1. Simpson 1
Shelby Simpson
Usability Test Based on User Field Testing
Usability Test for MuckBootCompany.com
TEST PREPARATION
Before conducting the field tests, I worked through the task sheet myself. I took notes
about how I completed each task as well as potential problems that could arise as a tester, who is
unfamiliar with the site, is completing the tasks. I also thought about different paths that a user
could potentially take to get to the same result. It was important for me to keep in mind that I
have already explored this site quite extensively. I will know more about where to find certain
products and how the site is set up in comparison to someone that does not even know what The
Original Muck Boot Company is, or what they sell.
Here is what I found when I went through the tasks myself. I used the Google Chrome browser
on my Northwest laptop. I was connected to my apartment Wi-Fi, which is through Sudden Link.
Task 1: Determine how many boot options are less than $140
For this task, I went to the Women drop-down tab, then to the shop all option. After this
took me to a new page, I went over to the left hand side and filtered by price. I then checked all
of the options that would give me boots for less than $140. Here I saw there were 32 options.
This seemed simple, but then I ran into a couple of problems. The first problem was that the last
filter option was $100-150 I had to then sort the boots from highest to lowest and take away any
options between $140-150, which took away nine boots. This left me with 23 total. The second
problem I found was that by filtering below $50 gave me options for apparel, and there was no
option to filter just by boot. So after taking away any option that was not a boot I found a total of
18 boot options that are under $140.
Task 2: You have just been advised that you will need steel-toe constructed boots. Of the
options you have found, which offer steel-toe construction?
2. Simpson 2
After reading this task, my first instinct (from previous online shopping experiences) was
to go to the left hand side and filter by characteristic or specific detail. Unfortunately, I did not
have that option. So I took the easy route and went up to the search bar at the top right of the
header. I typed in “steel-toe boot” and the site generated 12 results for me. I then went to filter by
price low to high because the first option I saw was twice the price of my budget. For some
reason when I went to filter it, it was not changing, so I just scrolled down. That is when I found
the “Chore Hi Steel Toe” option for $139.99. This was the only option in my price range that
was also steel-toe.
Task 3: Assume/pretend that it is Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and your flight leaves at 6:00 a.m.
Monday morning. Determine the cheapest shipping option to receive the boots on time, and
determine the associated costs.
Before doing anything on the site, I thought about this question. I calculated that in order
to get my boots before my flight on Monday I would need them by Friday since businesses
usually only ship on business days (Mon-Fri). In addition, since it was already 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday did not count in my day count. Therefore, I had three business days to get my boots.
Knowing this I went on. From previous e-commerce experience, I knew that I would probably
have to go the checkout route to see the shipping costs. From the product page, I chose my size
and a quantity of one. I clicked add to bag, and then the little spot that said add to bag changed to
“add to cart” this was a ‘hmm’ moment for me. But as I looked more it seems it was just a
mistake and they mean the same thing.
Anyways, I went up to my cart/bag and clicked on it to proceed to checkout. I then
scrolled down and found the option to estimate tax and shipping. I entered my home zip code
“66083” and it auto filled “Kansas” for me. I then chose the 2nd
day, $22 delivery option because
that gave me a little wiggle room, just in case something were to go wrong. This now made my
total $161.99, which is over my $140 budget, but it is the only option.
Task 4: Choose the best boot option and determine the total order amount, including shipping.
I already knew that within the parameters that the scenario gives me the “Chore Hi Steel
Toe” boot in black was my only option. After choosing the 2-day shipping for $22, the total price
in checkout adjusted with tax as well. Tax for my boots was an additional $15.34 when I shipped
3. Simpson 3
them to my house in Spring Hill, KS. Just out of curiousity, I typed in the zip code for Maryville
and it cut my tax in half, it was only $8.01, so I used that price to be a little closer to my budget.
This brought the total cost of the steel-toe boots that would arrive before my flight on Monday to
cost $170, which is $30 over my initial budget. Nevertheless, this is the best boot option.
As I went through the tasks I was frustrated by the options to filter, there were not many,
and sometimes when I wanted to sort on a certain page, the page would not load. I felt like
determining the tax and shipping was easier than finding a boot that fit my criteria.
Task # 1 2 3 4
Satisfaction 4 2 3 5
CHOOSING PARTICIPANTS
Before conducting the tests, I made sheets that had headings for each task that way I
could write quickly and organized during each test. I made sure I knew details that I should ask,
such as the browser they are using or the amount of time they spend on the internet in a single
week. I also thought out carefully who I wanted to be my testers. A male and a female that I
believed thought very differently than I do – so maybe someone that is a little more unorganized
than I am or more creative. I also took into consideration how busy these people may be, it is a
busy time of year and I did not want to be a bother to either tester, so before telling them details
of what I would need I asked them how busy or stressed they were feeling school wise.
Tester 1
Tester number one is Mason Arnold. I chose Mason as a tester because he is constantly
on his computer and I felt like he would be able to talk me through his thought process when
exploring the website. Mason is male, 18 years old, and is a freshman at Northwest. Mason said
he does a little bit of shopping online but more so browses and reads articles. He approximated
he spends 60 hours a week on the internet, 60% browsing and 40% social media. He considers
himself a high experienced user. Mason said that he does use other e-commerce sites such as
eBay and Amazon. He was not familiar with The Original Muck Boot Company before this test.
4. Simpson 4
Environment for Tester 1
Location: I chose to do the user experience test on Mason while he was in the TRiO
office on the third floor of the administration building. Mason spends a lot of his time in the
office doing homework and hanging out between classes because he is a commuter student that
lives back at home. This location seemed fitting because every time he is in the office he sits at
the same long table in the same chair at the head of the table closest to the wall. It is his home
base when he comes in.
Physical: In Mason’s home base spot there is quite a bit of natural lighting. There are
windows on both sides of him. The table is a large conference table and people come and go
from it. The meeting room where we did the test often has students coming in and out, people
talking, and even music playing from staff members’ offices. There is often time flyers and little
candies on the table for students visiting.
Technical: Mason used is MacBook for this test and was connected to the NWMSU Wi-
Fi. He was using the Google Chrome browser with no add-ons.
Tester 2
Tester number two is Megan Frerking. I chose Megan as a tester because after testing
Mason I realized I need someone who will share even more with me about her exact thoughts. I
knew that Megan would not sugar coat or filter any of her thoughts. Megan is a female, 20 years
old, and is a junior at Northwest. Megan thinks she spends about 40 hours a week online, she
says she really tries to stay away from social media when she can. She said within those hours it
is about 70% browsing and 30% social media. Like Mason, she also considers herself a high
experience user. She is familiar with other e-commerce sites and often uses Amazon and various
clothing store websites when shopping online.
Megan was completely unfamiliar with The Original Muck Boot Company before this
test happened. When she came to the site she had a very surprised reaction, she even asked me if
this was a mock site I had created (I was flattered).
Environment for Tester 2
5. Simpson 5
Location: I tested Megan while she was in the Starbucks part of the B.D. Owens Library.
She often does homework here and likes to chat with her friends in this environment. I saw
Megan at Starbucks and I stopped to talk to her, she said she had just wrapped up her homework
and I figured this would be a good time to ask her, since she was not super busy and was already
here with her laptop. She was sitting at a small two-person round table by herself.
Physical: The lighting in the Starbucks area is usually pretty dim or soft, but Megan was
sitting at a table close to a stand up lamp that provided her with some extra lighting. She was
sitting at a table by herself before I came up to her, although, during the test one person did stop
and interrupt to say hello.
Technical: For the test, Megan used her Northwest laptop. She was on the Google
Chrome Browser on the Northwest Wi-Fi.
TEST RESULTS
Initial Site Thoughts
One of the first differences that I noticed in my two testers is how they got to the site
when I told them the name of it. Mason entered in the exact URL and then it took him straight to
the home page. Megan, on the other hand, typed in Muck Boot Company in the search bar and
then that sent her to a Google search. She then clicked on the top result, which also took her to
the home page. Right as the site loaded Mason noticed the overall design of the homepage. He
mentioned that he liked the logo and how it cut into the banner, that it was clean and organized,
and other details of the design.
For Megan, as it loaded, her first reaction was “okay cool, boots” she was not overly
impressed. As I told them to explore, Megan began to click through the rotation of pictures, and
as she did, the pop-up appeared. Frantically she said, “oh, oh, I freakin’ hate this crap”. She was
very upset and distracted by the pop-up and without even reading it she immediately found the
‘x’ in the top right hand corner. I asked her why she was so upset about it and she just said she
does not like it when the site disturbs her original reason for coming there by making her sign up
for a newsletter or something. She continued to explore and loved the organization of the site,
6. Simpson 6
she commented on how the cubed selection of organizing boots by occasion was so easy to
navigate and understand. As she kept scrolling, the pop-up came again. She grunted and closed
out. I knew it was probably time to start the tasks.
Mason explored the header and hovered over each option. He liked that he did not have
to click to see his options but rather it was a mouse over with a little callout box. He talked about
how there was a good balance between pictures of the product and advertisements to sell the
product. He felt like the site was not all about purchasing but also had content. He felt like it
made “purchasing an afterthought”, which consumers like.
Both of them initially felt like the site looked organized and easy to navigate from their
initial thoughts. It wasn’t until they had to complete tasks that they saw the inconsistency and
problems that stood in their way.
Task 1: Determine how many boot options are less than $140
Tester 1 – Mason Tester 2 – Megan Average
Satisfaction Rating 4 3 3.5
Highlights
1. Both of the testers were hesitant at first about where they should start on the top bar. Megan
was more hesitant than Mason was. After the task was read aloud, Megan stuttered “uhhhh” and
moved her mouse back and forth over the top options trying to think through which would most
likely send her in the correct direction. She even made a comment there were tons of options,
and all the options under ‘collection’ she “had no idea what those even mean”. She ended up
choosing women, then shop all, while Mason chose the best for tab, followed by shop all.
2. Choosing how to filter by price was the next problem that I noticed. Both testers took a
different approach. Mason chose the $100-150 filter (which was my normal instinct). Megan
chose three filters, the <$50, $50-100, and the $100-150. This made more sense because she
7. Simpson 7
could have found cheaper options than Mason did, if there were any. The filter did not narrow
the options as efficiently as it could have.
3. After choosing the price both testers went to sort the page by price low to high. This seemed
logical but became a problem when the page did not actually sort by the tester’s request. It
worked for Mason, but not so well for Megan. Megan picked to sort the page from low to high
and the page never changed. She waited for a second and then the frustration set in. She tried
again, clicked refresh, and then it sorted properly.
Alignment to Heuristic (Flexibility or Efficiency of Use)
The main problem for this task was testers not being sure where to go right off the bat
due to the excess amount of options that a consumer has when getting started. Each tab that is
moussed over has 15 or more options of pages to click on from there. For an experienced user of
the site that is familiar with the product and the technical names of the types of boots, these
multiple options may be great. However, for the inexperienced person who is not quite sure what
they are wanting, this could overwhelm them. There should be a better balance of catering to the
experienced and inexperienced user.
Task 2: You have just been advised that you will need steel-toe constructed boots. Of the
options you have found, which offer steel-toe construction?
Tester 1 – Mason Tester 2 – Megan Average
Satisfaction Rating 3 2 2.5
Highlights
1. After hearing that steel-toe was now needed, the testers took different approaches in
finding this. Mason started to scroll on that same page and look at the small descriptions
until he found one that said steel-toe and was in his price range. Megan, however, went to
the left side of the screen where the filters dropped down in hopes of checking a box that
had the characteristic she needed. After she did not find that to be an option, she
8. Simpson 8
grumbled and began to scroll. Being in the women’s section, she did not find any options.
She then went back to the header and went to best for, then work. Still frustrated there
was not a better way to filter by characteristic she began to scroll until she found what
she needed. Both testers found the Chore Hi Steel Toe boot.
2. For this task that focused on price, both testers were limited on the options that were
within their price range. Megan who could not find any options in women’s had to resort
to women’s. Mason, found the pair within his price range but was surprised to see that it
was the only option in his price range and they only came in black.
3. Both testers were a little frustrated trying to find this specific characteristic – especially
for women’s options. Right as I read the task, Mason moved his mouse around the page
in circles not sure, where to go exactly, he then chose to read the descriptions and find
steel-toe that way, he did comment how it may not be the most efficient way. Megan,
who was more frustrated with the fact that The Original Muck Boot Company did not
have steel-toe boots for women, but she also struggled to find an easy way to find the
special characteristic she needed.
Alignment to Heuristics (Consistency and Standards & Recognition rather than Recall)
For task number two the testers knew exactly what they needed to do to complete the
task; find a steel-toe boot. Unfortunately, it was not that simple. It is a standard that when
looking for a product the buyer can filter options on, usually, the left hand side of the site. This
standard was not met and frustrated the tester, causing them to put in extra work to find what
they needed. This led to recognition rather than recall, where the tester was stuck scrolling
through the page, reading each description and remembering the price, name, description of a
certain boot while they look for others they can compare it to with the same features. This took
extra time and work that made the tester’s experience on the site less delightful.
Task 3: Assume/pretend that it is Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and your flight leaves at 6:00 a.m.
Monday morning. Determine the cheapest shipping option to receive the boots on time, and
determine the associated costs.
9. Simpson 9
Tester 1 – Mason Tester 2 – Megan Average
Satisfaction Rating 3 3 3
Highlights
1. One of the main concerns for both testers in this task is that they did not know if the
boots would arrive on time. There were not enough details to show when the boots could
would be in the hands of the consumer. This is reflective in both testers. Mason chose the
2-day shipping for an additional $22, which brought his total to $161.99 (without tax).
Mason took the same approach I did thinking that the boots would surely be there in time.
Megan chose the three-day shipping to reduce costs. Her shipping added $13 to her total.
2. Both testers went to the product page, and then chose the size and quantity – side note,
many sizes were unavailable for this boot causing issues – they then proceeded to add
their selection to their bag. They then went to the top and looked at their bag to find the
shipping costs. One of the problems or confusions that came up when figuring out
shipping is the lack of detail on each option and confusing abbreviations. Mason was
confused about the abbreviation (AK-HI) which he later guessed meant Alaska/Hawaii.
Without any information, Megan assumed that the first shipping option was 5-day. I
asked her why she assumed this, and she said because “that is the normal shipping time”,
but some people may not just infer that when buying.
3. One problem that Megan saw more than Mason was the site’s loading speed. As she
clicked to pick various shipping options or entered her zip code the web site took a while
to process her information. She even became a little impatient and refreshed the page
right as it was about to load. However, Mason did not have the same problem. This could
be correlated to the actual devices they were on and not be the web site’s fault.
Alignment to Heuristic (Aesthetic and Minimalist Design)
In task number three, determining the shipping cost, the testers did not have all the
information they needed to make a confident purchase. The aesthetic and minimalist design went
wrong for MuckBootCompany.com in this task. In the shipping information box when the buyer
is in their cart and ready to purchase, they are lacking the information on how long shipping will
10. Simpson 10
take and when to expect their product. In today’s e-commerce world people, want it now. We are
an impatient society, and Amazon has really made that a standard in the realm of e-commerce.
Even if the site is not able to get the consumer their product in two days, like Amazon, then they
should be able to give them a date range of when it will arrive. This may occur after actually
finishing the transaction and since we did not go through the entire process, we do not know.
Consequently, this could also push a consumer away from buying if they are under a time
restriction, such as the person in the scenario for our test.
Task 4: Choose the best boot option and determine the total order amount, including shipping.
Tester 1 – Mason Tester 2 – Megan Average
Satisfaction Rating 5 4 4.5
Highlights
1. This task was very similar to task #3 and did not cause the testers to explore the site
further. Both Mason and Megan made a comment after I read the fourth task asking me
“isn’t this what I just did?” I just instructed them to give me a total price for their steel-
toe boot that would get here by the time they needed it to. After these instructions, the
testers talked about the next two problems.
2. There was no final date saying when the boots would be delivered. Megan even
compared it to amazon, saying how precise the shipping is down to the minute of when
you order it will estimate when it will be delivered to the consumer.
3. Both Megan and Mason were frustrated by the fact that they were over their budget.
Mason referred back to the scenario saying that really he would not be able to get the
boots period because they are so far out of his budget, he said, “it’s not like it is five
bucks or something, it’s a whole thirty dollars over”.
11. Simpson 11
Alignment to Heuristics (Consistency and Standards)
Similar to task two with the filters, standards that have been set by other e-commerce
sites, that have raised the bar, are not met on The Muck Boot site. The lack of standards is
frustrating to the buyer and made them less confident about their purchase. The lack of
information about shipping dates made buyers uneasy when they are buying in a pinch. As e-
commerce has evolved with the growth of the internet, there is a standard for quick and efficient
buying, which is lacking.
Final Site Thoughts
Both Mason and Megan thought when they entered the site it would be easy to navigate
due to the organization of the homepage. When given specific tasks to complete they went down
different paths. Mason felt like the experience was just as he thought, simple. He felt like it
organized in an easy to understand way. Megan did not completely feel this way. She felt like
there should have been better ways to navigate and narrow your search to find exactly what you
needed. She often became frustrated because she was stuck scrolling around on the page until she
stumbled upon what she needed.
RECCOMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE UX
Single Problem
The single problem that I am going to expand on is the filters. This problem was exposed
in task two, where the testers had to find the boot with steel-toe. The average satisfaction rating
was a 2.5 between the testers, the lowest score of the four tasks. Since the point of user
experience is to make their time on the site delightful, I figured the best problem to fix would be
the one that disrupts their enjoyment the most.
Alignment to Heuristic (Consistency and Standards) &
The heuristic that this problem related to the most is consistency and standards. The main
frustration was that when the tester was read their task they knew exactly what they needed to
do, but the option was not there. The standard was not met. They needed to go to the side and
filter their options so that they could easily see all the options that have the characteristics they
12. Simpson 12
needed. When this was not an option they grunted and began to brainstorm the next option in
finding steel-toe options. The consistency and standards were lacking in comparison to other e-
commerce sites. With the solution I have come up with for this problem, it will also help to solve
some of the problem with flexibility and efficiency of use, by catering to new users and veteran
users.
Problem Improvement
Often times I have a difficult time getting my creative juices flowing, so I took the
brainstorming idea from the video shown in class and I folded a sheet into six sections and just
started brainstorming (see attached picture on last page). I started simple. I added a section where
the consumer could filter by special characteristic, such as steel-toe, waterproof, etc. That was
too simple and unoriginal, so I kept going.
In the second box I had the idea to incorporate the small images that I knew the site had
from the research in the previous paper. These small images give quick characteristics about the
boot, for example, a small water droplet that also says “100% waterproof”, these icons are a
quick way to see characteristics that are wanted. The user could check the characteristics that
they wanted and that could filter the selection. Then I realized I needed to incorporate size and
price from the previous design.
In the third design, I just added the pricing filter with boxes the consumer can type in for
an exact search. I also added a size box, this one is a drop down though. That way the buyer can
see what options there are, and know if the boots come in half sizes. After this box I began to
think about the problems from task one between experienced and inexperienced users.
In the fourth sketch I decided to cater to new customers. I stuck with the site’s theme and
asked the question “New to the Muck Boot Family?” followed by a button that prompts the user
to find the perfect boot for them. This then takes them to a page where they are walked through
all options, starting broad with male/female and then getting more specific into steel-toe
characteristics. This sparked an idea to make a page for rookies, and one for veterans. I coined
box four to be the rookie page.
The fifth box is a new version of the front page. There are two paths. One for veterans
and one for rookies.
13. Simpson 13
The sixth box shows how the veteran page would look. If the user is familiar with Muck
Boot options then they can shop by collection name. If they are wanting to start from scratch, or
are not sure exactly what they are looking for then they can click on the button that will take
them to the rookie page where they go through the steps to find the perfect fit.
This brainstorming session was amazing. Something I had never really
done before and I really liked how it turned out. I feel like I formulated a good
solution to this problem and I tapped into my creative side in the process.
The flowchart below shows the path that a user would take on the site with the solution I
am going to present. Starting at the home page there will be two new buttons they can press.
Depending on which that they will be taken to the rookie page or the veteran page. From there,
my hope is that there needs will be met. Of course, if need are not met there has to be an escape
route. I will include an alternative button that will take them to the opposite page.
Here is the original homepage on the left. My addition
would be between the slideshow pictures and the
#MUCKLIFE title. This addition would add two
buttons and can be seen below.
14. Simpson 14
The next page will be the rookie page, if you click ‘start my collection’. This will give
the user the option to click through
all the specifics of making their
boot (shown on the left). There are
five simple steps and they pick
their options. In the circles on step
four, it would have icons for steel-
toe, waterproof, leather, rubber, air
mesh, temperature range, etc. The
button at the bottom right hand side
of the page is to browse by
collection, rather than choosing
what they buyer wants. This would
be for someone who maybe is not
sure what all qualities they are
looking for but would rather see all the options and explore. This button will also take the user to
the veteran page, which is also the page that a user would get to if they clicked ‘add to my
collection’ on the homepage. This veteran page (shown to the right) takes the user to a place
where they can browse all
selections. They can see the
best-seller for each category
or click shop all. On this page
there is also a place to escape
this page and refer back to the
rookie page. Creating these
new options and pathways
gives the user better ways to
filter their boot options and
differentiates the experienced
use from the non-experienced
user.
