User Testing with a Paper Prototype

Shanicka Reynolds

About the App

The perfect recipe is an app that is geared toward first and second generation immigrant populations. The goal of Perfect Recipe is to educate and advise the user about healthy food choices in the context of their culture and resources to live a healthy lifestyle. The app will focus on creating recipes for traditional, everyday food with suggested substitutions that will be healthier alternatives according to national and international food guidelines. There will also be an opportunity for people to track their nutritional intake and make suggestions based on what the user inputs.

The app will expand beyond recipes. One component of the app will be the option for users to find ingredients that the recipe calls for based on price and/or location. Users will be educated on different food guidelines and nutritional recommendations.

The target audience will be immigrant populations in the state of Connecticut. The future goal of the app will be to expand on the number of cultures that will be in the database.

ScriptHello, my name is Shanicka and today we will be testing an app called , “The Perfect Recipe”. Thank you for volunteering your time to be a tester. Before we begin I would like to make sure you understand the purpose of todays session and explain what you will be doing. You will be given a task to complete using the app. The purpose is to not test your knowledge but to test the layout and ease of use of the application. If at any point you are stuck or confused please feel free to grab my attention. The point of paper prototype testing is so that it easier to fix any issues that may arise while in the process.

You will be given a green rectangle which you will use to symbolize “clicking” and option. Please allow for a few seconds in between clicks for me to change you screen or add any pop up functions. The session today should take about 10 minutes.

Again, all feedback-both positive and negative are welcomed at any point during the session. The goal is to fix any issues that would hinder the user from having a successful experience using the app.

Tasks

Each user was given four tasks:

Create an account

Find a recipe

Find the location of an ingredient

Find where you can learn more about exercise

A script was read and prompting and/or direction was not given unless the user asked a question or wanted to feedback. Users began each task on the home page except when creating an account. All four users used the paper prototype model for testing. Below are screenshots of the screens of what the users saw when clicking through options

Creating an account:

Creating an account

Home Page

Finding a Recipe: User 1 and 2

Finding a Recipe User 3 and 4

Find an Ingredients Location

Finding Information about ExerciseHome Page

Leave Feedback Home Page

Findings/Feedback

Below is the feedback that was given during the course of the testing.

• On each recipe page, a “save” or “favorite” button needs to be added

• Pictures of the dish should be added next to the name.

• Instead of putting “F”next to the ingredient name to bring the user to find ingredients page, the word “Find” should be added

• When selecting a store and on the store information pop-up, there should be external links such as:

• Clicking on the store name should take the user to the store website

• Clicking the store address should take the user to Google Maps or Google Navigation

• Clicking the store telephone number should open the dial screen with number already entered.

• Erase “The or tell us what you think!” line on the feedback page since it is repetitive

• Change the title of the “Education” tab. The feedback was that it is not intuitive that there would be information about exercise on the app.

• Ideas so far are “Learn More About Your Health”

• On the home page there should be a “Keep Track” button so that way people know they can keep track of weight and blood pressure. The only way to navigate to these records previously was only through the user profile page.

Experience User Testing with Paper Prototyping

This week the user testing was conducted on the paper prototypes created from last week. The benefits of paper prototyping lie primarily in it’s quick and simple construction and the ability to quickly edit the app during user testing sessions. The downsides of paper prototype testing when not using software such as the Marvel App is the time that it takes to sift through “screens” on different paper.

It should be noted that users followed the same steps drawn in the user flow chart meaning that users are engaging and navigating the app the way that it is intended to be used. All users followed the same step for leaving feedback about the site, creating an account, finding an ingredient location, and finding information about exercise. When it came to finding a recipe there user 1 and 2 used the popular recipe tab, user 3 and 4 used the “text” option/

Below are additional screens that were not clicked on