Mission Electric: Refining an info-heavy journey

Moderated Usability Tests • Redesign

Mission Electric is a campaign and source of information regarding resources, events, and funding incentives to help users transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs). It is developed by Empire Clean Cities, a New York-based environmental nonprofit whose mission is to ensure clean air for future generations. Our team conducted 8 moderated usability tests to help improve the usability of this website. Keep scrolling to see how our design recommendations were implemented on the website.

Process

Identifying Goals and Target Users

We met our clients over a Zoom video call to discuss their main goals for the Mission Electric website, specific features they wanted us to test, and their target audience.
Our team recruited participants based on 2 user profiles provided by the client:

• Individual or family living in single family home or equivalent, owns a car and is affluent or Tesla-fan
• Individual who is young, college student or recent graduate who is environmentally conscious

Recruiting Participants

Reaching out to individuals via our personal social networks, I recruited 2 participants. 8 total participants were recruited over email and asked to fill out short questionnaires to find out their demographics. The following infographics represent our participant profiles.

Designing the Test Script

The usability test consisted of pre-test questions, 6 main tasks and post-test questions. The pre-test questions were to gauge participants' knowledge of EVs and determine what factors are important to them when buying a car. The post-test questions were for their overall feedback on the website and to find out whether they feel like they can take action based on their experience. The 6 main tasks were to find whether users were able to:

1. Determine the purpose of the website based on the Homepage
2. Determine financial benefits of owning Electric vs Gas vehicles
3. Learn how to install an EV charger in their home
4. Find public charging stations near them
5. Find an EV model that would work for them
6. Navigate to the News and Events pages

Each task was accompanied by some follow-up and 2 ratings: one for difficulty of task completion and one for clarity of information.

Remote Moderated Usability Tests

Over one week, each participant met with 2 team members over a Zoom video call for the tests. One team member moderated the test while the second team member took notes on a prepared Google sheet. I moderated 2 of these tests and assisted with 1.

Identifying Problems and Creating Solutions

Through remote team meetings, unique problems were identified and prioritized by the number of times it was encountered and its location on the website. Each teammate focused on a problem, came up with a corresponding recommendation and created mockups to show a solution. We addressed 4 major problems.

Users were confused about the website's purpose based on the Homepage

The Problems:

• The homepage lacks information above the fold. Only 1 out of 8 users scrolled down immediately.
• On the navigation bar, the “For-Hire vehicle driver” tab confuses users’ understanding of the website. 4 out of 8 participants expressed confusion about the purpose.
• The information under the fold is overwhelming. 5 out of 8 participants mentioned that the content is a text-heavy and repetitive.

The Solution:

• Add an indication of scrolling down above the fold
• Rearrange the navigation bar to represent the website's purpose more clearly
• Rescale the size of icons and reduce text

Implementation on Current Site

My Focus: Users were unable to find the information they expected regarding EV models

The Problems:

• Users were unable to find enough information on EVs, especially regarding factors that are important to them like purchase cost, annual cost of maintenance, charging cost, price point examples, safety features, class options (luxury, sports, etc). 7 out of 8 users mentioned there was not enough information on the EV page for them to find a suitable EV.
• Users were unable to compare the cost of owning an EV to a non-EV. Users mentioned 6 times that they would prefer to see a cost comparison of EVs against non-EVs.

The Solution:

• Categorize EVs into groups based on factors that are important to users, e.g by using filters.
• Link each model on the list to their manufacturer page so users can do research easily.
• Create an infographic comparison of EVs and non-EVs showing features and cost breakdown.

Implementation on Current Site

“Installing Charging” section lacks clear instructions

The Problems:

• The current graphic does not provide clear directions about installing a charger at home.
• The information on the “Electric Vehicle Charging” page is text-heavy and intimidating.

The Solution:

• Provide a “How to install a charger” section with concrete steps and clear intructions.
• Reduce amount of text on display while giving users the control to view more information as needed.

Implementation on Current Site

The News and Events pages are unappealing to users

The Problems:

• The News layout is uninviting to users. Users mentioned it represents "citations" and they expected to see pictures and short descriptions.
• The News section lacks updated and interesting news. Users expected more recent articles on EVs rather than legislation and discourses.
• Events could be difficult to navigate due to the layout and information display taking up a large amount of space.

The Solution:

• Incorporate more images and a relatable layout for News page.
• Display events as cards to help with navigation and scannability.
• Include more recent articles and webinars on EV models.

Implementation on Current Site

Client Feedback

Our findings and recommendations were shared with our clients in the form of a Google Slides presentation over Zoom and details were shared through an evaluation report. By the reaction we received at our final meeting, it was confirmed that the clients were very pleased with our evaluation. The clients found our suggestions insightful and feasible. The implementation of all our recommendations confirm that our evaluation was effective.

Key Takeaways

Asking users to rate ease of task completion and clarity of information may not have been the best way to understand their experience. In many cases, users found tasks easy to complete and the information clear but not useful or effective, causing deviation between test results and actual user experience.

Communicating with teammates and client, solving problems, conducting user tests, all remotely during the pandemic, was very interesting and definitely a learning experience. One specific thing I learned is that keeping track of data remotely, especially when it involves many people, requires a high level or organization and consistency.

A limitation we faced:

The order in which the tasks were designed may have impacted the ease of achieving the later tasks. For example, when completing one task users may have discovered features of the website they needed for a later task. Considering discoverability of features in the beginning may have helped us design a better user test script.