Webshop EL VAULT
El vault
Company
ECCO LEATHER
Disipline
User Research
Approached by ECCO Leather I set up and conducted usability testing for their new webshop El Vault.
The webshop’s primary customer focus is independent designers and small businesses who require small quantities of fabric for their collections. The website was designed and built internally by ECCO Leather and the digital team of ILE. I was responsible for conducting the impartial and objective usability test phase.
Objective: ‘To enhance the user engagement for our clients by fulfilling their sourcing needs and eliminating any errors within the webshop’.
Scope and objective
I was not part of the actual design process of the ECCO Leather webshop therefore I was able to look at the project objectively. My first step was to gain information from those involved in making the webshop to be able to determine the scope and objective of the usability test. Next to this, it was imperative to find participants who were part of the actual target group of the webshop to get the most accurate results.
Finding participants
I divided participants into two groups; internal colleagues and external clients (independent designers, creative students, and small business owners). The criteria for internal colleagues were that they hadn’t seen the webshop before and weren’t part of the creation process. The external participants needed to be part of the actual target group.
Usability script
In preparation for the test, usability tasks and interview questions were formed. This allowed me to give the test a clear direction and get the most out of the results.
Test results
I decided on a task-based usability test so I could determine if the flow and information of the webshop fulfilled the needs of the clients. The interviewee had to go through the website via pre-meditated tasks I provided them, during which they verbally explained their actions and feelings. I gained insight into their frustrations and which features/flows were experienced as positive.
After I conducted the usability tests I used affinity mapping to organize and visualize all my findings. By using this method I was able to categorize issues and create a rainbow sheet. This allowed me to create a hierarchy for issues and make sure the team was able to prioritize what needed to be changed before the official launch of the webshop.
Changes
Together with the ECCO Leather team, I discussed the findings. With the rainbow sheet as a guide, we were able to determine the priority of the changes. Due to the pending deadline of the webshop going live, there was only time for the most pressing issues. Together with the ECCO Leather team, I came up with solutions.
