1. Kyle Wallace
03/02/2019
Jacquie Lamer
Usability Test for EnterpriseCarshare.com
TestPreparation
My name is Kyle Wallace, and I am currently a full-time undergraduate student at
Northwest Missouri State University. I am studying Interactive Digital Media, with an emphasis
of New Media. My daily activities, other than homework of course, include participating in a
plethora of intramural activity sports, binge watching popular shows, and spending time with
friends.
I tend to be more technologically advanced than most of my friends. I enjoy spending
way too much time on the internet, whether it be my school issued Hewlett-Packard laptop, or
my iPhone. I also have a Samsung laptop I tend to whip out when I’m in bed relaxing at the end
of the night. On top of that, I would consider myself a competitive online gamer. Due to this
extreme usage of internet, I decided to go with a high speed/high gigahertz plan through
SuddenLink, to power all of these devices. Combined, I would say I spend roughly 8 hours on
the internet each day, if not more. This would come out to be roughly 56 hours a week on
average.
I consider myself more on the side of social media, due to the various social media
platforms I am involved in. I currently have an Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. I
use these social media platforms daily, and tend to be a high contributor, not just viewing
peoples lives, but providing content to be viewed as well. Browsing has its place in my day-to-
2. day activities, but I mostly browse to pinpoint an answer (Google) or find information on my
favorite sports teams (ESPN). My school related activities also require me browsing the internet
a good amount of time each day (Canvas) as well as other various research I conduct. Although
there’s a split between the two, one is more heavily used on a daily basis, and that would be the
social media side. I would say a rough percentage would be 70% social media to 30% web
browsing.
My initial reaction to the website EnterpriseCarshare.com, is that the above-the-fold page
is very open and bare. To begin using the site, you either have to scroll down for more
information, or direct yourself to the “Menu” tab at the upper right corner. This frustrated me to
a certain extent, but I eased up to the website once I began scrolling farther down and being
exposed to the different cities, I began getting a better feel for the website. After reading some of
the content under “How it does it work?” I began to understand how the Carsharing industry
worked. I was puzzled why this crucial information was hidden so far down in the website,
though.
Environment for Kyle Wallace
Location of test: Test was conducted at my single apartment in Maryville,
MO on the couch in front of a Television that was turned on. ESPN
SportsCenter in the background with minimal volume.
Physical environment: Lighting was low. Only light was computer
screen with faint lamp in kitchen.
Technical environment: Computer type used was an EliteBook by
Hewlett-Packard, Northwest Missouri State University issued, and using
WiFi internet through SuddenLink WiFi. Browser used was Google
3. Chrome, with no browser add-ons or plug-ins installed. I did plug-in a
personal mouse, to forego the finger scroll.
Scenario: You are considering transferring to Saint Louis University. You don’t want to have a
car on campus, so you’re looking into how well Enterprise Carshare can handle your needs.
Task 1: Determine the size of Enterprise Carshare’s presence at Saint Louis University: Do they
have service there? How many cars seem to be available?
Summary for Kyle Wallace
Highlights
1. I clicked through each green dot to determine which make and model I preferred the most
to hypothetically use as a car share vehicle. This was a tedious effort, and I did not
appreciate it.
2. I noticed a similar cluster of green dots in certain locations, and figured that the cars
should be spread around campus a little more than just having them all in two or three
major locations!
3. I am not familiar with the Saint Louis area, so wasn’t sure how far to scroll out, and
around, to determine the amount of vehicles on the university campus. I think the website
Myself
Satisfaction 1
Success Rate 100%
4. should implement something that stops you if you are going out of the zone so customers
don’t waste time.
Biggest Problem
Having to click around on each individual tiny green dot became very tedious and
tiresome. I had to take precious time to do this, in order to find every make and model of the
vehicles provided for the Saint Louis campus, by Enterprise Car Share.
Task 2: Determine the total cost of securing a vehicle for 3 hours on a weekend that you plan to
drive the vehicle about 100 miles. (Include all application fees, membership fees, and usage
fees.)
Summary for Kyle Wallace
Highlights
1. I went back and forth from the “Become a Member” tab, analyzing the cost per
membership and application, and the weekday prices which I found easily. I multiplied 9
by 3 (hours) to determine $27 for the cost of 3 hours driving the car. The $35
membership fee, with the application fee waived brought me to $62. 100 miles didn’t
matter much to me because the first 200 miles are included in the rental.
Myself
Satisfaction 3
Success Rate 100%
5. 2. I had trouble navigation the site between the two pricing points. I had to open up and new
web page to have the same site open, in order to determine the total cost to the problem
described.
3. I originally tried to secure a specific vehicle by clicking the green dots, and “signing in”
but I didn’t have a member ID so had to star over complete the process again. I then went
to “Home” and found the weekend rates by clicking on the STL “Popular City” option.
Biggest Problem
Switching back and forth from the “Become a Member” page, and the “Saint Louis
University Home Page” was a tedious task, just to determine the overall price for my plan. I did
not find an easier way to figure out the pricing for the task, other than doing this.
Task 3: Assume your parents will be paying for your vehicle usage. Is that possible? How will
your account be charged each time you use a vehicle? How and where will you track your
vehicle reservation history?
Summary for Kyle Wallace
Myself
Satisfaction 1
Success Rate 100%
6. Highlights
1. I found that the credit card information had to line-up with the name on the Driver’s
license registered to the specific account through the “Become a Member” page and
under the information tab.
2. I could not determine how my account would be charged, other than a credit card, by
using a vehicle. So I assumed that a credit card is the only way to use the service.
3. I could not determine how to track my vehicle reservation history. I searched the FAQ for
this information and finally gave up.
Biggest Problem
Finding out how to pay for a vehicle, and reserve, without using a credit card, became a
tedious and time consuming task. There were multiple resources showing how to pay with credit
card, but that was the only form of payment information I discovered.
Task 4: Determine your liability responsibilities if the vehicle you use is damaged while you are
using it.
Summary for Kyle Wallace
Myself
Satisfaction 0
Success Rate 0%
7. Highlights
1. I could not find this anywhere. I went to another university or “Program” to try to
determine if the liability was under a different program, and had no luck.
2. I went far down in the “Become a Member” process, read the fine print, and could not
determine where the liability information was found.
3. I went through FAQ and even googled “liability information regarding Enterprise Car
Share, with no luck.
Biggest Problem
I could not complete this task because I could not determine how insurance or liability
played a part. I didn’t want to spend too much time on this topic, but after searching and
browsing, I could not determine this until after my testers found the answer.
Choosing Participants
Tester 1: Brenda Stewart
I chose to test a female UMHB (University of Mary-Hardin Baylor) student, Brenda
Stewart, age 23, that is currently enrolled in classes. She is a Journalism major, and wants to
pursue her degree in Kansas City when she graduates at the end of the spring 2019 semester,
since she is from the area. She has not used car sharing in the past, but is familiar with recent
trends regarding similar automobile transportation, such as Uber and Lyft. I think she makes a
reasonable tester due to the fact that she has no experience with the car sharing industry. She is a
younger female who has no current car sharing experience, but she is still familiar with other
8. automobile travel trends. Brenda tends to browse the internet daily, primarily used for school-
related activities. She is also, however, very involved in social media, having Instagram,
Facebook, Snapchat, and heavily uses YouTube. She admits to using the internet about 6 hours a
day, making her average 42 hours a week on average. When asked for the percentage she uses
both, she responded with 60% social media and 40% web browsing.
Environment for Tester 1
Location of test: Test was conducted in Brenda’s apartment, in her room
while she was sitting at her desk that she usually does homework.
Location was chosen due to the fact that Brenda feels the most
comfortable in this environment when she surfs the web.
Physical environment: A desk lap was used. Overhead fan light was not
turned on. Mid to low lighting due to Brenda feeling more at ease with this
lighting setup. No roommates were present, so environment was very
quiet, other than a television in the corner of the room set to low volume
(almost unable to hear).
Technical environment: Computer type used was a MacBook Pro by
Apple, using WiFi internet through SuddenLink Internet Company.
Browser used was Google Chrome, with no browser add-ons or plug-ins
installed.
9. Tester 2: Kirk Wallace
I chose to test a male adult, Kirk Wallace, age 58 that is currently a Retention Manager at
Western Governors University (WGU). He has about 200 students that he mentors enrolled at
WGU, and require his check-up weekly. He has not used car sharing in the past, and has not
participated in any recent trends in the automobile industry. I think he makes a reasonable tester
due to the fact that he has no experience with the car sharing industry. He is an older male who
rarely is involved in the car sharing industry. Kirk does, however, use the internet daily for
numerous hours due to his online job. His internet usage is almost exclusively web browsing,
although recently, due to family urge, Kirk has been coerced into using text messaging more
through a family group chat, as well as Facebook, to stay current with his children’s lives. Kirk
uses the internet pretty heavily due to his job, so he concluded that he spends about 9 hours on
the internet each day, putting his average at 63 hours weekly. His rough percentage is 10% social
media and 90% web browsing.
Environment for Tester 1
Location of test: Test was conducted in Maryville MO Scooter’s Coffee
Shop, while he was sitting at a free table located inside. Location was
chosen due to the fact that Kirk feels the most comfortable in this
environment when he surfs the web (usually in his hometown coffee shop
of Austin TX where he resides).
Physical environment: Lighting was normal coffee shop lighting. Mid to
low light. Kirk sat at a table with a comfortable chair, upright. Only
relevant distractions were the people ordering coffee nearby, and a group
discussing their class project at the table next to us.
10. Technical environment: Computer type used was an EliteBook by
Hewlett-Packard, using WiFi internet through Scooter’s Coffee Shop.
Browser used was Google Chrome, with no browser add-ons or plug-ins
installed. He did plug-in a personal mouse, to forego the finger scroll.
TestResults
Initial Site Thoughts
Both testers agreed with me in terms of finding the home page rather “bare” and not very
informative at the beginning. Once they scrolled down and saw the “How does it work?” portion,
they figured out the idea of the business. The general rates they had displayed was confusing as
well to both participants. They had it in their mind that the figure shown was the set cost, and
that it did not vary from city to city. Both of them did not realize that the generic hourly and
daily rates shown were for New York City, and that there was a way to change the city by
clicking on the location to quickly browse different locations. Kirk was worried that the only
way to find information would be to “Become a Member” and register through the site. Brenda
was interested in the end section of the website, and spent a good amount of time reading the
different quick links at the bottom of the websites.
Scenario: You are considering transferring to Saint Louis University. You don’t want to have a
car on campus, so you’re looking into how well Enterprise Carshare can handle your needs.
11. Task 1: Determine the size of Enterprise Carshare’s presence at Saint Louis University: Do they
have service there? How many cars seem to be available?
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 (Brenda) Tester 2 (Kirk) Average
Average Satisfaction 2 5 3.5
Success Rate 0% 100% 50%
Highlights
1. Testers both zoomed in and out of the mini map provided for Saint Louis University, and
noticed the small green dots. Kirk eventually clicked on each individual green dot, and
concluded about 6 different types of vehicles offered for the Saint Louis University
location. Brenda did not catch on to this, and could not complete this task to determine
the amount of vehicles available.
2. Brenda tried going to the FAQ section, since the Saint Louis University website did not
provide a clear view of the types of vehicles, or the amount available. She kept stating
“Why is this so difficult?! Isn’t this the main attraction for the website?” and finally gave
up, unable to complete the task and frustrated with the situation.
3. Kirk stated out loud that “This is a very tedious effort to click on each of these tiny green
dots, to determine which kind of vehicle I want to pursue. If I was rushing, I would
probably pick the first one clicked, which may not be the best vehicle to suit my needs.”
12. Biggest Problem
Finding each individual make and model of each vehicle Enterprise Car Share provided
in the Saint Louis region, was the biggest and most tedious effort I observed. One of my testers
could not even complete the task. The mini-map with the green dots displayed provided a good
sense of judgement where the cars were located in the region, but there was minimum direction.
Alignment to Heuristic
“Flexibility and efficiency of use” or “filtering and sorting” was the heuristic I chose to
align with the biggest problem regarding this specific task. The biggest problem between both
testers was the availability and type of each vehicle provided in the Saint Louis University area.
Kirk couldn’t find this information at all, and Brenda ended up not completing the task at all. A
filtering option or drop down menu of each individual type of vehicle near the top, available to
the customer, would alleviate much of this confusion.
Task 2: Determine the total cost of securing a vehicle for 3 hours on a weekend that you plan to
drive the vehicle about 100 miles. (Include all application fees, membership fees, and usage
fees.)
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 (Brenda) Tester 2 (Kirk) Average
Average Satisfaction 3 5 4
Success Rate 50% 50% 50%
13. Highlights
1. Kirk as well as Brenda were unable to determine the weekend rates. They began to
assume it was a couple bucks more compared to the weekday rates. So when adding up
the totals to answer the question, kirk determined it would cost roughly $62 to use the
vehicle for 100 miles/3 hours. They both came up with the same number, by adding 9 x 3
($9 x 3 hours) which comes out to $27; plus the $35 membership fee.
2. Brenda began to question her calculation, trying to add the 100 miles into the equation
too, and becoming frustrating yet again due to the fact that she didn’t know the price per
mile. Kirk read the small print that the first 200 miles are included in your rental, and
then .20 per additional mile. So he figured he didn’t have to calculate anything extra.
3. I observed both participants going back and forth from the “become a member” (to
determine the application fee/membership fee, and hidden fees, etc.) and the Saint Louis
University main page to determine the weekly/weekend hourly rate. Brenda stated “They
should have this payment information next to each other so I don’t have to go digging
around the website.”
Biggest Problem
The biggest problem both testers ran into, was trying to find the “weekend” rates for the
vehicles. Both testers used to upper right menu button to find Saint Louis University, and that
brought them to the same student view page. This page does not have the weekend rates for some
reason. When I was conducting the test myself, I found Saint Louis University through the list of
popular cities on the main home page. This provided the weekend rates, (which were the same as
weekday) since I wasn’t going through the student portal.
14. Alignment to Heuristic
“Consistency and standards” would work here, due to the fact of the site being
completely misunderstanding at times. There are multiple ways to get to a specific university or
location in America. This is fine, if there is consistency in the webpages. I found the weekend
rates, however, my testers did not. I went through the website differently, which allowed me to
stumble upon this task information.
Task 3: Assume your parents will be paying for your vehicle usage. Is that possible? How will
your account be charged each time you use a vehicle? How and where will you track your
vehicle reservation history?
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 (Brenda) Tester 2 (Kirk) Average
Average Satisfaction 1 1 1
Success Rate 50% 50% 50%
Highlights
1. Testers determined a parent could not pay for vehicle usage, if their name differs from the
driver’s driver license. Kirk concluded this, based on a small finding through the “Sign-
up” portion of the site. After filling in the “Profile” section and moving on to the
“Driving License” section, it says in small print that your driver’s license has to match
the credit card information used. So having a parent pay for your car sharing experience
wouldn’t work based on this finding. He did not go on to complete the full profile, he
15. stated he wanted to see how far he could get without putting any credit card information
in.
2. Testers could not determine if they could use anything other than a credit card to pay for
care share. None of them read the fine print “a few things to note” where it states that a
valid credit card in your name is required. Both testers focused mainly on right portion of
the screen when it came to “Join St. Louis University” and displayed the pricing.
3. None of my testers found out how their membership account will be charged based on
what you drive and how long/far. Kirk tried to look this up in the FAQ section, but had
no luck. He got frustrated and stated “I will check my bank account app daily in order to
keep track of the transaction used by this company, if I were to use this service.”
Biggest Problem
My testers got no insight on how to pay for the car share, other than assuming a credit
card would be required. Kirk kept asking questions like “what if I lost my credit card and needed
a vehicle as soon as possible?” Both were frustrated with the lack of knowledge regarding paying
for the car share vehicle.
Alignment to Heuristic
“Recognize rather than recall” would work for this specific task because the customer
shouldn’t have to go through the payment or login process to determine if their parents or anyone
else for that matter, will be able to pay for the service for them. The small print also does not
help, and I’m sure this will eventually be caught once users are able to undergo an initial
transaction. Making this option visible and clearly stating that the driver’s license needs to match
16. the customer’s credit card information will help provide a smooth transaction at the end of the
payment/sign-up process.
Task 4: Determine your liability responsibilities if the vehicle you use is damaged while you are
using it.
Summary for Both Testers:
Tester 1 (Brenda) Tester 2 (Kirk) Average
Average Satisfaction 3 5 4
Success Rate 100% 100% 100%
Highlights
1. Both testers determined that liability is included in the total cost by reading the part
“What’s Included” on the main Saint Louis University home page. It states Physical
Damage/Liability Protection is included, as well as fuel and roadside assistance.
2. It took Brenda a lot longer to find this section, and she had some issues as to how much
the liability covered. She was concerned about possibly totaling the car, and was
unfamiliar with that aspect in terms of owning a car.
3. Testers were surprised that the “What’s Included” page was typically on most of the Saint
Louis University pages even while clicking around. The navigation was foreign to Kirk
since it was a newer design, but Brenda ended up finding small details with ease.
17. Biggest Problem
Finding the “What’s Included” section where the liability details were discussed, took
one of my testers a significant amount of time to figure out, but was eventually found. That tester
assumed that information would be in the “Become a Member” section, and stated “This
information seems like it was just thrown in here in a whim.”
Alignment to Heuristic
“Help and documentation” would be an appropriate heuristic in this scenario. A quick
FAQ icon or question mark bubble should be displayed to help show customers certain liability
responsibilities next to the hourly and daily rates, so they can get an understanding what the total
amount would cost.
Final Site Thoughts
Overall, I concluded that the EnterpriseCarshar.com website meets the expectations of
most experienced users, who know how to click around a website and obtain information at a
fast-pace. For the novice user, especially one that has no experience with the car sharing
industry, it may seem daunting and overwhelming at times. I think the website mainly needs
more help with direction and showing the customer exactly how to obtain certain information at
certain times. The help videos do a good job at doing this, but my testers rarely used this tool in
the task process, in order to obtain information. My testers found the majority of the issued tasks,
however, it it took some time to find these tasks and there were gray area answers to some of the
answers.
18. Recommendations to Improve User Experience
Single problem being fixed
A problem that stands out to me that one of my testers faced, as well as myself, was the
lack of knowledge on the different types of vehicles (make/model). One of my testers preferred a
specific model of vehicle (Ford) that was used almost exclusively throughout their lifetime.
Being familiar with the specific model was important to the tester.
Problem improvement
I chose to recommend a fix for this specific problem, by having a drop-down hover menu
located beside the “Vehicle Location” title and above the mini-map. This would alleviate users
having to individually click on the little green circles in the area they are interested in.
The drop-down menu works by first hovering over the “Choose your vehicle” button.
Once this is done, a drop-down of the available makes and model in that specific region is
presented. Once the user highlights and selects the chosen vehicle, the mini-map will redirect the
view to the closest vehicle chosen based on where the mini map currently lies. If the mini-map is
magnified all the out, and there are multiple vehicles in the vicinity, it will choose one at random.
Once there, you will be able to see a zoomed-in version of the specific street the vehicle resides,
as well as the special information associated with that vehicle. You will no longer need to click
on the green circle to find out the vehicle information, the process of selecting the vehicle from
my drop-down menu, expedites this, and does it for you.
