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Transcript of Paranoid Guide
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TheFutureof
CarMax
U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n
I n f o r m a t i o n S c h o o l
T e a m P a r a n o i d
G r i m R e a p e r H e a d q u a r t e r s
5 / 2 0 / 2 0 1 2
DavidRuiz,KalebLora,Vince
Lam,SeanPayne
AnexplorativeprojecttoimprovetheCarMaxwebsiteby
identifyingwhatitsdoingwrong,whatisrightandwhereis
thistechnologyheaded.
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ProjectVisionOverview
CurrentlyCarMaxandothercar-dealersprovidetheuserswithanexhaustivedatabaseofeveryvehicle
theyhaveavailable.ForexampleCarMaxhasfly-outmenuswithcategoriesofcarmakes,models,and
manufacturingyear.TheCarMaxsitealsohasawell-organizedindexbutitdoesnotcatertotheusers
perspective,i.e.thedivisionsarebasedonvehiclespecificationsandnotuserwantsorneeds.
Theproblemwiththiskindofserviceisthatitisnothowauserthinks.Byusinganexhaustivelistformat
basedoffadatabaseschema,currentcarsitesareconfusingandfeelforeigntoauser.Usersare
confrontedwithanissueofinformationoverload.Usersthatareuncertainabouttheirchoicevehicle
willbeoverwhelmedbytheexhaustivelists.
Theuserissearchingforacarthatfitstheirlifestyleandpricerange.Theuserthenwantstolocatea
dealershipandcontinuetheircarsearch/purchasethere.Theorganizationwantsuserstovisita
dealershipsothattheirsalesmencanassisttheuserinbuyingacar.
Toachievetheaforementionedgoalsweplantoimprovethesitebasedontheusermentalschemas
andusagepatterns.Bycreatingawebsitethatisseparatedintolifestylecategories,userswithoutan
exactideaofthecartheywantwilleasilylocatecarsbasedontheirinterestandpricerange.Theresults
willbelimitedto10carsthatwillrepresenttherangeofcarsinthatcategory.Toaccommodateforwell-
educatedusers,asearchfeaturewillbecontinuallyvisibleonthewebsite,allowingtheusertosearch
foraspecificmodel.Allcarmodelswillbecontainedwithinthesite,butunlikeothersites,browsingwill
onlyproduceabroadrepresentationofthevehicles.Everyleafpage(specificcar)willhavealocatea
dealerbuttontoconnectuserstotheorganization.
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ProjectVisionAnalysis
GoalsandProblems
ThefirststeptodevelopingourprojectvisionwastohighlightwhatProf.Boikoconsideredtobethe
majorproblemsandgoalswiththecurrentCarMaxwebsiteandcombinethatwithourteamanalysis.
Althoughwecouldinfluencesomeoftheseaspectstoagreatextentotherswouldhavetobetakenin
goodfaith.Wecouldntguaranteethattheuserwillpurchasethecarbutwedefinitelycouldreduce
theirconfusionandhelpthemdecidebeforetheygettothedealershipthereforeincreasingtheirdesire
topurchase.
IdentifyingPersonas
Ourteamwasambitiousenoughinourattempttosatisfyalltheuserssowechoseourpersonas,
identifiedtheirwantsandhighlightedtheirconcerns.
Carmax
Goals
Helpcustomersfindoutwhattheywant.
Helpuserswalk-intodealership.
Helpinfluencewalk-userstopurchase.
Problems
CustomersDon'tknowwhattheywant.
Drop-offs(FrustraXon)
Influences
MagazineAdsTVAdsOnlineAdsResearch(84%beginatGoogle)
ReviewsWord-to-Mouth(Freinds\Family)
SocialCircles(Online)
PersonasMichelle
Unsureofwhatshewants
Acarbasedonherstyle\personality
Needshelpdeciding
Vince
NeedssomeguidanceAfamilymanAbudgetinmindAcartofithislifestyle
Roger
KnowswhathewantsBusinessmanBrandLoyaltyNotverytechsavvy
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ProjectVisionReflection
Inourreflectiveprocesswehadtofindhowtomakeitallsuccessful.Ourfocusasateamwasto
eliminatethefrustrationandprovideahelpfulguidancetoselectingthecarbeforethegotothe
dealership.Achievingthiswillhelptheuserdecidewhatcarhe/shewantsandtheorganizationachieve
itsgoalofsellingthecaratthedealership.Wecameafewfixesthatshouldhelpfitallofthese
problems.
Fixes
CategorizaXon-MentalSchemas
NavigaXon-Search
Simplicity-LisXngCluer
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HeuristicOverview
ExecutivesummaryWedidourheuristicevaluationonCarMax,Auto-trader,andCraigslist.WechoseAuto-traderbecauseit
wasverysimilartoCarMaxindesignandaestheticsandhasalargeuserbasesowefeltitwouldbe
goodforacomparison.WechoseCraigslistbecauseitwasasitethatwascompletelydifferentfrom
CarMax,yetstillhadalargeuserbaseandmettheirneeds. Oneofthemainproblemsweranintowasdecidingonwhatheuristiccriteriatouse.Wegotaroundthis
bysearchingthewebforsomeideasofwhatgoodcriteriawereaswellasbrainstormingtofigureout
thecriteriawewantedtodevelopourselvesaswellaswhichcriteriawewantedtouseofftheweb. ThemainresultwasthatCarMaxneedstodosomethingdifferentfromitscompetitorstogetahead
otherwiseitwillremaintobeverysimilartotheotherwebsitesitiscompetingagainst. Methods
1. ChoseCarMax,Auto-trader,andCraigslisttodoaheuristicevaluationon.
2. Foundsomecriteriaonthewebaswellasdevelopedsomeofourownforatotalof30
criterions.
3. Eachofthefourteammemberstookoneoftheheuristicsectionsanddidthetestonallthreeof
thesites.
4. Resultswerethencollectedandstructuredtogetherintoacohesiveheuristicevaluation.
Results
CarMaxcouldimprovebyprovidingbetterresultsfordiverseusers.Rogerwhoknowswhathewants
wouldpreferasearchandplugmethod.Michellewhoisntquitesurebuthasanideacouldbenefitfrom
categoricaldivisionsbycartypes.Vincerequiresabalancebetweennotbeingsurewhathewantsand
restrictiverequirementsofwhatarenecessary.
Maintainingdatabasepresentationalformforskilleduserswasoneofthecompetitorfeaturesthatwe
wantedtomaintain.Wealsowantedtoincludeapowerfulsearchthatdoesnotleadtodead-ends.Fromtheevaluationwefoundthepresentationoftheinformationwasdatabasedrivenandschematic
indisplay.
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HeuristicAnalysis
HeuristicRubric
OurHeuristicAnalysisbeganwithdevelopingasuitablerubricwith30criteriawhichwedividedinto
fourmajorcategories.
IntuitiveInformationSchema
1. Labelingfitsuservocabulary
2. Adequaterelevanceofcarinformation
3. Toolsfituserneeds
4. Cuesarepresenttoguideuserthroughtheirworkflow
5. Carinformationpresentedisusefulforallpersonatypes
6. Thumbnailviewsprovideadequatedetail
7. Carselectionsprovidemoreoptionsifauserwantstobrowsesimilarvehicle
SupportUserGoals
1. Thenavigationschemeandlayoutactivelysupportstheuser'sgoals(RAMP)
2. Adequateexplanationisgivenfortasksthatrequireit(RAMP)
3. Alltheinformationauserneedsisavailableateachstageofagivenworkflow(RAMP)
4. Thereisaclearhierarchyintheprimarycallstoaction(RAMP)
5. Thesearchinterfaceislocatedwhereyou'dexpectittobe(LouisRosenfeld)
6. Itisclearwhatwassearched(LouisRosenfeld)
7. Resultsarelistedinausefulway(LouisRosenfeld)
FlexibilityandEfficiencyofUse
1. Landingpagehasapossiblewaytonavigatetoanypartofthesite(Ramp)2. Siteprovidestheappropriateinformationalgoal(Ramp)
3. Howwelldoesthesitedelivertheinformationalgoal?(Ramp)
4. Sitehasreasonableloadtimesandsearchefficiency(Ramp)
5. Sitesupportsmobiledevices(Original)
6. Sitesupportsprintoptionswhenneeded(Original)
7. Siteprovidestoolswhenneeded(Original)
8. Howhelpfularethetoolsprovided?(Original)
9. Doesthesiteprovidehelpfulprompts?(Original)
AestheticsandMinimalistDesign
1. Intuitivelayoutofcontent(Original)
2. Optimizeduseofcontentarea(Original)
3. Professionalappearance(Original)
4. Designconsistency(constantthemethroughout)
5. Mainnavigationeasilyidentifiable
6. Adsandpop-upsareunobtrusive(usereffect.com)
7. MainCopyIsConcise&Explanatory(usereffect.com)
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Tables
Wethenexploredthe3sitesapplyingourrubricandanalyzedtheCarMaxselectiontool.Weplacedour
resultsinatableandanalyzedthedata.
CarMax4 3 2 1 n/a IntuitiveInformationSchema
1.1 Labelingfitsuservocabulary
1.2 * Adequaterelevanceofcarinformation
1.3 Toolsfituserneeds
1.4 Cuesarepresenttoguideuserthroughtheirworkflow
1.5 Carinformationpresentedisusefulforallpersonatypes
1.6 Thumbnailviewsprovideadequatedetail
1.7Carselectionsprovidemoreoptionsifauserwantsto
browsesimilarvehicle
Overall Score 2.9
hp://www.carmax.com/enus/car-search/default.html?intcmp=START2012SEARCHL01Home_Page
Carmax
hp://www.autotrader.com/AutoTrader
hp://seale.craigslist.org/Craigslist
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AutoTrader4 3 2 1 n/a IntuitiveInformationSchema
1.1 Labelingfitsuservocabulary
1.2 Adequaterelevanceofcarinformation
1.3 Toolsfituserneeds
1.4 Cuesarepresenttoguideuserthroughtheirworkflow
1.5 Carinformationpresentedisusefulforallpersonatypes
1.6 Thumbnailviewsprovideadequatedetail
1.7Carselectionsprovidemoreoptionsifauserwantsto
browsesimilarvehicle
Overall Score 2.1
Craigslist4 3 2 1 n/a IntuitiveInformationSchema
1.1 Labelingfitsuservocabulary
1.2
*
Adequaterelevanceofcarinformation
1.3 Toolsfituserneeds
1.4 Cuesarepresenttoguideuserthroughtheirworkflow
1.5 Carinformationpresentedisusefulforallpersonatypes
1.6 Thumbnailviewsprovideadequatedetail
1.7Carselectionsprovidemoreoptionsifauserwantsto
browsesimilarvehicle
Overall Score
1.2
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CarMax4 3 2 1 n/a Supportforusergoals
1.1
Thenavigationschemeandlayoutactivelysupportstheuser'sgoals
(RAMP)
1.2 Adequateexplanationisgivenfortasksthatrequireit(RAMP)
1.3
Alltheinformationauserneedsisavailableateachstageofagiven
workflow(RAMP)
1.4 Thereisaclearhierarchyintheprimarycallstoaction(RAMP)
1.5Thesearchinterfaceislocatedwhereyou'dexpectittobe(Louis
Rosenfeld)
1.6 Itisclearwhatwassearched(LouisRosenfeld)
1.7 Resultsarelistedinausefulway(LouisRosenfeld)
OverallScore 3.3
AutoTrader4 3 2 1 n/a Supportforusergoals
1.1Thenavigationschemeandlayoutactivelysupportstheuser's
goals(RAMP)
1.2 Adequateexplanationisgivenfortasksthatrequireit(RAMP)
1.3Alltheinformationauserneedsisavailableateachstageofa
givenworkflow(RAMP)
1.4 Thereisaclearhierarchyintheprimarycallstoaction(RAMP)
1.5Thesearchinterfaceislocatedwhereyou'dexpectittobe
(LouisRosenfeld)
1.6 Itisclearwhatwassearched(LouisRosenfeld)
1.7 Resultsarelistedinausefulway(LouisRosenfeld)
OverallScore 2.85
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Carmax.com
4 3 2 1 n/a FlexibilityandEfficiencyofUse
1.1 Landingpagehasapossiblewaytonavigatetoanypartofthe
site
1.2 Siteprovidestheappropriateinformationalgoal
1.3 Howwelldoesthesitedelivertheinformationalgoal?
1.4 Sitehasreasonableloadtimesandsearchefficiency
1.5 Sitesupportsmobiledevices
1.6 Sitesupportsprintoptionswhenneeded
1.7 Siteprovidestoolswhenneeded
1.8 Howhelpfularethetoolsprovided?
1.9 Doesthesiteprovidehelpfulprompts?
OverallScore 2.66e
Craigslist4 3 2 1 n/a Supportforusergoals
1.1
Thenavigationschemeandlayoutactivelysupportstheuser's
goals(RAMP)
1.2 Adequateexplanationisgivenfortasksthatrequireit(RAMP)
1.3
Alltheinformationauserneedsisavailableateachstageofa
givenworkflow(RAMP)
1.4 Thereisaclearhierarchyintheprimarycallstoaction(RAMP)
1.5Thesearchinterfaceislocatedwhereyou'dexpectittobe
(LouisRosenfeld)
1.6 Itisclearwhatwassearched(LouisRosenfeld)
1.7 Resultsarelistedinausefulway(LouisRosenfeld)
OverallScore 2.0
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Autotrader.com4 3 2 1 n/a FlexibilityandEfficiencyofUse
1.1 Landingpagehasapossiblewaytonavigatetoanypart
ofthesite
1.2
Siteprovidestheappropriateinformationalgoal
1.3 Howwelldoesthesitedelivertheinformationalgoal?
1.4 Sitehasreasonableloadtimesandsearchefficiency
1.5 Sitesupportsmobiledevices
1.6 Sitesupportsprintoptionswhenneeded
1.7 Siteprovidestoolswhenneeded
1.8 Howhelpfularethetoolsprovided?
1.9 Doesthesiteprovidehelpfulprompts?
OverallScore 2.44e
Craiglist.com4 3 2 1 n/a FlexibilityandEfficiencyofUse
1.1 Landingpagehasapossiblewaytonavigatetoanypartof
thesite
1.2 Siteprovidestheappropriateinformationalgoal
1.3 Howwelldoesthesitedelivertheinformationalgoal?
1.4 Sitehasreasonableloadtimesandsearchefficiency
1.5 Sitesupportsmobiledevices
1.6 Sitesupportsprintoptionswhenneeded
1.7 Siteprovidestoolswhenneeded
1.8 Howhelpfularethetoolsprovided?
1.9 Doesthesiteprovidehelpfulprompts?
OverallScore 2.33e
CarMax 4 3 2 1 n/a Aestheticsandminimalistdesign
1.1
Intuitivelayoutofcontent
1.2
Optimizeduseofcontentarea
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1.3
Professionalappearance
1.4
Designconsistency(constantthemethroughout)
1.5
Mainnavigationeasilyidentifiable
1.6
Adsandpop-upsareunobtrusive(usereffect.com)
1.7
MainCopyIsConcise&Explanatory(usereffect.com)
OverallScore 3.4
Autotrader.com 4 3 2 1 n/a Aestheticsandminimalistdesign
1.1
Intuitivelayoutofcontent
1.2
Optimizeduseofcontentarea
1.3
Professionalappearance
1.4
Designconsistency(constantthemethroughout)
1.5
Mainnavigationeasilyidentifiable
1.6
Adsandpop-upsareunobtrusive(usereffect.com)
1.7
MainCopyIsConcise&Explanatory(usereffect.com)
OverallScore 2.4
Craigslist 4 3 2 1 n/a Aestheticsandminimalistdesign
1.1
Intuitivelayoutofcontent
1.2
Optimizeduseofcontentarea
1.3
Professionalappearance
1.4
Designconsistency(constantthemethroughout)
1.5
Mainnavigationeasilyidentifiable
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1.6
Adsandpop-upsareunobtrusive(usereffect.com)
1.7
MainCopyIsConcise&Explanatory(usereffect.com)
OverallScore 2
Results
Opportunities
CompetitorStrengths
ImproveuponcategorizaXonandhaveasearchopXonfortheuserthatknowswhathewants.
Helptheuserthroughouttheirjourney.
Addtoolsthatwillhelptheuserdecidewhatvehicleisrightforthem.
CategorizaXon
NavigaXon
GuidingText
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WeaknessestoFix
Screenshots
CarMax
CarMaxdoesagreatjobatdisplayingallthedetailsaboutacar,butlackstheabilitytoseewhat
purposesthecarbestserves.Thereisalsonouserratedsystemwithuseropinionsaboutthecars
functions.
OrganizeInformaXon
RelevantResults
InconspicuousLabeling
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Cuesarepresenttoguideuserthroughtheirworkflow
Thehomepageofthesiteclearlydefineshowtheusercansearchforacar.Thelabelingissimplisticand
afterclickingthemakebuttontheyarepresentedwithalistofcarmakesinalphabeticalorder.The
processfeelsguidedwhichissolid.Landingonotherpagesdoesntprovidethesameclearpath.
CarMaxdoesagreatjobatmakingtheirthumbnailsimpleandinformative.Themostcrucialpiecesof
informationinacarbuyingprocessareallpresent.However,CarMaxlackstheabilitytoshowrelated
carswhichcouldbeveryimportantforauserwhoisntsetontheparticularvehicle.
Sitedesignislargelyinteractivewithlogicallyrelateditemsplacedwithincloseproximity.Consolidated
categoriesdrawtheusersattentiontothearrowbuttonsandmoreimportantlytheStartHerelink.
Websiteinformationandareasdonotintrudeupononeanotherandcomplimentinformationflow
towardsspecificcarsearchcriteriatheimagebelowillustratesthat.Nospaceisunusedasidefrom
bordersandmargins.Thecontentisartfullyplaced.
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LikeCarMax,AutoTraderexcelsatconsciouslyrestrictingtheamountofcontentthatisinitiallyvisible.
Theydothisbyalsoimplementingacomprehensiveglobalnavigationtoolbar.
CarMax:Navigationiscomprehensive-Thenavigationschemeandlayoutmakesiteasyforauserto
searchforacarandlocatewhattheyarelookingfor.Itleavesverylittleroomforguessinghowtostart
thesearchforacar.Clearlylabelednavigationbuttonsforexecutingtaskseachpersonarequires.
CarMax:Neededcontextispresent-Mostcarsearchingisfairlyself-explanatoryiftheproper
navigationlayoutispresent,butthesmallamountofneededexplanationorcontextispresent.Asseenintheimagebelow,thereisfurtherexplanationforthingsthatmightneeditsuchasadvancedsearch.
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CarMax:SomebutnotallinformationisgivenAsseeninthefollowingtwoimagesbelow;thereis
enoughinformationtoguidetheuser throughthecarbuyingprocess.Inthecasewherethedealerisnt
nearby,thereisntmuchinstructionwhattodowiththeinformationpresented.
CarMaxsearchinformationwhendealerisntnearby:
CarMax:StepsareorderedclearlyandeffectivelyEachpageisclearinwhatitisdesignedforandthen
thenextpagekeepstheusermovingalongtheirpathtosuccess(buyingacar).Belowarethestepsto
findingacarinsequence.
CarMax:ShowswhatyousearchedforAlthoughthereisanotificationofwhatwasjustsearched,itis
verysmallandeasytomissifyouarentlookingforit.Itappearsrightbelowthesearchbaronceaquery
hasbeenmade.
CarMaxindicationofwhatausersearchedfor
CarMax:AllrelevantShowedalistofallcarsrelevanttothesearch.Startedwithmostrelevantand
thenwentontoothercarsbythesamemanufacturerandthenfinallytocarswithinasimilarcategory.
Thereweremanyfiltersatthetoptoadjustsearchresults.
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CarMaxsearchresults
Navigationthrough-LandingPagewasverydifficultmainlybecausethetextlabelingisntconspicuous
asseeninthefollowingimages.
CarMaxdoeshaveaprintoptionbutagainthetextlabelingisntconspicuousasseenintheimagebelow
AutoTrader
Theonlynoticeablesearchoptionisbymodel.ForauserlikeMichelle,thiswouldbedifficultbecause
shewouldnthaveanyideaofwhatshewants.
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Manydifferentbuttonsrelatedtocarbuyingareonthefrontpage.Thereistoomuchredundancyand
therearegiantadsdistractingusersfromfindingwhattheyarelookingfor.
AutoTrader:EasytofindwhatyouarelookingforGoodglobalnavigationleadstoeasynavigation.
AutoTrader:Decent,butnothingspecialThereissomeexplanationbutreallyonlyexplainsthe
obviousthingsandjustpromptstheusertowardsdatabasethinking.
AutoTrader:Neededinformationisavailableatkeypoints.
AutoTrader:SimilartoCarMax,AutoTraderfirsthasthesearchpage,thenhasyouenteryouzipcode,
thendisplaysyourresultsandhasyoumoveforwardfromthere;aboutthesamelevelofhierarchyin
callstoactionasCarMax.
AutoTrader:Hasamorevisiblesearchedfortext
AutoTraderindicationofwhatusersearchedfor
Informationseemstobethrownallatoncetotheuserwhichcouldpossiblyfrustratehim\her.Serious
flawsplagueAutoTrader.Forinstance,clickingonanyoftheglobalnavigationlinksrevealsthat1)the
minimalistfeaturesofAutoTraderareonlyskindeepand2)thattheinformationschemasofany
particularpageareradicallyinconsistenttheimagebelowillustratesthatfinding.Uponfollowingalink,
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auserisbombardedbyawaveofinformationthatmaydisorienttheuser.
AutoTrader:ResultsarentrelevantSeemsthatthetopsearchresultsaresponsorsandnotnecessarily
themostrelevantcarstothesearch.Manyofthetopvehiclesdontfitmybestcriteria
Printingoptionisabsentinthecompetitorssite.
AutoTrader
Craigslist
Craigslistisanexampleofminimalistdesigngonehorriblywrong.Thelayoutisutterlydevoidoflife.
Itemsarecategorizedandcategoriesareorganizedaccordingtosuper-categories.Beyondthisthereis
noapparentstructuretowherethelinksareplaced.Itemswithinthesuper-categoriesarehalf-
heartedlyalphabetized.
Craigslist:VerydatabasecentricNotverygoodlayoutfornavigationoruserfriendliness.Onlyiseasy
touseforthosewhoarefamiliar.
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Personal Note: How the hell does this site succeed?
Craigslist:Almostnoexplanationisgivenforanytaskatanytime.Nothingreallyguidestheuser.Againit
feelsmorelikeatoolthatworksonceyouarefamiliar.
Craigslist:Reallynoinformationbeyondthevehiclesearchedisshownonthepage.
Craigslist:Almostnohierarchypresent.Ausercanendupanywhereonthesiteatanytime.Theonly
featurethatissimilartoahierarchyisthatausermustclickonalistingtoseeit;theycannotjump
straighttothevehiclelistingwithoutalink.
Craigslist:Onlyindicationofwhatwassearchedistheresultsthemselves.Ifyoutypewrongordont
knowexactlywhatyouaresearchingfor,resultsdontmakeanysense.
Craigslist:Basedonlyondatepostednotnecessarilybasedonwhatcarsbestfittheuserneeds.
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HeuristicReflection
Themajorgoaloftheheuristicevaluationwastouncoverflawsthattheuserwouldencounter.These
areexpertevaluationsthattakeinmindMichellethefunextrovertedassistantmanager,Vincethe
familyorientedofficemanager,andRodgerthesmallbusinessownerwhoknowswhathewants.At
evaluatingthesiteourteamidentifiedareasthatwouldneedtobetakenintoaccountandweevaluated
afewofthecompetitorsforacomparativereflection.
AlthoughCarMaxoutperformedtheothertwocompetitorsitwasclearlyatanadvantagetooneof
themanditcouldusealotofimprovement.Allthesitessupportedmobiledevicesalthoughnoneof
themmadeitobvious.Thelandingpagewasclearlytheworstforbothcarwebsites.Craigslist
outperformedbothofthemwithitssuperiorsearchoption.Althoughitisimportanttomentionthat
CarMaxandAuto-traderdidhaveabetterindexingsystemifyouweretoconsiderbrowsingthiswould
bebeneficialforsomebodylikeMichellewhoisntquitesureofwhatshewants.CarMaxdidnt
necessarilyprovidebetterormoreefficienttoolsratheritwasntasbadafailureastheothers.
CraigslistandAuto-traderdidntprovideprintoptionsoncethecarwasfoundthisisntnecessarilyabad
thingbutitisadisadvantagebecauseprintoptionsallowyoutoorganizetheinformationinsimple
format.
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UserInterviewOverview
ExecutivesummaryWeconductedourinterviewsforRogerandVince,producingatotalofthreeinterviews.Given
ourtimeconstraintwedecidednottointerviewaMichellebecausewefeltthatascollege
students,wewereverysimilartoher.Duringourinterviews,wetooknotesonkeypointsthat
theparticipantsmadeandattemptedtodraftaflowrepresentingtheiruserjourney.Oneofthemainproblemsweranintowaslocatingparticipantsthatfitouruserpersonas.
Anotherbigproblemwasfiguringouthowtorecordtheaudio,becausethecomputercodecs
weredifficulttoconfigure.Weendeduprunningthroughfiveorsixprogramsbeforewewere
successfullyabletorecordthroughSkype.Usingthedetailsfromtheinterview,wewereabletoaccumulatespecificcriteriadefiningthe
failuresandsuccessesthroughoutthecarbuyingprocess.Methods
1. Developedaworkingscriptforouruserinterviewsafterdecidingwhatinformationwas
needed.
2. Chose2userssimilartoeachoftheRogerandVincepersonas.
3. Conductedtheinterviews,tooknotes,andrecordedtheaudio
4. Developedageneraluserjourney/userflowbasedofftheinterview
ResultsUsershighlightedtheirneedsforthecar,settingcriteriaaskingwithintheirsocialnetworksforadvicetoreachaconclusiononwhatvehicletopurchase.Theencompassingconcernfromall
ouruserswasuserfeedback.Thiswasamajorfactorintheirdecisionmakingprocess.Asa
teamwenotedthatprice,rating,featureavailabilitywouldhelpfultotheuserinthecarbuying
process.
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UserInterviewAnalysis
InterviewScript
Tobegintheuserinterviewanalysiswedevelopedascriptthatwouldhelpusidentifythestepsofthe
userjourney.Webeganbyaskingintroductoryquestionsthatwouldsettheanalysistounderstandtoif
theselectedintervieweefitthepersonainmind.Weaskedquestionsthatwouldhighlightmajordrop-
offsbyidentifyingfrustrationswhenhypotheticallysearchingfortherightcar.
Introduction
Hi,mynameis______andIwantedtostartbythankingyoufortakingtimeoutofyourdaytobe
interviewed.Weareheretounderstandyourjourneyinpurchasingacar,dontworryaboutupsetting
us,butratherprovidehonestinformation.
1. Areyoulookingforacarfitforyouorafamilycar?
2. Whenwouldyouuseit?
3. Isthereaspecificcarbrandyouprefer?
4. Arethereaspectsfrompreviouslyownedcarsthatyouliked?
5. Whatsyourlifestylelike?
Start-it-up:
Whatisthefirstthingyoudowhenyouwantacar?(adv,socialcircle,websites,mobile)
Ifyouweregoingtobuyacaronline,neworused,whatwouldyoudo?
Howmuchresearchdoyoudobeforebuyingacar?
Wouldyouexpecttobeabletodothisonthecarbuyingsiteorelsewhere?
Doyouevermakeuseofcarbuyingwebsites?
Howmuchoutsideresearchdoyouconductbeforebuyingacar?
Atwhatpointdoyoutransitionfromacarbuyingtooltoadealership?
Whatkindsofdetailsareessentialtolearnbeforeyouvisitadealership?
Whatdoyoulike/dislikeaboutyourcurrentvehicle?
Whatfeaturesdoyourequire/desireonacar?
Whatwebsiteswouldyougo2?
(Ifno)-whatwouldenticeyoutogotoasite
Howwouldyougetinfoforthecarwithinthatwebsite?
Ifyoufindthecarwhatwouldyougotothenextsteporalternativelywhatwouldmakeyouleave
thesite?
Ifyoufindthecarwhatwouldmakeyoubuythecarorwhatwouldmakeyouconsiderothercar
options?
Performscript
Becauseofourlimitedamountoftimeandthefactthatwewantedtocaptureallthreepersonaswe
hadtocompromise.Whendoingtheinterviewwechosetofocusonthetwopersonasthatwere
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personallyunfamiliartous,RodgerandVince.Wealsohadtosplittheworkbetweenpairssothe
interviewscouldbedoneingoodtime.Welatercombinedournotestocreateacohesiveuserjourney.
VinceLamandDavidR.wereabletofindaVinceandRodgerpersona.ForVincewechoseafamily
womanwhogoesonlinetodoresearchwhenlookingfortherightcar.ForRodgeramalewhohappens
tohavebrandloyalty.Wealternatedpositionsbetweennote-takerandinterviewerfromonepersonatotheother.
KalebLoraandSeanPaynewerealsoabletofindaVinceandRogerpersona.ForVincewechosea
motherwhorecentlyhadherfirstchild.Shemadeitveryclearthatsafetywasherbiggestconcernwhen
lookingforanewcar.ForRodgerwefoundamalewhohasagoodamountofbrandloyaltyandknows
exactlywhatheislookingforwhenshoppingforacar.
Capturedata
Wewereabletomeettheminimumrequirementswiththerecordingsbutranintosometroubleatfirst.
Nonethelesswefoundthatourperspectiveofeachpersonanottobeconflictingandverysuccessful.
Recordings
SEEAPPENDIFORRECORDINGS
Interviewnotes
Vince1
1. Lookingforfamilycar
2. Useforerrands,trips,andjustabouteverything.Husbandindependentforworkcar
3. PreviouslyownedHondas
4. Wantsanautomatic,wantscomfortforbackproblems
5.Worked,hadchildlateinlife,gaveupjobtostayathome6. Startsatcardealershipusually,buthusbandisdifferent
7. Usuallyhashusbandstartlookingforacarandrecommend
8. TurnoffsBadSalesman,Insincerity,Wouldchangedealership
9. IfdidonlineprocessStartonGoogle,Checkmanufacturerwebsite,readuponfeaturesandgetan
idea,Googletolookforthecar/priceelsewhere
10.Wouldbesearchingforacarwithsafetyfeatures
11.Doesntlikeusedcardealershipanddoesntknowenoughaboutcarstobuyused
12.WhyshedoesnttrustusedcarcompaniesDoesntfindthemhonest,carlotsareunappealing,has
tohavearealgoodfeelingaboutadealership
13.Doeslittleresearchbeforebuyingacar,callsonfriendsandhusbandforadvice,usuallyasksmen
14.Warningsaboutsafetyoraboutthecarhavingbeenwreckedwouldgethertonotbuy.(from
friends)Wantsgoodperformanceaswell
15.Wouldreallyliketoseeanonlinetoolwithuserratings,withcomfortandsafety,forgotthatshe
wouldbelookingforuserreviews
16.Transitionsfromcarbuyingtooltodealershiponceshehasnarroweditdowntoafewcarsthatshe
isinterestedin.
17.Loveshercurrentcar,interiorislightcolored,likesheatedseats
18.Enjoymentofpeopleatthedealershipdeterminesifshestaysthere
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19.Wouldtakerecommendationsfromsalesmendeterminingasimilarcariftheexactmodelwasntin
pricerangeoronthelot.Lasttime,sheboughtaSubaruwhenlookingforaHonda.Wouldwantto
doresearch.Ifthedealerhadalistofuserreviewstoprovethesimilarity,thatmightbeuseful.
20.Buyscarifitmeetsallcriteria,didntbuytheHondabecausetherewerenoheatedseatswithouta
5,000dollarupgrade.EndedupbuyingaSubaru
Vince2
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Rodger2
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FORSKETCHESREFERTOFUNCTIONFLOWANALYSIS!
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UserInterviewReflection
Inoneinterviewwetriedusingactualtasksausermighttakeintheprocessofbuyingausedcaronline.
Wetooknotesontheactualsitestheymentionedandthestepstheywentthrough.Thesecond
interviewwetriedtakingnotesmorefocusedonthestatesofmindthatuseractuallygoesthrough
whenbuyingausedcar.Weendedupfindingthatthementalstaterouteworkedthebestwithfiguring
outtheflowourwebtoolneededtohave.Asyoucanseeinourinfoflow,weusedtheideaofthestates
ofmindtheuserwentthrough.Wecombinedthepartsofeachinterviewtocomeupwithouroverall
conclusion.Eventhougheachuserflowhaddifferentgoalsinmindwewereabletotakeoutthemain
pointsandtheinformationfromthepersona,tocreateouroveralluserflowfortheVincepersona.
Wechosetousetheupsidepyramidtorepresenttheuserjourneybecausesuccessissohardtoreach
andateachstagethemarkbecomeharderandhardertohit.Soastheusergoesdownthepyramid,
eachsectiongetssmaller.Theboxesontherightsidearethefactorsthatcauseadropoffateachstage
andtheboxesontherightsidearethefactorsthatcausetheusertomoveonintheirjourneyateach
stage.FortheVincetypeuser,safetyandfeaturesarethebiggestconcernwhenitcomestobuyinga
usedcar.Duringeachuserinterviewthenumberonefactorthattheuserwasinterestedinwasthatthe
carwassafe.Realizingthatforthispersonasafetywassuchahugefactorwassomethingwealready
couldguessbasedoffthepersona,buttheinterviewssolidifiedtheideasothatwecouldmoveforward
withsomeofthefeaturestoputintooursitedesignandwireframes.
Someoftheissuesweranintoduringtheinterviewwerebeingtemptedtoaskleadingquestionswhen
theuserseemedtowonderfromwhatwewerereallyhittingat.Someofthebestinformationthough
endedupcomingfromthetangentstheintervieweesendedupgoingon.Thesetangentsendedup
beingacrucialpartofourwebtooldesign.Weendeduphavingtousesomeleadingquestionstostay
ontrackinthetimeframewehad,butwelimitedthemasbestaspossible.Overalltheuserflows
workedoutwellbecausetheyallowedustogetanideaofwhatfunctionalityourtoolneededtohavetoensuretheusercouldmakeitallthewaythroughtheirjourneytobuyingausedcar.
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FunctionandFlowOverview
ExecutivesummaryGiventhelonganddetailedinformationwereceivedfromouruserinterviews,combinedwith
informationinthepersonas,craftinguserflowswasfairlysimple.Wechosetouseaninverse
pyramidtorepresenttheuserjourney,becausewhentheystartoutwantingacar,thisisa
broadandhighlyundefinedphenomenon.Throughtheprogressionofthecarbuyingprocess,
theuserbecomesmorecertainanddecisiveaboutfeatures,financing,etc.andfinallyreaches
thefinitepointwheretheybuyacar.Oneofthemainproblemsweranintowasdeterminingthenumberofstepsinthecarbuying
process.Wewantedtoensurethatourprocesswasaccurateandwasntoverorunder
detailed.Figuringoutexactlywhatcriteriawouldleadtofailurewasalsotough,becauseit
couldntjustfittheoneortwointerviews,buthadtofittheentirepersona.
Methods1. Studiedtheinterviewnotesandroughdraftuserjourneys
2. Deductedthemainpointsandsimilaritiesfromeachoftheuserinterviewstocomeup
withoneuserflowforeachpersona
3. Decidedonhowmanystepsthereareinthecarbuyingprocess
4. Createdalayoutanddesignforouruserjourneysthatfithowweviewedtheprocess
5. Madefinaldraftofeachpersonasuserjourneythroughthecarbuyingprocess
Results-ForDiagramSeeFunctionandFlowReflection
Forthefunctionflowwerealizedasagroupthattherewheremanydrop-offreasons.However
allofthespecificreasonslikepricing,locationofdealership,brandofvehiclecouldbe
generalizedintoonemajordrop-offwhichisfindingtherightvehicle.Ourgoalwastoguidethe
userthroughashortandsimplejourneytofindingtherightvehicle.
-ForourselectedActionsSeeFunctionFlowAnalysis-
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FunctionandFlowAnalysis
Tobeginourfunctionflowanalysiswecombinedourinterviewnotesandflowsketchestoproducea
soliduserjourneyforourpersonas.
Vince2
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Rodger2
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UnifyData
Wethencombinedournotesandcompareditwiththeresultswehighlightedinourheuristicanalysis.
WewereabletoidentifyopportunitiestofixthecurrentsetupoftheCarMaxsitetoimprovetheuser
journeyandachievetheorganizationalgoal.
PossibleImprovements
CategorizaXon
Relevancy ChosenFeatures
FavoritedVehicles
Similarity(ChosenVehicle)
Feedback RaXng(Nearly(IdenXcal)\SimilarVehicles)
UserReviews(Nearly(IdenXcal)\SimilarVehicles)Pricing(Nearly(IdenXcal)\SimilarVehicles)
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FunctionandFlowReflection
Afteranalyzingallthedatawecameupwithasinglefunctionflowbasedontheuserwehelpeduslater
highlightthemajorfunctionsthatwewillneedtointegrateintooursolution.
VincesJourney
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RodgersJourney
Functions
Thefollowingdiagramcontinuesofftheideaofgoingfrombroadtospecifichoweverfocusingmainlyon
thefunctions.Itgoesoverthealgorithmswewantedtoimplementandwheretheycouldshowupin
ourwireframe.
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CategoryFuncXon
selectvehiclesfromcars-tablewherevehicletypematches
ThiswouldbeafrontpageopXonand
wouldhelptheuserwhoneeds
guidance.
SearchFuncXon
selectvehiclefromcars-tablewheretext-inputmatches
\relevancy.
Shouldskipcategorybasedpageandgo
directlytolisXngbasedpage.
Favorited\Login
FuncXonselectvehiclesfromcarstablewhereuser-search
wasfavorXed.
AfavoriXngopXonshouldbepresentwhenreachingthespecificvehiclefinalstepinthejourneythiswillhelpusdevelopbeer
suggesXonsforuserswhomatchthat
persona.
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InformationAnalysis\DesignOverview
Executivesummary
Inourinformationanalysisanddesignwedecidedtokeeptheoverallsitestructuresimpleand
easytounderstand.Mostofthecarwebsitesthatwelookedatorganizedtheirinformation
similarlyandsowefeltthatafewrepresentativewebsiteswouldbesufficientforoursample
modeling.TheERDcontainsonlyafewentitiesandtheschemawasexpandedtoinclude
informationthattheERDcouldnotcapture.
OneofthemainproblemsthatweencounteredwhileworkingontheERDandschemawasthat
noneofthewebsitesprovidedagoodskeletonforthesolutionthatwehadcomeupwith.Our
solutioncalledfortheheavyuseofcategoricalfunnelingwhereasthecarsitesprimarilyused
facetedsearch.ThismadethecreationofanERDandschemamorechallengingbecausea
numberofcomponentshadtobemadeupbyourowninterpretation.Themainresultwasthatweimplementedadataentitythatwedidnotseeintheother
websites:categoricalorganizationofcarsbasedbyfeatures,lifestylesandneeds.Thiswasa
smallbutradicaldifferencethatseparatesoursolutionfromtheothercarsitesontheinternet.
Methods1. Lookedatcars.comandcarmax.com
2. Foundcommondatatypesandstructurefromeachsourceandconsolidatedthemintoa
singleERD.
3. UsedtheERDtoconstructamoredetaileddatabaseschemathatwouldaddressthe
particularsoftheERDandhowwewouldstoreandlabelthedata.
4. ERDandinformationschemawereconvertedintoformalizeddocuments.
Results
CarMaxcanbenefitbyusingcategoriesatkeylandingpagestoquicklyfunnelusersinto
thesectionsofthesitethatdisplaythecarsthatpeopleoftheirprofilewouldlikelyshow
interestin.Havinguserdataandloginsprovidedtheinformationtoformuserprofileswhichis
thekeytoourproposedsolution.
TheseprofileswilladdresstheneedsofourpersonasRodger,Michelle,andVince
becauseourdatabasewilltheoreticallyhavecollecteddatafromourusersinput.Thiswould
allowCarMaxtobettercatertotheirusers,makethemfeelcomfortable,andgetthemintothe
CarMaxdealership.
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InformationAnalysis\DesignAnalysis
DataCollected
Thecurrentsetupofthelistingisprettydatabasedrivenandunfriendlyfortheamateuruserlike
Rodger.Itwouldbehelpfultohavethelistingslesscomplicated.Thespecificcarlistinghoweverhas
veryusefulinformationitwouldbewisetotakeadvantageofthisandnotchangethedatabutrather
improveupontheorganizationofthewayitspresented.Afewthingsthatwerehelpfulweretheglobal
navigation,theattemptincategorizationandtherating\reviews.Wewanttomakesuretokeepthese
abilitieswhileexpandingtherefunctionality,mainlycategorization.
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InfoAnalysis\DesignReflection
EntityRelationshipDiagram
DatabaseSchema
Forthedatabaseschemawetookourthoughtsandputthemintoaction.WeaddedacarTypeIDto
allowforcategorizationbasedonpersonaschoosing,weaddedafavoritingelement,andwejoinedthe
informationininterestingways.
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Wireframes/TemplatingOverview
ExecutivesummaryOurprocesstodesignthewireframesbeganwithahomepagedesignandashort
brainstormingactivityforourchosenlabelingschema.Afterdrawingoutabasicdesign,we
movedontothecategoriespage.Thispagewaschallengingtodesign,becausewedidntwantuserstodropoffbecauseofprice,butwealsodidntwanttodisplaymorethan5carswithina
category.Inanefforttokeepthesitesimplistic,weasktheuserwhattheirpricerangeisright
aftertheyselecttheircategoryanddisplaythetop5carsinthispricerange.Foreachvehicle,
thereisaseesimilarvehiclesbuttontoguidetheuser.Themostdifficultpartofdesigningourwireframewasfindingthebalancebetween
beinginformativeandkeepingsimplicity.Thistookafewhoursofdraftingandredrafting.Once
wehadanearlyfinalizeddraftofthepages,wesplitupourfourwireframes,oneperperson,
andproducedfinaldraftsonthecomputer.Weevenkeptthecarprofilepageformatfrom
CarMaxbecausetheydidagoodjobprovidingalinktothedealeranddisplayingthedetailedcarinformation.Oursitegoalwastogetthemtothispagefaster,andatahigherlevel,getting
themtothedealershipfaster.
Methods
1. Decidewheretheuserissupposedtoendup
2. Finalizethetoolsnecessarytogetthemthere
3. Findgeneralpartsofthepagetowireframe
4. Developthewireframesofeachphaseofthewebtooltheuserwillgothrough
ResultsInourresultswedevelopedfourdifferentwireframeswalkingthroughtheuserjourney.
WeveaddressedRogerwhoknowswhathewantsaswellasVinceandMichellewhoboth
needsomeguidance.Wekeptthetextandlabelingconversationaltoengagetheuserandwe
successfullylaidouttheinformationsotheusercanfindhis\hervehicle.Inconclusionwe
influencedthepersonatoheadtothedealership.
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Wireframes/TemplatingAnalysis
Layout,NavigationandourPersonas
Whendevelopingonourwireframeswewereabletokeepaconsistentlayoutwhilechangingthe
resultsthroughouttheuserjourney.Weorganizedourlayouttocreateasimpledesignthatcould
deliveralotofinformation.Wehadtobalancenavigationbetweenthoseuserswhoknewexactlywhat
theywantedwiththosewhoneededguidance.Oursolutionwastocategorizeitemsfortheuserslike
MichelleandVincewhileallowinguserslikeRodgertosearchforthecartheyaresuretheywant.
WireframeDiagramsandFunctions
Tobeginouranalysisforthewireframeswehadtocreateafewglobaldesignconstraints.Weallchose
tokeepaconsistentleftplacingsearchoption,globalnavigation,andloginconstraints.Wedividedour
wireframesintofourmajortemplatesbeginningwiththehomepageandendingwiththeindividual
vehicle.
HomePageThehomepagecategorizesbasedontheusermentalschemasandfunnelsusergroupsintorelevant
viewcategories.
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CategoryPage
Afterselectingacategorytheuserseesalistofvehiclesthatassociativecharacteristicsthatmatchtheir
usertype.Itprovidesalistingtosearchformorespecificvehicles.
MoreDetailedListing
Onceyouselectavehiclewithinthecategoryanotherlistingisgivenwithevenmorerecommendations
basedonrelevancyofthespecificvehiclechosen.Italsoprovidesadditionaloptionstorefinethe
search.
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SpecificCar
Afterallthesearchingtheuserwillendwiththefinalleafpagewherespecificdetailsaboutthecar
chosenwillbelisted.
WireframesReflection
Overallasateamwewereprettyproudofouraccomplishmentswiththewireframes.Wewereableto
satisfyMichelle,Vince,andRodgerbyallowingthemtochoosetheirmethodofsearchingwhileguiding
themthroughanuncomplicatedprocesstosuccess.
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UserTestingOverview
ExecutiveSummary
Rodger2wascompleted
Methods1. SetupMeeting
2. Reintroducedourselves
3. Tooknotesandrecordedresponses
4. Lettheusertellusabouttheprocess
5. Askprobingquestions
Results
WefoundthattheuserwascuriousaboutthecategorizationandRodgeractuallyselectedsedanto
search.Interestingsincewethoughthewouldsearchratherthanusecategorization.Hiscuriosityofthe
categorieschosencausedhimabitofconfusionhoweverthiswasagoodtradeofftosatisfytheusers
whoneededguidance.Theconfusionwasntgraveenoughtomeritconcernandin-factthepersona
Rodgeraccuratelyguessedwhateachcategorywas.
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UserTestingAnalysis
Notes
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-ForAudioRefertoAppendix-
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UserTestingReflection
1. Makearevisionofyourwireframes
2. RevisedWireframes
1. Newdiagram
2. Summaryofchanges