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DateofReport:
April17th,2016
DateofTest:
April16th,2016
LocationofTest:
Boston,Massachusetts
Preparedfor:
Dr.DavidSprague
Email:
dsprague2@gmail.com
Preparedby:
ValCharry,JoshuaDriesman,MattHarty,RobShanholtz
Email:
charry.v@husky.neu.edu
,
driesman.j@husky.neu.edu
,
harty.m@husky.neu.edu
,
shanholtz.r@husky.neu.edu
ExecutiveSummary
ThegoalofthisstudywastoevaluatethechangesmadetoSplitraftertheheuristic
evaluationaswellastoevaluateifSplitrproperlyaddressestheneedofsplittingtheburdenofa
partyacrosstheguestsattheparty.
Wetested8participants,allfulltimeundergraduatestudents.Theywereavarietyof
majors,although3ofthemwereComputerSciencemajors.Mostofthemattendedamoderate
numberofpartiesamonth,althoughonlyoneregularlyhostedpartiesoftheirown.Theycamefrom
avarietyofyears,althoughwefailedtogetsubjectswhowereintheir1stor4thyear.
Theparticipantswereaskedtofilloutapresurveywhichcollecteddemographic
informationandaskedabouttheirhabitswhenitcomestoattendingandhostingparties.Theywere
thenaskedtocompletethreetasks,RSVPingtoaninvite,invitingaguesttoapartytheywere
hosting,andaddingasupplytotheirparty.Weoriginallyintendedforthemtoalsocompletethetask
ofcreatinganewparty,butwewerenotabletoimplementthisfeatureproperlybeforethetesting
tookplace.Theparticipantsthenwentthroughasemistructuredinterview,andthencompleteda
postsurvey.
Wefoundthattheinterfaceperformedgenerallywell.Oneofthemajorissuesidentified
wasthevisibilityofmajorbuttons.Splitralwaysplacesitsbuttonsinthesameplace,theupperright
corner.Someparticipantsfeltthatcommonlyusedbuttons,liketheRSVPbutton,shouldbeplaced
inmoreprominentlocationsandshouldstandoutfromtheotherbuttons.Participantsalsocame
acrossafewbugswewerenotpreviouslyawareof.Wealsofoundthattheinterfacecoulduse
somecosmeticimprovements.Participantsalsogavesomesuggestionsfornewfeatures,like
categoriesforitemsandallowinggueststosuggestitems.
Thesurveyresultswerefairlypositivewhenitcametoevaluatingourinterface.Wefound
thatwhilepeoplesunderstandinghasimproved,somearestillconfusedbyhowthecostissplit.
Thisissomethingthatwillneedmoreimprovement.Wealsofoundthatthereisadisconnect
betweenhostsexpectingpeopletocontributetoapartyandtheattendeesexpectationsofwhether
theyshouldcontribute.TherewasanissuethatafairnumberofparticipantsdonotRSVPtoparties
beforeattending.ThiscouldbecomeanissuesinceSplitrwouldnotworkifguestsdonotRSVPto
theirrespectiveparty.Thisissomethingtokeepinmindforfuturedevelopmentandwewillhaveto
findwaysofencouragingpeopletoRSVP,aswellashandlingincidentswherepeopleRSVPbut
dontshowuporshowupwithoutRSVPing.
Methodology
Whowetested
8participants,havingthefollowingcharacteristics,evaluatedSplitr.
PartiesPerMonth
Major
ComputerScience(incl.
combined)
CriminalJustice
Business
Behavioral
Neuroscience
MechanicalEngineer
TOTAL(participants)
01parties/month
24parties/month
57parties/month
710parties/month
11+parties/month
TOTAL(participants)
YearinCollege
PartiesHostedperMonth
1stYear
01parties/month
2ndYear
24parties/month
3rdYear
57parties/month
4thYear
710parties/month
5thYear
11+parties/month
TOTAL(participants)
TOTAL(participants)
NotesonParticipants
AllstudentswereNortheasternUniversityStudents,exceptfor1whowasaBentleyUniversity
student.
Whatparticipantsdid
Theparticipantswereaskedtofilloutapresurvey,complete3tasks,completeasemistructured
interview,andthencompleteapostsurvey.The3taskswereasfollows,inorder:
1.
2.
3.
RSVPtoaninvitationyouhavereceivedforaparty
Addgueststotheexistingparty
Addanitemtothesupplieslistoftheexistingparty
Eachparticipantcompletedallthreetasks,makingthisawithinsubjectdesign.
Whatdatawecollected
Thefollowingdatawascollectedviaananonymoussurveypriortocompletingthestudy:
YearinSchool(allparticipantshadtobefulltimeundergraduatestudents)
Major
NumberofPartiesAttendedperMonth
NumberofPartiesHostedperMonth
LikertScaleaboutHostingParties(CompletelyDisagree,SomewhatDisagree,Neutral,
SomewhatAgree,CompletelyAgree)
WhenIhostparties,Iwanttosplitthecostwithmyfriends.
WhenIhostparties,IhavetroublekeepingtrackofRSVPs.
WhenIhostparties,Ihavetroublegettinggueststocontributeeitheritemsor
moneytotheparty.
LikertScaleaboutAttendingParties(CompletelyDisagree,SomewhatDisagree,Neutral,
SomewhatAgree,CompletelyAgree)
WhenIattendparties,Iexpecttocontributetotheeffortofhostingtheparty.
WhenIattendparties,IRSVPbeforehand.
Iwouldbeokaywithcontributingtoapartythroughanapp.
Thefollowingdatawascollectedduringthestudy:
Generallyobservedmisclicksanddelaysinuserinteraction.
Tooknoteofclarifyingquestionsasked.
Tooknoteofcommentsmadeduringusertesting.
Thefollowingquestionswereaskedduringallsemistructuredinterviews:
WhatisyouroverallimpressionofSplitr?
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Onascaleof17,with7beingmostlikelyand1beingleastlikely,howlikelyareyoutouse
anapplicationlikethis?
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyouwoulddotoimprovethis
app?
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Thefollowingdatawascollectedviaananonymoussurveyaftercompletingtheinterviewandstudy:
LikertScaleConcerningtheApplication(CompletelyDisagree,SomewhatDisagree,
Neutral,SomewhatAgree,CompletelyAgree)
TheSplitrinterfacewaseasytonavigate.
Splitrpresentedtheinformationinanorganizedway.
Iunderstoodwhatthesplittingmethodwassupposedtodo.
IfeelthattheSplitrappissomethingIwouldusetomanageparties/eventsI'm
hostingorattending.
Majorfindingsandrecommendations
Majorfindingsfromusertesting:
Sizing
CertainboxesintheAddSuppliesformwenttofollowinglineswhenthe
menuwasresizedtobesmaller.Thiscanbefixedbysettingdefaultsizesfor
windowsthatcannotbechanged,orbyusingadifferentlayoutsformenus.
Invitationsbug
Evenonceaninvitationwasaccepted,thebuttonstillshowed
thattherewasapendinginvitation.Thiscanbefixedbychangingthetext
dynamicallyinthebutton.
UnclearButtonPresses
Userswereunclearwithwhenbuttonswereableto
bepressed.Thiscanbeaddressedbychangingbuttoncolorwhentheyare
mousedover.
SizeofButtons
Importantbuttons,sucharetheRSVPbutton,arenotalways
obviousduetotheirplacementatthetopofthepageandthefacttheyarethe
samesizeasalloftheotherbuttons.
OtherBugs
Somebugswerefound,particularlywithpanelsnotrefreshingafter
addingaguest,acceptinganinvite,etc.
CategoriesforItems
Addtheabilitytocategorizeitems.
ImproveLayoutandAppearance
Layoutandappearanceisabitugly.Should
improveitwithmorecolorsandshouldalignelementsbetter.
AllowGueststoSuggestItems
Allowgueststosuggestitemstobuyforthe
party.
Majorfindingsfrompresurvey:
Moreparticipantsattendpartiesinsteadofhostparties.
Allparticipantsexpecttosplitthecostofapartytheyarehostingwithfriends.
AbouthalfparticipantshavesometroublekeepingtrackofRSVPs
Thismaybearesultofhowlargeapartytheseparticipantshost.The
participantswhohadtroublewithRSVPsmayhostlargerpartiesthan
thosewhohavelittletrouble.
Themajorityofparticipantshavesometroublegettinggueststocontributetoa
partytheyarehosting.
Somedidnothavetroublethough,againthesizeofthepartymaymakea
difference.
Participantsaresplitonwhetherornottheyexpecttocontributetoapartythey
areattending.
Thisshowsapotentialimbalancebetweenwhathostsexpectandwhat
attendeesexpect.
Weshouldlookintothisfurtherwhentestingtheapplicationasitmay
affecthowtheappfunctions.
ParticipantsaresplitonwhethertheyRSVPtoapartybeforetheygo.
ThemajoritydonotRSVPbeforehand.
Thiscouldcauseissueswithhowourappisusedsinceitreliesonpeople
RSVPing
WeshouldfigureoutawayofincreasingRSVPratesforpeoplewhouse
ourapp,perhapsbygivingregularnotifications.
Weshouldtakeintoaccounthowtosplitcostswhenpeoplefailtoshow
uporwhenpeoplewhodidnotRSVPshowup.
Allparticipantsarecomfortablewithusinganapptocontributingtoaparty.
MajorFindingsfromPostSurvey
Theinterfaceisgenerallyeasytonavigateasmostparticipantsagreedor
completelyagreedwiththestatementTheSplitrinterfacewaseasytonavigate.
TheSplitrinterfacedisplaysinformationinanorganizedmanner.Thiswasnoted
byoneofourparticipantsandshowsupinthesurvey.
Themajorityofparticipantsfoundtheinformationwellorganized.
Whilemostparticipantsunderstoodhowsplittingwouldwork,afewstillhad
troublegraspingtheidea.
Thisissomethingwehavestruggledwithandwhileouroutcomeshave
improved,weneedtokeepimprovingthewaythisfunctionalityis
presentedtotheuser.
Participantswerealittlelessenthusiasticaboutactuallyusingtheappto
organizetheirownparties.
Weshouldimproveourexplanationofthebenefitsoftheapplication.
Weshouldfurtherresearchthereasonsparticipantsmaynotbeas
interestedinusingthisapplication.
Still,themajoritywereinterestedinusingtheapplication.
Detailedfindingsandrecommendations
IntroductoryQuestions&Tasks
Theparticipantswereaskedtofilloutapresurvey.Theresultsofthissurveyareafterthetask
findings.
Scenario1RSVPingtoapartyinvitation
YourtaskistofindaninvitationyoureceivedtoapartyandRSVP
Numberofparticipants
8
Percentsuccessful
100%
Findings
Recommendations
7oftheparticipantscompletedthetask
withease(3orlessmissclicksand
needednoexternalprompting)
6participantstookextratime/extra
missclickslookingfortheRSVPbutton
ontheinvitationpage
3participantstookextratime/extra
missclickslookingforwhattopushon
thepartyselectionsscreen,and1of
thethreeneededpromptingtofindit
1participantwantedmoreinformation
abouthowtheywouldbepayingwhen
acceptingtheRSVP
1participantnoticedthatthe(1)next
totheinvitationsbuttondoesnot
alwaysremoveaftertheinvitationis
RSVPdtoo
2participantnotedthatthetopbar
buttonswereabittoosmall
3participantsthoughtthatcolorand
stylingchangeswouldmakean
improvementwhenlookingatthe
differentscreens
MovetheRSVPbuttonpotentiallytothecenter
orbottomofthepagewiththerestofthe
informationaboutthepartyasitisafocalpoint
ofthepage
Makethebuttonattachedtotheactualparty
name/description,oratleastmakeitmore
obviouslyabutton
Haveadescriptionavailabletotheuser(either
ontheactualRSVPorearlyinthesequence)
thatexplainshowthepaymentworks
Makesurethatinallcasesthe(1)isremoved
afterthetasksothatitisobviouswhetheror
notyouhaveapendinginvitation
Increaseslightlythesizeofthetopbar,butnot
toomuchasabalancehastobemaintained
withthemainpanel
Atthispointstylingandcolorarenotthemain
priorities,howeveraddingincoloringandsuch
woulddefinitelyhelpoverall
Scenario2Addingsupplies
Yourtaskisaddasupplytothesupplylistofanexistingpartyyouarehosting
Numberofparticipants
8
Percentsuccessful
100%
Findings
Recommendations
8oftheparticipantscompletedthetask
withease(3orlessmissclicksand
needednoexternalprompting)
6participantstookextratime/extra
missclickslookingforwhattopushon
thepartyselectionsscreen,and1of
thethreeneededpromptingtofindit
1participantcommentedthattherewas
noobviouswaytoremoveasupplyifit
iscreatedinerror
1participantcommentedthatifyougo
toaddanothersupplythesupplygets
autofilledwithinformationfromthelast
one
Makethebuttonattachedtotheactualparty
name/description,oratleastmakeitmore
obviouslyabutton
Givetheusersaccesstoabuttonnextto
eachsupplyonthesupplylistthattakesaway
thatsupply
Thisisnotnecessarilybadaspeoplewill
probablyputsimilaritemsinoneaftertheother
(suchasmultiplekindsofpizza)sotheautofill
mighthelp.Mightbegoodtohaveitasan
optiontoenableautofillornot
Scenario3Addingguests
Yourtaskisaddaguesttotheguestlistofanexistingpartyyouarehosting
Numberofparticipants
8
Percentsuccessful
100%
Findings
Recommendations
8oftheparticipantscompletedthetask
withease(3orlessmissclicksand
needednoexternalprompting)
6participantstookextratime/extra
missclickslookingforwhattopushon
thepartyselectionsscreen,and1of
thethreeneededpromptingtofindit
3participantsnoticedthatthelistof
guestsdidnotimmediatelyupdateafter
addingone,whichwasconfusing
feedback
2participantsnoticedthatoneofthe
otherguestsstatuschangedwhen
theyaddedanewguest
Makethebuttonattachedtotheactualparty
name/description,oratleastmakeitmore
obviouslyabutton
Maketheguestlistupdateimmediatelyso
usersknowrightawaythattheywere
successfulinaddingaguest
Unsurewhythiswouldoccur,potentiallysome
sortofbug,fix
ExitQuestions/UserImpressions
Participant1
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressiontoSplitr?
Prettybareminimum
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Ilikethefontonthe
logo.
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Addamoneysending
feature.
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Limittothenumberof
guestsyoucantakewith
you.Generalparty
sharinginformationlike
amessengerfeature.
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Participant2
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressionofSplitr?
ItismadeisSwing.
Optionsarefairly
intuitiveonwhereyou
go.
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Itmadeiteasyto
organizeinformation
andviewit.
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis?
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Makethebuttonsatthe
topbigger.
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
None
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Facebookintegration
AdditionalQuestionsAsked:
Whymakethebuttonsatthetopbigger?Makethemstandoutmorebecausetheare
veryimportant.Hedidnotseethebuttonsatthetoptoaddsomeonetotheguestlist
becausetheywereverysmall.
Participant3
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressionofSplitr?
Easytouse,it
addressesademand
thatisnotcurrently
beingaddressed,thatis
thecoolestpart.
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Thesimplicityofthe
app.
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Makethebuttonsatthe
topmoreprominent.
MaketheRSVPmore
prominent.
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Foundabug,whenyou
createapartyandhit
cancel,itdoesmultiple
parties.
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
None
Participant4
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressionofSplitr?
Itisagoodidea,
becausetheonlyother
thingIknowisthewhole
facebookinviting
people,butnoonereally
usesFacebook
anymore.
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Ilikeyouacceptthe
cost,andmaybesayno
toit.Youcansee
everyonewhoisinvited
andyoucanseeexactly
whatyouarebuyingand
thepriceforeverything.
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Makeitcolorfulandfun.
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Notoffthetopofmy
head,butmaybethere
couldbesomethinglike
transportationwise.If
someoneisfromthe
sameareaofyou,you
cancatcharidewith
them.Carpoolingwith
others.
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Participant5
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressiontoSplitr?
Itwasgood.Ilikedthe
idea,itwaseasyto
navigate.
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Thewaythatyoucan
easilymakeapartyand
splitthecosteasily
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
7,itisveryconvenient
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Probablyworkonthe
organizationofthe
interface,soithasa
nicerappearance.This
isfortheorganizationof
theitemsonthepages.
Itisacosmeticissue.
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Notreally,maybesome
kindofcategorysection
fortheitemsyouare
bring(likebeverages,
food,etc).
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Nope
Participant6
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressiontoSplitr?
Idontreally
understand,it,because
howdoesthemoney
typethinglook?Isit
supposedtobehooked
uptovenmo?Ohthats
howthatworks?Thats
actuallycoolokay
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Thersvplist
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
5,becauseImnotthat
organizedasaperson
butItrytobe
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Fixthepriceperunitbox
andaddinsomevenmo
indicator
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
No
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
NoIdonot
Participant7
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressiontoSplitr?
Ilikedit,Ithinkwitha
fewtweaksithas
potential.Ithinkthatyou
needtomakeitmore
obviouswheretoclick.
Usebuttonsinsteadof
arrows,orlabelitnext
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Ijustlikeditingeneralit
wasagoodapp
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
5.7
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Makeamoreclear
button
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Thebuttons
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Ithinkyoushouldmove
thenumberofpeople
andcostperpersonto
thetop
Participant8
ExitQuestions
Responses
WhatisyouroverallimpressiontoSplitr?
Ithinkthattheideais
fantasticbutthe
formattingcoulduse
somework.Blockiness
shouldbechangedto
rounding,mostly
cosmetic
changes.Relativetext
sizesandemptyspaces
shouldbefixed.The
locationoftextcould
alsobeimprovedand
overallspacing.Butit
waseasytonavigate
andintuitive
Whatdidyoulikebestabouttheapp?
Ithinktheideaofthe
twomainsections,
attendingandhosting
wasagreatidea.Ithink
usersshouldbeableto
suggestsomethingtoa
party.
Onascaleof17,howlikelyareyoutouseanapplicationlikethis
Itdependsonifother
peopleuseit.Provided
peopleuseit,a6
Ifyouweretheappdeveloper,whatwouldbethefirstthingyou
woulddotoimprovethisapp?
Ithinkthemainthingis
thecosmeticbuttons
Isthereanythingthatyoufeelismissingonthisapp?
Suggestionsforguests
anditems
Doyouhaveanyotherfinalcommentsorquestions?
Idonot
StatisticalAnalysisPreSurvey
Note:Sampleincludedno1stor4thyears.
InferentialStatistics
Mode:3rdYear
Note:Sincethesurveyhadasimpletextboxfortheinputoftheanswer,theresultswere
manuallyclassified.Combinedmajorsweregroupedtogetherwiththeirprimarymajor.
Forexample,ComputerScienceandBusinesswouldbegroupedwithComputerScience.
InferentialStatistics
Mode:ComputerScience
InferentialStatistics
Mode:24Parties
InferentialStatistics
Mode:01Parties
Note:Thereisstillnoconsensusonwhethercertainstatisticslikemeanandmediancan
beusedonLikertScaledata.Wehavechosentoapplythesestatisticstothisdatabased
onsomereading(
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886444/
).Still,these
statisticsshouldbeinterpretedwithcaution.Inthiscase,completelydisagreehasbeen
assignedthevalueof1,disagreehasbeengiventhevalueof2,andsoon.Thisnote
appliestoallofthedatafromthispointonward.
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4.63
StandardDeviation:0.52
Mode:5(completelyagree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:3.50
StandardDeviation:1.20
Mode:N/A
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4.00
StandardDeviation:1.31
Mode:5(completelyagree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:3.50
StandardDeviation:1.20
Mode:N/A
InferentialStatistics
Mean:2.63
StandardDeviation:1.51
Mode:2(disagree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4.75
StandardDeviation:0.46
Mode:5(completelyagree)
StatisticalAnalysisPostSurvey
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4.25
StandardDeviation:1.04
Mode:5(completelyagree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4.25
StandardDeviation:0.71
Mode:4(agree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:4
StandardDeviation:1.41
Mode:5(completelyagree)
InferentialStatistics
Mean:3.63
StandardDeviation:1.30
Mode:4(agree)