Usability test project completed by New Media student at Clark State Community College, Springfield, Ohio

1. Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:
Usability Test Design: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman
Name
Internet skill =
Occupation =
Online Use =
Site Impressions -
Task & Notes -
1. Wh
2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.?
3. Wh
User Recommendations -

2. Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:
Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman
Asja Kalnins
Internet skill = Expert
Occupation = Attorney
Online Use = 20hrs/wk shopping, news, Facebook
Site Impressions - The homepage’s bright yellow flowery image caught her attention. but left her completely perplexed as to what
Guidestar is. She was intimidated by the mess of words and the incoherency of their layout.
Task & Notes -
1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit?
User was unable to complete this task. She tried entering “Tips” then the whole phrase into the SEARCH box but received off-topic
results. The category “Help Identify High-Performing Nonprofits” did not have a Learn More option. She wondered why it did not
but the other categories did. User was unable to get back to the homepage without my assistance.
2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.?
She was unable to find this information under “Take Action” and was frustrated that the categories were not alphabetized. She
clicked on “Distaster Response” which opened another browser window but did not include the task’s information. She was also
unable to find it by using the Search function. Her comment, “If they want my money, they should make it easier,” perfectly
captured her experience. She gave up on this task.
3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report?
User spent considerable time deliberating, hovering over possible categories, without clicking on them. Her exasperation
concluded by stating that she “would never know that I could buy something on this website.”
User Recommendations - User commented that the products, services and mission of Guidestar should be more clearly defined for
the user. The homepage’s layout was busy, things were not clearly demarcated and this confusion continued onto other pages into
the site. She believed the site to be unfriendly and that it needed an extensive overhaul to more effectively meet her needs.

3. Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:
Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman
Spencer Louis
Internet skill = Intermediate
Occupation = Graduate Student, Military
Online Use = 15hrs/wk Wikipedia, research, Criagslist, eBay
Site Impressions - User was not entirely sure as to what the site was about and desired a simple statement as to that effect.
Task & Notes -
1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit?
Clicked on “Analyze Nonprofit Data” but returned to the homepage, clicked on learn more under “Demystify Nonprofit Finances”
but was unable to complete the task. *User knew to click on the Guidestar logo to return to the homepage.
2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.?
He also clicked on “Disaster Response” which opened another browser window which included locations. He did not know where
Sandy occurred and was unable to compete the task.
3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report?
User was unable to find the page detailing the products and services offered by Guidestar and was surprised that they were in the
business of selling something.
User Recommendations -
The user suggested buttons or a better, clearer interface with major categories for selection. He also recommended a better more
functional search option. On the home page his eyes tended to focus on the information on the lower half which he commented, was
not more important but its layout made it stand out more than rest of the site.

4. Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:
Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman
Christopher Scott
Internet skill = Intermediate to Expert
Occupation = Teacher
Online Use = 5hrs/wk email, Amazon, eBay
Site Impressions - Guidestar is something about nonprofit and she is a Guest to the site.
Task & Notes -
1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit?
Easily found and clicked on “Taking Action,” and found the “Tips for Choosing a Charity.”
2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.?
User struggled with this task. His first instinct was to user the Search option which turned up six results, none of them pertaining
to Hurricane Sandy nor the charity. He then retried the search using the charity’s name with no avail. He also clicked on “Disaster
Response” which opened another browser window but did not include the task’s information. Exhausted by the task, he
attempted to plug the charity’s name into Google to find out how to donate directly to PETSMART CHARITIES INC. via their site.
3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report?
User again tried the Search option which turned up no pertinent results, then went to “Analyze Nonprofit Data” but was unable to
complete the task. User questioned whether it was for reports for nonprofits that people were donating to or for reports on the
the donations made by organizations. His comment that “It’s hard to research something when I don’t even know what I’m
researching,” appropriately captured the experience. User did not successfully complete this task.
User Recommendations - After the three tasks the user remained somewhat clueless as to Guidestar’s purpose. He sort of gave
the site a pass, blaming his own lack of knowledge of the site to be at fault. He further explained that he should have clicked
“About US” to find out more about Guidestar. User expressed that I should change his internet skill to beginner after this experience.