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Identifying and evaluating usability issues to inform new a iteration of HR software

Overview

The Problem 

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Impact 

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Skills 

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My Role 

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SuperBatch, PrismHR's current payroll software, was undergoing a redesign. Our UX team was tasked with evaluating the usability of the new SuperBatch 2.0 prototype in comparison to the currently used software.
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Our usability report was used by the Senior User Experience Designer at PrismHR  to design new iterations of the SuperBatch 2.0 prototype 
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Heuristic/Expert Evaluation, Usability Testing, Participant Screener Creation, Moderating
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Worked as a UX Researcher on a team of 6. Was the primary client contact, created the participant screener, and conducted 2 usability tests (1 in-person, and 1 remote). Helped with designing and planning the study, creating the moderators guide, and analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data. 
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Understanding the Users

User Identification

User Identification
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Figure 1: Allison Persona given by the client

Heuristic/Expert Evaluation

Details 

  • Individually conducted a heuristic evaluation using Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics as a guide to asses the functionality and design of the SuperBatch prototype
  • The UX team then converged to consolidate, review, and compare findings. This was done to combat the evaluator's effect. 
  • A severity scale of red,yellow, and green was used to categorize findings for the heuristic evaluation and usability test. 
Heuristic Evaluation
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Figure 2: Severity Scale used throughout client project

Usability Testing for SuperBatch 2.0

Goals 

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Details

  • Observe user behaviors live
    • How do users navigate through the SuperBatch 2.0 design?
    • What obstacles do users experience during each step of the tasks?
  • Identify conflicts in expectations
    • Does the process and format meet the user’s expectations?
    • Where does the SuperBatch 2.0 experience fall short of these expectations?
  • Understand overall impression of design
    • What do users like and dislike most about SuperBatch 2.0?
    • What causes confusion?
    • Are there opportunities to improve the SuperBatch 2.0 design?
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  • Each 60 minute usability test comprised of:
    • Pre-task questionnaire​
    • UMUX (Usability Metric for UX) survey about the current version of SuperBatch
    • 7 tasks using the SuperBatch 2.0 prototype
    • UMUX survey about the SuperBatch 2.0 prototype
  • I created a participant screener to ensure that the UX team was targeting the correct user population our the usability tests.
Usability Testing
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Figure 2: Quick summary of the 7 major tasks and their individual goals from the moderators guide.

Findings: Analysis of Data

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User Insight:
  • Although the SuperBatch 2.0 prototype received a higher average UMUX rating, the difference is not significant at the .10 level.
  • Many participants mentioned they expect the value of SuperBatch 2.0 to increase once they have more exposure and training to the new design.
Data Analysis
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User Insight:
  • Data shows that participants generally performed well on most tasks, given the amount of time they had to orient themselves.
  • Majority of failures stemmed from not being able to locate a feature or understand a new icon
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User Insight:
  • Data shows that participants struggled most to complete tasks regarding:
    • Understanding payroll batch status
    • Unlocking timesheet
    • Launching Client Details
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User Insight:
  • Data shows that both positive and negative findings were present in every category.
  • Categories “Aesthetics” and “Clarity/Feedback” each had the highest number of severe issues, while “Aesthetics” also had the highest number of positive findings. 

Results

Final Outcome 

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Impact 

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Summary of 

Recommendations  

Compiled the user feedback and usability test results into a PowerPoint presentation which we presented to the client sponsor. The presentation included a prioritization of problems identified during testing as well as prioritized actionable recommendations to assist in an upcoming iteration of the SuperBatch prototype.
 
​Our usability report was used by the Senior User Experience Designer at PrismHR  to design new iterations of the SuperBatch 2.0 prototype 
 
  • High Priority
    • Add “hover over text” for links to explain where they navigate to.
    •  Add “hover over text” to all buttons/icons in the interface so users know what the different statuses mean and what action they can take.
  • Medium Priority
    • Change the text color for key information to a darker color to increase the contrast and ultimately the visibility.
    •  Customizability: provide users the option to hide or lock the row of large icons.
    •  Allow users the option to hide certain icons/actions that are not applicable to them and could cause errors.
    •  Add feedback to show if important messages are new/unread or have been read.
    •  Change the icon for selecting client names from a circle to a square to afford the possibility of multiple options.
    •  Add a confirmation pop-up to provide feedback to the user when they complete their intended task.
  • Low Priority
    • Move the filters down to the column headers. Users expected they find the filters here first before discovering the filters were at the top of the page.
    • Add the ability to edit cutoff dates in SuperBatch so users do not have to go outside of SuperBatch to complete this task. Users expected to be able to edit this information within the prototype.
Results
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