🔎 Research

Secondary Research

Early stage research consisted of foundational desk research to gather insight around common filter behavior. Documentation was collected from sources such as Nielsen Norman Group to establish a strong initial understanding of industry standard filtering patterns. Once we generated a better understanding of the problem space, we had a solid basis to gauge direction for our own upcoming research study.

This secondary research revealed that our original designs lacked essential elements such as a ‘Clear All’ function and a visible dynamic count for applied filters. Beyond this, we collected a variety of new features and concepts to test surrounding positioning, data fetching, and result display.

Primary Research

Given our short timeline, we decided to conduct usability testing through a product research platform called Maze. The flexibility of this platform allowed us to utilize Figma prototypes to collect data on key performance indicators such as click rates, success rates, and task duration. 

We utilized A/B testing to compare and contrast old vs new concepts as seen in the designs below. In doing so, we ultimately wanted to discover preferences in the filter adding/removal experience to then synthesize findings for potential hybrid designs.

Participant Criteria

We were able to recruit a total of 48 participants from across the company for testing. While it would have been ideal to solicit insight from our targeted end users (investor relation officers), we made do with our resources (limited timeline and access to specific users), and targeted Q4 employees who naturally have strong awareness and familiarity with the IR landscape.

Usability Test Structure

The test was structured to guide the user through the adding and and removal processes (with click-through prototypes), revealing user preferences and insight with both qualitative and quantitative follow up questions for each respective task:

• Overall, which design made adding filters easier?

• What did you find particularly useful in *preferred design A or B* while adding filters?

• Overall, which design made removing filters easier?

• What did you find particularly useful in *preferred design A or B* while removing filters?

Once both tasks were completed, the user was asked to select distinctly useful features and provide overall feedback on their filtering experience with the following questions:

• Now that you have explored features across both designs, please select any features you found distinctly useful in accomplishing your tasks

• Do you have any final thoughts or feedback on your experience?

🎯 Results

Outputs/Deliverables

Resulting new filter patterns and designs echoed findings from usability testing. A hybrid approach where users are provided an open face access to filters with the addition of an “All Filters” function met a lot of our user needs.

Impact

According to data collected during usability testing, the new designs for the adding process shows an improvement in task time of 241%, and the new removal process 194%, producing an overall improvement in task time of 217%. 

Next Steps

Resulting new filter patterns and designs are to be implemented in Engagement Analytics and documented into the Q4 design system. Leanings from this research can now be used as a standard for reference across the company’s products, as more Q4 products are transitioned into Capital Connect.

💡Takeaways

Being one of my first experiences with formal usability testing, I learned a whole lot along the way. Here is a breakdown of my major takeaways and learnings!

Usability Testing

• Use casual, straightforward language during user testing

• Utilize visual aids (ex. diagrams, references) and help text

• Ensure your tests are presented with structure; users should be provided with transparency on what to expect going into testing

• Brace the user for what’s to come - Any form of guidance helps reduce cognitive overload and frustration!

Cross Functional Collaboration 

• Sync with PMs and other relevant stakeholders on business goals and value

• Sync with developers to gauge feasibility and scope

• Leverage your team’s big dev/pm/design brains! Even quick little brainstorming sessions can go a long way!

• Always ask questions and never hesitate to ask for help - this especially pays off in the long run!

Above all, this experience really showed the beauty in usability testing and validating designs with research. While it’s easy to assume you know best as a designer, usability testing helps identify potential oversights, and opens doors to new perspectives. It’s fascinating to see the power research, and how a well tested design can impact a product’s functionality!