Enhancing accessibility within the periphery: A first look at ZigWay’s ‘super-user’ interface

Context

The only thing I really understood about my upcoming project was that I was about to hit the ground running with a challenging seven-day sprint, framed by the art of usability testing.

The scope of my tasks truly began to take shape however, when I found out that my client was ZigWay, a fintech social enterprise based nearly 9,000 miles away in Yangon, Myanmar. One of ZigWay’s core initiatives is to make bulk buying affordable for low income families through monthly subscription services and interest-free payment plans.

Since its foundation, this mission has become increasingly reliant on the engagement of community leaders who facilitate important interactions between ZigWay’s subscribers and the company itself, coined ‘super-users.’ This group, made up entirely of women, are responsible for placing orders for essential supplies, collecting regular payments on an agreed upon payment plan, and ultimately transferring that money back to ZigWay.

A mobile app is currently in development to aid ‘super-users’ in their everyday processes, and it was my principle goal to evaluate all facets of its interface.

Objectives

Feeling admittedly overwhelmed by the fleeting timeline, I quickly set out to define my course of action!

What were the driving questions I wanted to answer? What was the best way of going about answering them?

1. Review the provided materials representing the ZigWay app, and conduct a thorough heuristics evaluation (including an accessibility audit under WCAG), highlighting any initial areas needing focus.
2. Consider the distinct target audience alongside unavoidable constraints, and utilize appropriate resources to recruit test participants.
3. Structure a moderated series of usability test sessions, gaining added perspective surrounding how easy the current ZigWay interface is to use.
4. Evaluate my findings, identifying pertinent trends and determining whether or not there are any opportunities for improvement.
5. Lean away from proposing solutions, honing in on forming constructive recommendations for an existing product.

Limitations to Note

1. I knew that the ZigWay ‘super-user’ embodied the app’s target demographic, but only had access to limited information about the shared common characteristics of this group.
2. My timeframe was brief, and would make international outreach less feasible, especially if user availability was uncertain.
3. The current iteration of the ZigWay app is solely made up of a series of images. Our test participants would only be able to assess usability through a limiting lens.

An Interlude…

Because the ZigWay app mock-ups weren’t accompanied by defined user flows, it was a perfect opportunity to collaborate with other classmates who were conducting research for the same client!

We utilized Invision to import the series of images, and arranged them in the manner we deemed most logical. We designated areas for select hotspots, enabling clickable capabilities for basic interactions between screens.

First thing’s first. We coordinated a user flow for ‘Creating a New Account.’

Preliminary Research

Heuristics Analysis

Before I could fully dive into my process of discovery, establishing a strong knowledge base about the app’s core functionality was imperative. In this particular case, I opted to organize my mock-ups according to four main categories: Log in/Onboarding, Subscribers, Orders, and Payments.

I then appraised each section on a sliding scale of 1–5, taking into account learnability, efficiency, memorability, error management, and satisfaction.

The ‘Subscribers’ and ‘Orders’ user flows scored the lowest overall, at 2.3 and 2.4 respectively. I additionally noted that the efficiency and memorability heuristics were where key problem areas were concentrated. I didn’t note evidence of available shortcuts in accomplishing tasks, and the design of the navigation seemed to rely heavily on the user’s memory. This was especially apparent when I realized inputting a given subscriber’s name into a search bar was seemingly the only way to pull up an existing profile.

While I still needed to ascertain whether or not my personal conclusions represented an overall consensus, the evaluation helped me to frame my expectations as I continued to investigate!

WCAG Audit

With the ZigWay prototypes in their current state, it would be impossible to fully assess how firmly the overall interface will eventually comply with Section 508 under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

In spite of this, my audit revealed key areas of concern that should be revisited before the app is launched:

• The contrast ratios between certain color palettes fall well below the WCAG standard [4.5 : 1 for normal text, or 3:1 for large/bold text]. This is the most apparent with the app’s frequent use of yellow against a white background [1.72 : 1].
• The font size used on text heavy pages averages 12px, smaller than the recommended 16px.

Remembering our Audience

Prior to conducting my test sessions, I sought out to learn as much as I could about the ZigWay app’s specific target user base. While continuing to acknowledge that gaining insight directly from a true ‘super-user’ wasn’t going to be achievable throughout my process, I drafted a persona to better illustrate my findings.

I really started to think about how the features of this app could potentially impact the day-to-day of a ‘super-user.’

Usability Testing

Phase I: Informal Sessions, Moderated

Participants:

• 3 women, 2 men
• Ages 24–31
• All testers were pre-screened and recruited because of demonstrated work history centered in global impact and/or having immersive experiences in impoverished countries.
• All conducted remotely using Zoom platform

Summary of Session Structure:

1. Pre-test interview & first impressions of ZigWay Homepage (≅ 5 min)
2. Usability testing of ZigWay’s current app interface (≅ 15 minutes)

Scenario 1:

“You are a first-time user of the ZigWay application, and want to get things started! “

Task 1: Create a new account. See your registration through the entire onboarding process.

Scenario 2:

“You are returning to the app to place an order on behalf of Ma Phyo Phyo, a friend and current ZigWay subscriber.”

Task 2: Locate the subscriber profile for Ma Phyo Phyo. Determine whether or not she currently owes you money from previous orders.

Task 3: Begin a new order, and see it through checkout.

Scenario 3:

“At a later date, the same subscriber contacts you and desires to make a payment for what she currently owes.”

Task 4: Collect payment from Ma Phyo Phyo.

Task 5: Transfer funds to ZigWay accordingly.

Phase II: Formal Sessions, Unmoderated

Participants:

• 3 women
• Ages 40–52
• > $30,000 annual income
• Recruited to represent age and income demographics that were different from first group of testers
• All conducted via Usertesting.com

Enhanced Testing Components

• Designed to further explore concentrated areas of hesitation/confusion that became apparent in first round of interviews

Added Task: Determine how much money ‘Aye Mar’ owes you.

Added Question: What do you think the significance of the ‘no current orders’ button is?

Findings

“What are the most important trends that have emerged?”

Note: Throughout my synthesis, I chose to move my focus away from highlighting user observations or criticisms that I felt could be situational to the current state of the prototype (i.e. inconsistencies in numerical values or name placeholders from page to page).

• 6/8 total participants hesitated or failed in successfully searching for a preexisting subscriber on the ‘subscriber’ main landing page.
• All testers voiced confusion surrounding ‘no current orders’ vs. ‘current orders’ tabs on main ‘subscriber’ page.

Locating a current subscriber profile — A common point of confusion for testers

• All testers hesitated or failed in locating grey ‘submit’ button to fully place an order.
• 3/3 Usertesting.com participants failed task of determining total amount owed for ‘Aye Mar’ subscriber.
• 6/6 informal test participants commented on necessity of ‘weird scrolling’ to complete tasks.
• 6/8 total testers thought order/checkout process seemed like it had too many steps.
• Only 1/8 participants viewed their overall experience through an overtly negative lens.
• The ‘clean/minimalist’ and ‘to-the-point’ nature of the app was the quality that testers complimented the most.

Insights

“Why are these trends emerging?”

• The interface design’s scrolling feature is obscuring important information or call-to-action buttons at multiple task phases.
• The full functionality of the search bar seems to be unclear. Users are expecting a drop-down menu or collective catalog of existing subscribers.
• Users are completely overlooking the app’s current ‘order history’ tab, and aren’t noticing a presence of other shortcuts throughout task execution.

Revisiting our User’s Journey

While I had succeeded in gathering a plethora of feedback from my usability sessions, I honed in on the stages of the ‘super-user’s process that seemed to leave the most area for improvement.

After synthesizing my data and pulling key quotes that represented common pain points, I found that the results of my initial heuristics evaluation were supported. The second and third presented tasks, focusing on surveying a preexisting subscriber profile and seeing that subscriber through the order and checkout process, led to the highest frequency of negative commentary, hesitation, or failure amongst testers.

I channeled this discovery into constructing a journey map, a true tool in tracing a feasible pathway where a ‘super-user’ could run into roadblocks and experience a wide range in emotions.

Recommendations for Next Steps

• Add obvious call for directionality regarding scroll and/or move important buttons to top of each interface
• Make total amount owed for each subscriber obvious at top of screen, not listed separately by order.
• Add a feature where users can easily reference a collective catalog of their subscribers.
• Make search bar more prominent in the app’s visual hierarchy and enhance it with customizable filters.
• Streamline checkout process by combining ‘basket review’ and ‘confirm payment’ screens.
• Revisit accessibility requirements under Section 508.
• Structure a new wave of usability tests with actual ZigWay ‘super-users.’

It was quite the week, but I am left feeling so grateful to have been a part of another UX adventure !