I did usability testing with seven participants to see how well the initial prototype worked.
The information architecture and visual style was appealing and clear for all users, but users got stuck in three key problem areas:
Users understood the ellipsis as a navigation tool rather than a profile menu
Users were unsure how to complete the budget line addition flow
Users were unsure about the impact of the update flow
Here’s how I handled each of these sticking points:
Problem Area 1: Users understood the ellipsis as a navigation tool rather than a profile menu
Problem:
When attempting to navigate back to the project page from a task page, users went to the ellipses in the upper right, rather than to the arrow on the upper left.
Solution:
I changed the ellipses to a profile avatar to make it clearer where the icon led.
Problem Area 2: Users were unsure how to complete the “add budget item” flow
Problem:
It was unclear to users that they needed to click the “add budget item” link again to complete the “add budget item” flow. They attempted to go back to the menu before completing the process.
They also wanted the option to add more budget items as part of the flow and the ability to edit existing items.
Solution:
I made the “Add Budget Item” flow part of a larger editing fuction, when the user hits edit, they can edit any item and add items
I added a ”Save” button that appears when the “Add Budget Item” link is clicked,
Users can click the “Add Budget Item” Link e multiple times to add multiple items before hitting “Save”
Problem Area 3: Users were unsure about the impact of the update flow
Problem:
Users weren’t sure where the updates were going when they submitted them though the “Add Updates Page”
Solution:
i added a note to the title of the section making it clear where the updates went and enlarged the share buttons beneath the post.