Laticrete —
User Testing Project
Overview
A leading manufacturer of globally proven construction solutions for the building industry
TEAM
Nagasai Vardhan, Betsy Visconti, Krystal Zhang, Mary Honard
LATICRETE is creating a new design to improve the usability of the website. Before moving on to development, they want to test the usability of their prototype.
Project Takeaways
Reflecting on the project, I realized that our small sample size and compressed testing timeline limited our insights.
Additionally, users were often confused by the product names, highlighting a need for clearer naming conventions.
Notable Data
66.7%
of participants thought old website was difficult to use
83.3%
of participants preferred using new design
12%
of participants thought the first task was confusing due to being unfamiliar with the product names
Company’s Logotype
Goal for The Project
#1
Creating a new design to improve the usability of the website
#2
Before moving on to development, they want to test the usability of their prototype
Project’s Workflow
Kickoff Meeting Insights
Who are
the users?
Architects, contractors, distributors and the homeowner/DIY.
Based on past experience, the general demographic is likely male, and middle-aged or above. This user data is based on involvement with the North America LATICRETE insider-track facebook page and may not be fully representative of all the users.
Expectations for
this project?
New designs need to be tested with a younger age group (ex: younger DIYers around college age).
Mostly qualitative data. This would cover usability and impressions of the site. I’d like a summarization of the data found, because this can affect site changes suggested in the future.
What are the
challenges faced?
The site is currently hard to use; finding information and/or specific products is unnecessarily difficult. This makes it unapproachable for the DIY audience.
Site navigation is challenging, with hidden pages and hard-to-find information
What you would like us to test?
Search function
Global navigation menu
Visibility of the “Where to Buy” tool.
Make sure the contact information is easily discoverable.
Ease of finding information on a product page.
General impression of the site.
Screenshot 1 From The Evaluation Report
Screenshot 2 From The Evaluation Report
The four evaluators reviewed the website individually and met to consolidate the findings to create one cohesive defect list.
To create the defect list (starting on page 24 of this document), the evaluators used the card sorting method in Figma.
Heuristic Evaluation
Architects and Designers
Distributors
DIY’ers/Home Owner
3 undergrad and 3 graduate
No professional experience in installing tile or stones
Never used LATICRETE products
Participant Profile
Contractors
Why
It is Important for contractors, architects or DIY/end-customers to find a store to purchase laticrete (LATICRETE is mostly a business-to-business or B2B model)
Task #1
Where to buy page
Why
The most common use-case for LATICRETE Customers
Task #2
Find A Product
Why
Distinguish themselves from their competitors with 24/7 customer service on their products.
Task #3
Customer Support
Study Limitations
and Conclusions
Limitations
Small sample size
Compressed testing timeline
Broad features tested, not specific features
User confusion over product names
Further Research
More tests, fewer tasks per test
Larger sample size
Compare between prototype versions instead of with the current site
Commendations
Current version is a good prototype
Users said it was very streamlined and intuitive
New features improve clarity for first time users (map on the store finder, color picker on product pages, etc.)
Recommendations
Further user testing once new design goes live
Accessibility feature testing on live site
Retain some features from the current live site, such as the contact buttons being in the top menu
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