Usability Evaluation of Ticketmaster
Summary
This project involved evaluating Ticketmaster's usability in two stages: an expert evaluation based on Ben Schniederman's 8 rules of usability, followed by a moderated usability study of the website.
Role
Usability Evaluator
Team
Solo Project
Project Duration
2 Weeks
Tools
Zoom, Word, Web Browser
Background
What this project is
This project was an exercise in usability evaluation of my selected website - Ticketmaster. The evaluation was done in two stages - first an expert evaluation using Ben Schniederman's 8 rules of usability, then an actual moderated usability study of the website.
Background
Part 1 - Expert Evaluation
-
Evaluated Ticketmaster's interface, focusing on the ticket selection process, transaction, and homepage.
-
Ticketmaster serves as an online sales and distribution platform for various events like concerts, sports, theatre, and family events.
-
Users can browse events by location, genre, artists, and venues on the website.
-
Chose Ticketmaster for evaluation due to its presence on lists of 'Brands to Avoid', aiming to uncover potential dark patterns affecting user experience.
-
Utilized Ben Schniederman's heuristics to identify inadequacies and propose improvements for the website.
Part 2 - Usability Testing
-
Created a task list based on common tasks for Ticketmaster users.
-
Recruited six participants, including a pilot participant, for a remote moderated usability study.
-
Tested participants on task performance, time performance, and user satisfaction.
-
Encouraged participants to verbally narrate their thought processes.
-
Conducted an exit survey to gather feedback on the overall experience.
Wrapping Up
What I Learned:
Using established HCI Heuristics to evaluate a website
Learned to conduct a heuristic evaluation using Schneiderman’s 8 Golden rules of Interface design, expanding understanding of usability metrics and organizing thoughts about interface problems.
Setting task lists, and using task and time performance to evaluate a website's usability
Gained insights from usability testing, exploring diverse perspectives and understanding different approaches that can lead to the same answer. Observed five users interact with the interface differently, providing clarity on usability flaws of the chosen website and enhancing understanding of user behavior.