Importance of mobile-first design
During testing, we allowed participants to choose whether to complete the tasks on a laptop or smartphone. Overwhelmingly, participants chose the smartphone option, since that is the device they primarily use to access the internet. By testing the mobile version of the webpages, we were able to identify necessary mobile-specific revisions, such as enlarging text that was too small or removing images that were difficult to view.
Data privacy and security are top-of-mind
Testers responded very positively to the presence of a dedicated data privacy and confidentiality section. Often, their comments reacting to this section were unprompted by the researchers. During the interview portion of the session, testers shared they are generally fearful about their personal data being compromised on the internet. Providing clear and direct information about how the ODR platform addresses these concerns can help to alleviate users’ anxieties over these issues.
Testers’ confidence grew
After testers completed tasks on each material, we asked them how Jane would be feeling about the situation. We found that participants’ confidence and sense of ease grew as they progressed through the materials. Scaffolding the information contributed to this outcome: we found that testers’ understanding of how ODR works and its potential benefits to Jane’s case became clearer over time.
Simple materials enhance excitement for ODR
Once we recognized that testers had retained the information provided to them about ODR, we asked them to describe how it worked in their own words. Testers were not only able to do so, but shared their enthusiasm for ODR. We were often asked when ODR would be available in testers’ districts, because they felt it would be much more preferable to the traditional court process. In short, describing ODR in simple, easy to understand terms lets its potential benefits shine.
These usability test findings provided valuable insights that informed our final design decisions. Now, explore the interactive models on the next page to see these improvements in action.
Usability Test Results
Overall, the usability testers found the models to be visually engaging, simple to navigate, and importantly, easy to read and understand.
The final versions of the models received a 4.8/5 rating from our second round of usability testers for how easy they were to understand.
For more details about the usability test sessions and our findings, download the Usability Testing Report.
Below are some key examples of what we found through these tests:
