UX Research
Project Overview
This project was recently completed in my Usability Testing course in the Fall of 2022 along with some group members: Kenric Kalpen, Antonella Mai, and Morgan Philip. We focused on testing the Onboarding Process and some key features of the Server Administration Settings for new users of Discord.
My Contributions
I was given the task to help manage the documents, providing feedback, and assisting with testing. This included keeping track of recordings and editing the footage to preserve the confidentiality of our users.
Executive Summary
Our team tested Discord's server administration functions- creating a text channel, creating a moderator role, and going through the onboarding process. A screening survey was used to find participants that had little experience using Discord.
Our main goal was to understand Discord's user experience for newcomers and how it could be improved. We recruited four participants for the usability test and we offered them a $5 incentive. After the usability tests were completed, we held a meeting to analyze the findings.
Our main goal was to understand Discord's user experience for newcomers and how it could be improved. We recruited four participants for the usability test and we offered them a $5 incentive. After the usability tests were completed, we held a meeting to analyze the findings.
Linked below is the full report of our usability test.
The Problem
New users of Discord have a difficult time using Discord's server administration settings. Additionally, we wanted to test the effectiveness of Discord's onboarding process for new users.
Methodology
We first created a plan of action to conduct our usability tests on Discord. We decided to test:
- Creating a server
- Onboarding process experience
- Creating a text channel
- Creating moderator and newcomer roles
Then, we conducted a cognitive walkthrough, a heuristic evaluation, and a product reaction form. The four participants we recruited were online through different servers affiliated with Kennesaw State University (e.g., small clubs, study groups, etc.). Before our usability test sessions, we made a screening survey to filter participants that had little experience with Discord.
Consent forms were created, explaining to our participants what our project was and what the consent included. An incentive of $5.00 was given to each participant that was part of the usability study. After the sessions were completed, we held a findings meeting to analyze the data received.
Consent forms were created, explaining to our participants what our project was and what the consent included. An incentive of $5.00 was given to each participant that was part of the usability study. After the sessions were completed, we held a findings meeting to analyze the data received.
Our Findings
Heuristic Evaluation
- Consistent with Feedback.
- Violates recognition vs. recall & help documentation.
- Lack of onboarding with complex features.
Overall Findings from Scenarios
- Little friction with server & text channel creation.
- Onboarding inconsistent with participants.
- High friction with locating roles section in settings
- Overall times.
Product Reaction Cards
- Organized was the most frequent term.
- Positive Terms: Straightforward & Understandable.
- Negative Terms: Unfamiliar & Hard-to-use.
Recommendations
1. Provide consistent onboarding experiences.
2. Explain what each server feature is and where to find it.
3. Make the tutorials visually distinct from the promotional Nitro pop-ups.
4. Make "Roles" more readily visible.
Key Takeaways
One of the things that I have learned during this time was time management with not only my team but also participants. Additionally, I learned how important it was to preserve confidentiality for our participants.
Since we had recordings, I learned about Gaussian Blur on Premiere Pro to hide names, usernames, and more. This was useful for the presentation since we wanted to conceal the identities of our participants. Additionally, I learned how much time and effort was spent in a small-scale usability project and I wish we could have had more time to fully polish everything with my team. There were some tasks that I worked on in our group project.
I was in the position of the help desk because of my knowledge of Discord. Furthermore, I was also in charge of recording footage and editing the footage for our PowerPoint presentation while also maintaining the files on a Google folder with limited access.
During our investigation before our testing began, I provided documentation of my heuristic evaluation over the break. Lastly, I also helped with providing feedback and worked on some sections in the report: Test Goals & Objectives and Potential Errors & Future Research. Overall, I believe that my team members worked very well on this project.
Overall, I enjoyed working with my team members on this project and hope to work with them again in the future!
During our investigation before our testing began, I provided documentation of my heuristic evaluation over the break. Lastly, I also helped with providing feedback and worked on some sections in the report: Test Goals & Objectives and Potential Errors & Future Research. Overall, I believe that my team members worked very well on this project.
Overall, I enjoyed working with my team members on this project and hope to work with them again in the future!