Team: Areen Deshmukh, Eric Lopez, Shreya Lohakare
Role: UX Research, Moderated Usability Testing, UX Design
Tools: Figma, PanelFox, Zoom
Client & Product
Naks Yetu is a platform dedicated to introducing Nakuru, Kenya to the world by highlighting the real life experiences of visiting this location.
The Naks Yetu team aims to share their vision through a website designed to promote Nakuru County’s tourism, culture, and local events. It provides an online space where travelers can discover unique experiences and local organizers can share events.
Our Process
Initial Client Concerns
In our kickoff meeting with Naks Yetu we had a productive session in which we identified the client’s concerns and goals with the current website. Naks Yetu’s team was concerned that the website wasn’t effectively retaining users or encouraging engagement with local tourism offerings in Nakuru. Here are some of the recurrent themes that came up in the meeting:
Project Goals
The Naks Yetu team had previously attempted to have a website of this matter before so they had an idea of what things had been creating issues for users. For this reason, they indicated to our team what they wanted to be improved on the website if possible:
Background Research
Before testing the Naks Yetu website with users we realized that there were unclear user flows and missing features that made it hard to understand how to use the site. To find solutions to these challenges and narrow down issues we decided to review the website’s functionality, analyze similar tourism sites and learn more about the location of Nakuru, Kenya before conducting the moderated usability tests. Here are some of the websites we analyzed to see how they were solving issues:
Moderated Usability Testing
After having enough background information on the website and location our team focused on targeting users that are inclined to traveling or having adventurous experiences. This led us to screen users that were considered international tourists that could give us valuable feedback when using a new website and viewing a new location. A script was created for each moderated usability interview that were conducted through one on one Zoom meetings. This script included a pre-test questionnaire, five tasks and a post-test questionnaire. All focused around testing the homepage, video content, activities, events and events creation form.
- Testing Resources:
- Platform: Zoom (1 on 1 sessions)
- Participants: 7 users (ages 25–35)
- Tested Areas: Homepage, Media Hub, Activities, Events, Creating Events Form
- Script: 5 Tasks, pre/post questionnaires
Interview Sessions Analysis
The team analyzed the interview sessions and created tables with each participant that they interviewed to identify recurring themes and issues for testers while also looking at the questionnaire responses. This helped us confirm some previous concerns of our clients and informed the direction of our recommendations for Naks Yetu.
How confident would you feel using this site to plan a trip to Nakuru?
Findings & Recommendations
Short-Term
Issue: Users directly expressed the RSVP/registration process was unclear.
Recommendation #1: Enable On-Site Event RSVP to Boost Engagement
Our findings informed us of frustration with event registration process on the Naks Yetu website. All users expressed a need for the RSVP process to be within the website. Our team recommended to add an RSVP flow with clear event pricing information and availability of seats.
Issue: Users were unclear about the purpose of certain form fields and uncertain about Naks Yetu’s role in the event creation process.
Recommendation #2: Reduce Friction in Event Submission by Simplifying Organizer Details and Removing Unnecessary Fields
The creating events button was removed from the navigation bar and a “For Locals” drop down was added so event organizers and external tourists could know what side of the website is intended for them. In the new Creating Events Form, organizers are greeted by a message that indicates what the purpose of the form is and what role Naks Yetu plays during this process. Users indicated that the form lacked introductory context and the placeholder text in input fields were not descriptive enough.
Long-Term
Issue: Media section did not meet expectations because of the lack of real visitor experiences content.
Recommendation #3: Incorporate Engaging Media to Support User Exploration and Build Trust Through Real Experiences
The media section created confusion with users as they expected to see previous visitor content that illustrated what real experiences are possible in Nakuru, Kenya. This oriented our recommendation to rename the “Media” section to Video Hub. In the new Video Hub users can see embedded videos from social media where real stories are being shared. While still keeping the original Naks Yetu videos to allow visitors to learn more from the platform.
Issue: Users could not understand what the website offers or what they could do on it.
Recommendation #4: Redesign homepage to improve engagement
Our findings indicated that users did not understand what the website was about. This prompted us to make a redesign of the information presented in the homepage incorporating feedback from testers.
Issue: Users did not find the information on the Bucket List page enough and wanted to know more details.
Recommendation #5: Enhance ‘Bucket List’ Page with Visual Tags, Icons, and Action Buttons to Support Informed User Choices
The bucket list section confused users, the use of the phrase Bucket List was changed to Things To Do and activity cards were redesigned to show title and description of activity in each card.
Issue: Users did not find the information on the Bucket List page enough and wanted to know more details.
Recommendation #5.5: Enhance ‘Bucket List’ Page with Visual Tags, Icons, and Action Buttons to Support Informed User Choices
The activity details were also redesigned to give more clear information of what the activity was about and a reference map was also added to allow tourists to plan their trip accordingly.
Conclusion & Client Feedback
From our research and user feedback we can say without a doubt that Nakuru, Kenya is a unique experience that people are interested in. The various activities, landscapes and wildlife are definitely an adventure to boast about after visiting , but need to be presented through engaging visuals and intuitive interactions with event information. Naks Yetu has begun to tell the local stories that deserve to be shared for their uniqueness, but will have to keep incorporating content to reach the projected goals.
In our final meeting the Naks Yetu team had a positive exchange with us of future steps beyond these usability tests recommendations. Even extending an invite to Nakuru, Kenya that our team might just accept. We really appreciated the opportunity to work with a team that loves their culture and wants to share it to the world.