Community Compass is a mobile application designed to address a critical social need -providing easy and convenient access to essential resources for individuals and families in need.This app represents a significant step in leveraging technology for social good, particularly targeting those in underserved communities or facing food insecurity.
Why Community Compass?
Given the increasing reliance on digital solutions for social services, Community Compass ispositioned at the intersection of technology and social welfare. Its relevance is underscored bythe growing need to provide efficient and user-friendly tools for resource discovery, especially inareas classified as food deserts. The app is developed with a focus on user-centered design, taking into account the feedback andexperiences of its target users. Continuous updates and maintenance are crucial for ensuring theapp remains effective, accurate, and relevant to the needs of its users. In summary, Community Compass is more than just an app; it’s a digital lifeline for thoseseeking essential resources, reflecting a blend of technological innovation and socialresponsibility
Assess Usability for Target Users: Determine how accessible and user-friendly the application is.
Identify Usability Challenges: Uncover specific areas within the app where users face difficulties or experience inefficiencies.
Evaluate Resource Accessibility: Assess the app’s effectiveness in helping users discover and utilize available resources.
Explore Opportunities for Enhancement: Identify potential improvements based onuser feedback and interaction analysis.
Research Questions
The research questions for the “Community Compass” project, as outlined in the test plan, are focused on evaluating the usability of the application and understanding how it meets the needsof its target users. Here are the key research questions:
1. Usability Analysis of the Community Compass App:
What are the main usability challenges encountered by users when navigating the“Community Compass” application?7
How does the usability of the app vary among different demographic groups, specifically among the elderly, veterans, and those not familiar with technology?
What are the primary bottlenecks that users face within the application?
2. Understanding User Interaction with the App:
Can users clearly identify and understand the tasks they need to perform within Community Compass?
How many users struggled with task comprehension, and what were the specific challenges they faced?
3. Efficiency of Task Completion:
Is the application efficient in helping users complete tasks in a reasonable time frame?
Are there specific tasks that take significantly longer, and if so, why?
4. Meeting User Expectations:
What are the primary expectations users have from a user-centric app like Community Compass?
Did users feel that the application met these expectations, and if not, what specific areas fell short?
5. Identifying Errors and Issues:
What are the most common errors users encountered while using Community Compass?
How do these errors affect the user experience and overall satisfaction?
6. Resource Accessibility:
How effective is the “Community Compass” application in facilitating access to food and essential resources in food desert areas?
Is there a visible gap between the resources listed on the app and the actual accessibility or utilization of these resources by the users?
7. Exploring Problems and Opportunities:
Are there noticeable disparities in app usability across the elderly, veterans, and those unfamiliar with technology? If so, what are they?
What is the typical user journey from the point of discovering resources in the app to the actual use of these resources?
Are there specific resources or services that users are struggling to access or are not aware of within the app?
Are there untapped opportunities where the application could further assist its users or partnering organizations in addressing hunger and food distribution challenges?
These questions aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and areas of improvement for the “Community Compass” application, ensuring that it effectively serves its intended purpose and audience.
My Role
Design & Framework: Conceived the study structure, ensuring a well-rounded analysis through both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Execution: Spearheaded "Think Aloud" sessions, where real-time user interactions with the app were meticulously observed and documented. Conducted interviews with users to get a deeper understanding of what problems users face and what aspects of the app can be improved.
Analysis: Championed the interpretation of the SUS ratings, ensuring every data point was transformed into coherent insights.
Feedback Synthesis: Assimilated qualitative feedback, organizing them into discernible themes to guide actionable next steps.
Methods and Data Analysis
Think Aloud Sessions: To capture users’ real-time reactions, confusions, and feedback asthey navigate the application.
User Interviews: Conducted post-task to gather in-depth feedback on the user experience and specific challenges faced.
SUS Ratings: Used to quantitatively assess the app’s usability from the participants’ perspective.
Heuristic Evaluation: To find the issues that do not align with the principles of heuristic evaluation given by Nielsen Norman Group.
Target Users
We visited nearby food pantries, including Mid-north and Paws pantries, to recruit participants.
Demographics: A diverse group of participants was selected, age ranges from 20-55,technology proficiency being low to high, and frequency of app usage ranging fromnovice users to frequent users.
Selection Criteria: Participants were chosen to represent the app’s target audience,particularly focusing on those who do need nutritious resources.
Number: A total of 12 participants were involved in the study, ensuring a broad spectrum of user experiences.
Interviews
To establish a baseline understanding of user familiarity, motivation, and expectations. By gauging users’ prior experiences with similar apps and their reasons for using “Community Compass”, we can identify what draws them to such platforms. This stage also sets the context for subsequent phases, allowing us to understand users’ benchmarks and perspectives.
Think Aloud Session
To capture users’ real-time reactions, confusions, and feedback as they navigate the application. This method reveals immediate usability issues, cognitive roadblocks, or points of delight. Understanding user navigation patterns provides insights into potential design or flow improvements. Observing users directly often uncovers unexpected behaviors or workarounds that users adopt.
Tasks
Search for food resources for a specific location. We asked the users to search for the zipcode - 46202
Navigate and use WIC and SNAP calculator
Think Aloud Findings
Task Completion Rate
Time on Task
SUS Rating
To quantitatively evaluate the app’s overall usability. Offers a standardized metric to measure and benchmark usability. Allows for easy comparison with industry standards or future evaluations after iterative designs. Provides a numeric value that can be tracked over time and can be communicated to stake holders
SUS Questions:
I think that I would like to use this system frequently.
I found the system unnecessarily complex.
I thought the system was easy to use.
I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system.
I found the various functions in this system were well integrated.
I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system.
I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly.
I found the system very cumbersome to use.
I felt very confident using the system.
I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system.
Usability Challenges
Navigation and Map Usability: A significant number of participants struggled with the app's map interface. Locating their position and understanding map symbols were common difficulties.
Resource Accessibility: Users found it challenging to effectively locate and access the listed resources, with many reporting confusion over the operational status (open/closed) of the resource centers. The Community Compass App currently relies on manual methods for data collection, involving periodic calls to various resources for updates every three months or in response to reported issues. Consequently, the manual input of data into the system introduces occasional inaccuracies and reduces overall reliability.
Loading Times and Responsiveness: There were noticeable delays in loading times, especially when accessing the map and resource information, which impacted the overall user experience.
Calculator Functionality: Users faced difficulties in locating and understanding the purpose of the WIC and SNAP calculators. The functionality was not immediately apparent to many users, particularly first-time users.
User Satisfaction and Expectations
Moderate Satisfaction: The SUS scores varied but generally indicated moderate satisfaction with the app.
Unmet Expectations: Some users expressed that their expectations were not fully met, particularly in terms of ease of use and the intuitiveness of the app’s design.
Functionality and Feature Use
The SNAP and WIC calculators were underutilized due to their obscure placement within the app. Although the functionality is not exclusively offered by Community Compass, The food pantries and users have reported that they are used extensively.
Maps were not accessible by users to their utmost potential. Key features of the map were not highlighted in a timely manner.
Demographic-Specific Challenges
Elderly Users: Older participants faced more difficulties, particularly with navigating the map and understanding the app's interface.
Tech-Savvy Users: More technologically proficient users navigated the app with greater ease but still pointed out areas lacking in intuitiveness and efficiency.
Overall Trends
User Experience: The app’s user experience was found to be moderate, with clear areas identified for enhancement.
App Functionality: While the app’s functionality in terms of its core purpose was appreciated, the execution in user interface and interaction design needed improvement.
Quantitative Measures
System Usability Scale (SUS): The average SUS score indicated that the app was above average in usability but not at the level of high user satisfaction.The average SUS score is 63.125, suggesting that while the app was generally acceptable, there was room for significant improvement.
Please refer to this sheet for SUS Evaluation Calculations and Results - SUS Evaluation
Qualitative Feedback
Common Themes: Key themes from user feedback included the need for a more intuitive design, faster loading times, and clearer instructions within the app.
Participant Quotes: Users often remarked on the potential of the app, with comments like, “The concept is great, but it's a bit hard to use,” and “I wish the map was easier to understand.”
These findings provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Community Compass app’s usability, revealing critical insights into user interactions, satisfaction levels, and areas needing attention.
Based on the findings from the “Community Compass” project, here are several design recommendations to enhance the app’s usability and user experience:
1. Improved Map Navigation and Clarity:
Implement a more intuitive map interface that clearly displays the user's current location
Simplify map symbols and numbers for easy understanding
Integrate real-time updates to ensure resource availability and accuracy
2. Enhanced User Interface Design:
Redesign the app interface to be more user-friendly and less cluttered
Include features for automatic location detection and multilingual support to cater to a diverse user base
3. Reliable and Up-to-date Information:
Implement a system for verifying the accuracy of listed resources
Regularly update resource information to reflect current availability and operational hours
4. Optimized Performance and Speed:
Address the issues causing delays in loading screens, particularly maps, to enhance overall app responsiveness
5. Effective Help Section:
Revamp the help section to provide clearer guidance on finding and using resources within the app
Include FAQs and tutorials for first-time users to ease their navigation process
6. Intuitive WIC and SNAP Calculator Access:
Make the WIC and SNAP calculator more accessible, perhaps by placing it prominently on the home screen
Provide clear instructions and explanations for each field in the calculator
7. Building Trust and Credibility:
Include user reviews or ratings for resources to build trust
Offer a feature for users to report inaccuracies or closures
8. Addressing Diverse User Needs:
Consider different user journeys and tailor the app experience to meet the varied needs of first-time users, regular users, the elderly, veterans, and those less tech-savvy
Provide customization options for users to personalize their app experience
9. Enhanced Accessibility Features:
Incorporate accessibility features such as text-to-speech, large text options, and easy navigation for users with different abilities
10. Community Feedback Integration:
Create a feature for users to suggest improvements or new resources, fostering a community-driven approach to resource sharing
By implementing these design recommendations, the Community Compass app can significantly improve its usability, reliability, and overall effectiveness in serving its users, especially in providing access to essential resources.
Conclusion
The usability evaluation of the Community Compass app provided valuable insights into both its strengths and areas requiring improvement. This comprehensive assessment revealed that while the app effectively addresses a crucial social need by connecting users with essential resources, there are several usability challenges that impact the overall user experience.
Key Takeaways
User-Centric Design: The app’s design needs to be more user-centric, particularly considering the diverse demographic it serves, including the elderly and less tech-savvy users.
Potential Observer Bias: Even though certain testers faced challenges in completing the task, as indicated by the time of task completion and errors made during the process, the reported SUS scores remained consistently high.
- The contradiction between testers facing challenges in completing the task and the high System Usability Scale (SUS) scores could be attributed to various factors. One possibility is that the users, despite encountering difficulties, found the overall usability and satisfaction with the system to be positive.
- The discrepancy may be attributed to the presence of an observer during the usability testing, which could have led testers to feel self-conscious. This awareness, given the nature of the testing, might have influenced them to provide responses they perceived as ideal rather than expressing their genuine experiences and challenges.
Importance of Intuitive Navigation: The study highlighted the importance of intuitive navigation and clear instructions, especially for crucial features like the map and resource locators.
Performance Optimization: The need for enhanced app performance, specifically in terms of loading times and responsiveness, was evident, as these factors significantly affect user satisfaction.
Engagement and Feedback: Engaging with users and integrating their feedback into continuous development is essential for the app’s evolution and relevance.
Future Directions
Looking forward, the Community Compass app has the potential to be an invaluable resource for individuals seeking essential services. Continuous user engagement, iterative design improvements, and regular performance optimizations will be key to its ongoing success and relevance. The insights gained from this evaluation should guide future development, ensuring that the app not only meets but exceeds user expectations, ultimately contributing to its mission of aiding those in need.
In conclusion, this usability evaluation serves as a crucial step in the app’s journey towards becoming a more accessible, reliable, and user-friendly resource for all its users. By addressing the identified challenges and incorporating user feedback into future updates, Community Compass can set a new standard for applications designed to serve the community.
