THE FACEBOOK DESIGN EXPERIMENT

conducted by emma melton, caroline sigl, & duc-anh hoang

WHAT IS THE DESIGN EXPERIMENT?

The design experiment is a short, classroom-completed experiment to examine the usability of a website. Our particular group selected Facebook as its site of choice to investigate. We outlined five basic tasks for the user to complete which allowed us to investigate the usability of Facebook’s user interface.


we evaluated the following:
  • the focus of the user’s eyes and mouse
  • the time it took to complete the task
  • learnability (how easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design)
  • the amount of mistakes the user made (recorded numerically)
  • if the user improved the second time they performed a task (if applicable)
  • how the user felt during and after the experiment
the tasks we chose to examine:
  1. if the user could find and check their Facebook notifications
  2. if the user could navigate to the Davidson 2020-21 School Year Facebook group
  3. if the user could post to their Facebook page with the settings requirement that only their user could be able to see the respective post
  4. if the user could find the Fisher Farm page (a particular page by a group in Davidson, NC)
  5. if the user could add a detail to their profile

OUR STUDY

In this study, we were passive observers. Our only interaction with the user—separate from our final discussion at the end of the test—was during the giving of instructions. We would direct the user to complete a task and then observe his behavior and actions. When he was finished with that task, we would then instruct him to complete the next.

what the test subject was told:

First, check your notifications.
Now, go to Davidson 2020-21 School Year Facebook group.
Next, post so only you can see.
Okay, now, find the Fisher Farm page.
Finally, add a detail to your profile.

THE ANALYSIS

The buttons below detail our data. The numbers on the image correspond to the numbered tasks. Click a task button to view the data.

Responsive image

THE SOLUTIONS

While the user was fairly successful in completing the tasks, the act of navigating all of the possible buttons and options proved to be troublesome. Our group discussed a variety of changes. The most important change we proposed was the posting method. The test user spent almost two and a half minutes trying to post a simple example, and he could not tell which option would lead him to posting to his page. This is a critical flaw in a social media posting platform, and it should see reform. We discussed that the post ability should still remain in the profile page, but the post section should be more clear. Recommendations from the user included an “add post” label or an “add post” button near the “Posts” section on the profile page. Our group also discussed simplifying the pages, as it felt too crowded on the screen.

HOW THE USER FELT

The user “felt good for the most part.” When trying to create a post, he found himself getting quite frustrated. Since the main focus of Facebook is to post, he was irritated that it took him a couple minutes to complete the task. The user further stated, “buttons that looked like that had potential… didn’t” as he expressed his feelings. The user also noted that the overall design was “pretty decent,” and he did not have any complaints "with the looks."