Can users find what they're looking for?

 

Three rounds of usability testing revealed, and confirmed that we fixed, surprising problems with Toyota.com's main navigation. Using a combination of techniques during the research, we were able to learn about and design for the needs of Toyota's shoppers.

 

Project: Toyota.com navigation refresh
Services: Three rounds of Usability Testing
Deliverables: Usability Reports

This case study outlines one of many Usability Testing studies I conducted for Toyota.

Toyota was redesigning their main website navigation, and wanted to know if the approach they were taking was meeting the needs of their users and if the visual design, layouts, and nomenclature were usable. Working with Proxicom, now acquired by iCrossing, we set out to find the answers.

The Product: Toyota.com is the official source of information on the company's top-selling vehicles. The goals of the site are to engage users with the brand, educate them about the vehicles, and convince them to go to a dealership.

The Method: Because we wanted to test usefulness, design usability, and multiple section labels/nomenclature, we employed a few methods. First, we interviewed participants to understand what each of them was really looking for. Then, we tested the site using tasks created from participants' responses, as well as a set of pre-determined tasks. We did some comparison exercises with layouts and nomenclature. Finally, after each session, we interviewed the participants using a questionnaire to gather additional qualitative, as well as easily measurable quantitative, feedback. We conducted three rounds of this testing to ensure that we were fixing every problem we found.

The Results: This turned out to be one of those studies where you just can't believe the results. Users had a lot of trouble just noticing the main navigation, which was a critical issue. Design adjustments were made to fix this. Because of the interviews, we also learned a lot about what users were looking for and we used this information to make adjustments to the prioritization of content as well as contribute the data to our ongoing persona research study. Also, after testing multiple labels/nomenclature and layouts, we came up with just the right ones. The result: an experience that works towards meeting all of the business's goals.

This study took place in 2005; Toyota has since redesigned its website, replacing the one referred to here.