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Context
My CBC team created a new design to display people in a list. These people are mortgage lenders for CBC bank and they live in all different areas around the Midwest.
This design also featured a filtering option. Users can search by name or by filtering their cities, states, and zip codes. Each Mortgage Lender also has a personal profile page with all the information about that lender including a bio, contact info, video etc.
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This test will gain insights on which filtering option users prefer, inquire about general design comments, profile page designs comments, and some other small design features.
Objectives
​Determine:
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If users will naturally use the filtering system or just scroll through the list and find a lender in their town.
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Which filtering method makes the experience the most user friendly.
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User’s reactions and thoughts as they explain what they are thinking. Observe mistakes that users make, facial features, body language, and preferences on which design makes the process the easiest for them.
Goals
1. Determine the usability of the filters and what is the easiest to complete a simple task of finding a lender in their town.
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2. Observe clicks, motions, and verbal thoughts of users as they navigate the few tasks we ask of them.
Participants
The 5 individuals involved will take an unmoderated test in under 30 minutes. They all passed a testing screener via the Userlytics panel of testers.
Tools
UserLytics | Figjam | Adobe XD
Screening Questions
Tester #1
To be eligible to be selected for this test, participants needed pass through a screening process.
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After some simple demographics questions such as Age Range, Gender, Education, Current Occupation, I asked two specific questions pertaining to the topic at hand.
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Have you refinanced a mortgage in the past?
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Are you interested in refinancing or purchasing a home within the next year?
Tester #2
"Search By" Questions
The filtering function on this prototype allowed users to organize the list of people by State & City, by State only, or by Zip/Postal code. A question asked the user to find a lender that is located in Liberty, Missouri.
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The task required users to selected a filter by City & State. Other subsequent tasks made them familiar with each filter.
Lender Page Questions
The filtering function on this prototype allowed users to organize the list of people by State & City, by State only, or by Zip/Postal code. A question asked the user to find a lender that is located in Liberty, Missouri.
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The task required users to selected a filter by City & State. Other subsequent tasks made them familiar with each filter.
Q: Which filtering method do you prefer?
a. State and City
b. State Only
c. Zip/Postal Code
Results from users:
60% chose Zip/Postal Code
40% chose State and City
Tester #3
Q: What would you like to know about this lender in order to decide if she is a good choice to manage your mortgage?
A: I would like to see her experience, address, types of clients, and other personal stuff.
New Insights
General overall design comments:
Users liked the theme and colors.
"The new redesign looked clean."
"It was easy to navigate, intuitive and professional."
"It was Organized."
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My team and I needed to address the "Other" option in the dropdown menu, as users had several questions about it.
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Users suggested enhancing the lender list with additional information when hovering over a name. This could include quotes, areas of expertise, years of experience, or unique customer service traits.
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We also needed to enable users to search by city, state, or zip code, giving them flexibility in how they want to find lenders.
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Additionally, we should implement an indicator that shows users the distance from their location to the lender's zip code.​
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Finally, we compiled a list of items that users expected to see on the mortgage lenders' personal pages.
All comments from users about Lender's names
All comments from users about the filtering function.
All comments from users are shown here.
All comments from users about Lender's names
Affinity Mapping
The concerted effort to write all comments down on a sticky notes gives an appreciation for the process. It give importance to each comment of our users and holds our user's beliefs to a higher standard. We are not the users. Our ideals only mean so much, but an affinity map such as the one on my window helps bring the voice of the customer into the design process.
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My color coded stickies were arranged several different ways in order to pull out all insights. The process took two days, but it was a blast. Additionally, I collaborated with other designers to assist in new groupings.
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The graph below is a rainbow analysis of these sticky notes with possible solutions and next steps.
View full results of the user test including all comments from users.