Case Study

C

Roof : A product design case study on tackling spam in the home rental space.

Research

R

Human-Computer Interaction Research on Perception of Mobile Emergency Alert Sounds.

Costco Mobile App

A Heuristic Evaluation uncovered high priority usability problems in the native iOS mobile application

Research

R

Cognitive Engineering Study on  Mining Truck Driver Tasks, Alertness and Cognitive Decision Making.

Heuristic Evaluation

H

Costco iOS Mobile App Heuristic Evaluation uncovered usability disasters in the mobile application.

Roof

Making it easy and efficient to search and sign home rentals based on the user's preferences without being scammed

Blog

B

Why I completely redesigned my portfolio website - Usability in Web Design.

Neuel Sam

1 Min Read, 15 July 2020

Problem Space

Costco Mobile App encompasses all Costco services available on the website. Customers can buy products and memberships, check nearby warehouses, and process returns. I conducted a heuristic evaluation in order to identify usability issues in the application.

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Once Usability issues are identified, potential solutions are implemented and the prototype is re-evaluated against the same heuristics to ensure that the usability issue no longer exists.

Constraints

  • Must follow existing Costco Application design.

  • Fonts can be free open source ones instead of paid.

Deliverables

Redesigned Screens after Heuristic Evaluation: Download PDF​

Design Handbook: Download PDF

User Task

Browse groceries to find Croutons and buy them.

Heuristic Evaluation

A method to find usability problems in a user interface design. We examine the interface and judge it’s compliance with recognized usability principles using a small set of evaluators.

Heuristic Evaluation Rating Method

0  Not a usability problem at all
1   Fix only if extra time is available
2  Low priority usability problem
3  High priority usability problem
4  Usability catastrophe

Help Users Recognize, Diagnose and Recover From Errors

  • The error message should be written in plain language

  • Messages should precisely indicate the problem

  • Messages should constructively suggest a solution

User Control and Freedom

  • Users often choose options by mistake

  • Users need an exit strategy to leave the unwanted state

  • There should be freedom to undo any accidental actions

My Role

Heuristic Evaluator

Deliverables

Timeline

Costco Design Handbook PDF

1 Week

Usability Heuristics Evaluated

Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

  • Dialogue shouldn’t contain irrelevant information

  • Extra information competes with relevant information

  • Prioritize the content that supports the user’s goal

Consistency and Standards

  • Users wondering the meaning of symbols/actions/words 

  • Follow platform conventions

  • This helps in reducing learning curve and eliminates confusion

Visibility of System Status

  • Communication and transparency

  • Users should know what’s happening in the system

  • Prioritize content that supports the user’s goal

Identified Usability Issues and Ratings

Help Users Recognize, Diagnose and Recover From Errors

Sign In Error

The cause of the error is not specified, so users are left guessing what went wrong

Recommendation
Specify what went wrong and highlight respective fields with red