Client : Brataa Production My Role : UX Researcher Skills Applies: Moderated User Interviews - Analyzing Data Collection - Information Architecture - Recommendations Timeline : 2 months
CLIENT
Braata Productions Inc. is a non-profit Performing Arts Company focused on cultivating an environment in which Caribbean culture & heritage can be experienced by all members of the New York community and beyond. Their primary engagements include theatrical productions, music, and folk art, but they also curate community education and outreach programs.
Designing The study
Within eight weeks, our study was divided into phases, in which the Research plan, participant recruitment, methodology, and analysis were completed.
Research Objectives
To begin with the usability study, our team of UX Designers at Pratt School of Information met with Brataa Production to design the goals and objectives for their website:
- Discover the younger generation’s perception of Braata, half with Caribbean roots and half interested in Caribbean culture.
- Gauge the audience’s interest in attending Braata Productions’ events based on their experience with the website.
- Discover how to showcase the variety of programs Braata has to offer with the goal of getting people more involved.
- Make the information about Braata and their programming more consistent and easier to discover.
Participant recruitment
In order to recruit the right participants, we created two personas to represent our target users for the website to guide us find a recruitment strategy.
A survey was sent via Craigslist, and Pratt School of Information mailing List to recruit for participants.
Out of 55 responses, 10 Participants were selected for user testing Interviw
4 Caribbean descent | 6 Interested in Caribbean Culture
Tasks
The following task was presented to the participants to complete while using the website. Participants shared their screens and were encouraged to think aloud after completing each task.
user Testing
We examined the website’s usability by performing remote usability tests. Testing sessions were conducted via Google Meet with most sessions run by two members of the team, one person an interviewer and the other a note taker. All sessions consisted of two parts: a card sort and a moderated user testing session.
Analysis
Once all testing sessions were completed, evaluators reviewed the data. The findings were then consolidated into a single table, providing a consistent document of qualitative and quantitative data. This allowed evaluators to better assess patterns and trends and effectively pinpoint findings to improve overall usability.
Card Sorting
The card sort results mostly confirmed the current architecture. However, a couple key differences were noted between the current website and how users organized the information:
- People tended to not group together what is currently known as Braata’s “Program” section.
- Users tended to group watching past performances of Braata Proudctions with music.
Findings
With our testing we pinpointed that there are six sections of the website that need improvements.
Recommendations
Conclusion
After presenting the findings and recommendation to the client, we received good comments, such as that the recommendations are very thoughtful and will be partially implemented into the website. The next step for us is to keep on track with the client and provide testing data to help them redesign the website. We are confident that, by reviewing the findings of our evaluators and implementing some of our recommendations, the overall usability of Braata Production can be improved, to center target users and attract prospective users.