. The process matched the system to the real world, which definitely helped
to efficiently complete tasks.
Task 3: “Determine the cost of shipping your first order and all subsequent orders.”
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 3 3 3
Success Rate 0% 0% 0%
Highlights

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1) Testers were aggravated since they were unable to see how much future shipping would
cost.
 When testers were trying to complete the second part of the task, they were left
with an emotion of anger. Karly stated, “Why can’t it tell me how much it is?”
See, the problem was is that the free shipping pop-up was included in the
checkout process, but the site did not clarify how much shipping would be in the
future. All it stated underneath the total price was, “Your subscription includes
future deliveries. Your next delivery will be $80.89 including shipping and
estimated taxes.” The problem was that the specific price for shipping was not
mentioned for future orders.
2) Testers were pleased with the free shipping pop-up ad for first time shoppers, but not
ecstatic.
 The pop-up allowed the user to feel a second of joy from the pop-up until they
concluded that the prices was still not going to be covered by the $65 per week. In
addition, I am sure this could cause consumers to feel as if every time they will
order there will be free shipping since details are not clarified in the pop-up as
well. Giving the consumer what they need to know is very important, and I do not
think that was shown within this task.
3) Testers were surprised by the lack of detail underneath the checkout costs.
 Testers were surprised by the lack of detail because nothing was specified
underneath the checkout price. Yes, they included that the next order total will be
$80.89, but that was it. Attention-to-detail is very important with consumers

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because some consumers are very attentive and analytical so they will notice these
issues and be unhappy.
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem within this task was that the users were unable to find the cost of
shipping for future orders. Which could potentially cause a customer not to order from Sun
Basket anymore due to their lack of attention to detail. My testers both had difficulty figuring out
what future orders would cost. Especially Karly, she got to the “Complete Your Order” page and
completely got upset when trying to figure out the cost for future orders. With attitude in her
voice she stated, “Why can’t it just tell me how much it is?” This helped me to really view this a
usability order because we never want our users to be unhappy with their experience on our
website. Karly had to then go back to the home page, and then she clicked “Pricing”. From there
she had the opportunity to scroll through that page, which still left her unsatisfied with her
experience. She then clicked on “Values” because she really did not know where else to turn.
This process caused many negative emotions for my testers. Even my mother was confused as to
why it did not state the exact price underneath the checkout page.
Alignment to Heuristic: “Error Prevention”
This heuristic matches the biggest problem because honestly we just need to prevent this
error from happening with other users. If we were able to give specific details underneath the
checkout total price about future shipping costs, and included the cost of shipping within the tab
of “Pricing” on the home page. I believe a lot more users would be more successful when using
the website. In addition, a lot happier which is what we want so we can gain customers and keep

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them. This heuristic really explains itself in the title. It is literally doing whatever is possible to
prevent users from making errors.
Task 4: “Assume you have a very serious food allergy. Determine how to go about placing an
order that accommodates that allergy.”
Summary of Both Testers:
Tester 1 Tester 2 Average
Average Satisfaction 5 2 3
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights:
1) Testers were unable to efficiently get back to the home page from task 3.
 From both of the users experience there was not an easy way to get “back” to the
homepage. My mother specifically said, “I’m stuck!” when trying to figure out
how to get back. Whereas Karly deleted the part after the backslash, including the
backslash, so that she could get back to the homepage. When I took the test, I
specifically clicked the Sun Basket title because I knew it would take me back to
the homepage. I knew this because of previous experience on other websites. This
was a problem within the task because they were not able to easily start the task.
2) Testers had a difficult time finding the information if they had a serious food allergy.
 Users were unable to find the place in which they would find information if they
had a serious food allergy. This is a definite problem because individuals do have
food-allergies, and some individuals have very serious food-allergies.
3) Testers were unpleased that there was no options, but they understood at the same time.

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 When testers were able to finally come upon the FAQs page in which located the
information they were trying to find. They came across the answer in which they
needed, but not exactly, what they were looking for. Pretty much Sun Basket
stated to not buy from them if an individual has a serious food-allergy. Direct
communication was used within this statement, but can come off kind of harsh if
someone was interested in Sun Basket. In addition, the testers understood because
those with serious food-allergies could potentially die if given something they are
allergic too.
Biggest Problem:
The biggest problem within this task was that the testers were not able to easily get back
to the home page. Both my mother and Karly had issues with this task. My mother really made it
clear she was having an issue had stated she was “stuck!” She then continued to say, “I guess I
will just continue to go back…I keep on going back.” Until, she finally reached the homepage in
which she directly found the FAQs page, which included the information she was looking for.
Karly stated, “Well, I guess I will just go up here so that I can go back to the home page.” By
“up here” Karly meant the browser. Obviously, both individuals had issues with this task and
that is why I chose it as the biggest issue.
Alignment to Heuristic: “User control and freedom”
This heuristic relates to the biggest problem because people need a button to go back to
the home page, to undo something, or to redo something. Individuals make mistakes and need
options to get them back to something that they need to go back to. This heuristic really explains
the details of users being able to have control over what they are doing on the website in a

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carefree manner. If there would have been a button on the checkout page stating, “Go Back to
the Homepage Here”, users would not have had this issue.
Final Site Thoughts
Both testers had many similarities when it comes to the website, but also some
differences. Both my mother and Karly both thought the food looked like something they would
never eat. They also both agreed on they would not cook this type of food because as they stated
before they would not eat it. My mother had the opinion of the fact that she never would have
signed up for Sun Basket. Karly said that Sun Basket’s website was very similar to HelloFresh in
the fact that one can click on a recipe, load all ingredients, and shows how to make the meal.
Karly also thought that Sun Basket was pricey since she had something to compare it to since she
is a weekly customer of HelloFresh. My mom also really hated the picture of the grower on the
homepage because she does not care about who grows her food. She literally stated, “I do not
need to see pictures of random growers.” Therefore, to conclude those were the similarities and
differences between the two testers and what their final thoughts were.
Recommendations to improve user experience
Single problem being fixed: Task #3, Highlight #1: Testers were aggravated since they were
unable to see how much future shipping would cost.
Problem Improvement:

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Example 1:
 Shown in example one is the “Complete your Order” page in which is causing issues for
customers because there is no clarification on how much the shipping will be on future
orders. In the example, I circled the area in which I would change so users would have a
better experience. Within this area, I would include text stating this: “If you decide to
order from us again, your next delivery will cost you a total of $80.89. Shipping will not
be free anymore because that is promo for first-time customers. Shipping will cost you
$6.99 for your future delivery fee. If you have any questions please contact us at
sunbasket@mail.com.”
 Through this example, users will be able to understand as to why they are not getting free
shipping anymore, and what future shipping will cost them per order.

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Example 2:
 This example is located under the “Pricing” page, which can be located on a tab from the
home page. I believe that pricing should not only include meal pricing, but also shipping
pricing as well. People want to know where their money is going. Therefore, I would
consolidate the vertical rectangles so they are the same shape and size, and aesthetically
pleasing. I would then title the shipping rectangle “Shipping Prices” so that customers
know where to find the cost of shipping. In addition, there would be a nice picture of the
Sun Basket box within the rectangle so it is also pleasing to the eye like the others.
Within the rectangle would include text that would say, “If you would like to try Sun
Basket we would love you to do that. If this is your first time shopping with us, we will
gladly include free-shipping at your check out stage.” That text would be located under
this text, “Shipping per purchase is $6.99. We try to keep things affordable for our
customers, and also understand your need for our meal-kits.”
 With this text, picture, and display within the “Pricing” tab, I believe a lot more users will
feel more efficient with their time spent on the site. In addition, I think a lot more

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customers will be pleased that the shipping costs are mentioned in two different places
because a user could potentially not look at the “Pricing” tab. I think this would be a
simple change to the “Pricing” page and would really increase sales because of the
simplicity of the design. In addition, giving the consumer details on the product,
especially the prices of things are so important because consumers want to know where
their money is going as I stated before.
Bibliography
Healthy Cooking Made Easy - Meal Kits, Delivered. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://sunbasket.com/