Usability analysis: ASU PARKING PORTAL
Overview: Evaluating the user experience of purchasing a permit on the ASU Parking Portal website
Problem
The Arizona State University (ASU) Parking and Transit Services website allows students to purchasing parking permits via the Parking Portal. The purpose of online purchasing is to provide students a convenient way to purchase permits from anywhere. However, an informal initial count showed that students tend to have issues using the online method which leads them to giving up halfway through the process and not acquiring a permit. The webpage’s layout does not satisfy common website usability principles such as easy navigation, satisfactory user interface, seamless pathways, and inclusion of relevant content.
Goals of this usability study:
- Determine site's user pain points, collect user feedback of current design
- Establish and validate user performance measures
- Provide design recommendations
- Improve efficiency, productivity, and level of user satisfaction
Role
UX Research
Year
Fall 2021 Capstone
Participants
The chart displays participant demographics
5 ASU students with no previous experience using the Parking Portal were studied; 3 males, 2 females
Task completion
Rated task difficulty
Rated task difficulty
Users struggled with Tasks 1,2, and 3
*One task failure not shown in the graph for Task 2.
Rated task difficulty
Rated task difficulty
Rated task difficulty
Tasks 2 and 3 were on average rated most difficult. These tasks were the most common points of error and needed thorough review
Issues and Recommendations
UX Severity Defined
UX Severity Defined
UX Severity Defined
●High: Fix urgently. This usability problem will make some users unwilling or unable to complete a common task.
●Medium: Fix as soon as possible. This usability problem will significantly slow down some users when completing a common task and may cause users to find a workaround.
●Low: Fix during the next "business as usual" update. This is a quality problem, for example a cosmetic issue or a spelling error, but will not affect task completion. While these may be minor issues in isolation, too many "lows" will negatively affect perceptions of a product’s usability, accuracy, and value.
UX Severity Defined
UX Severity Defined
Recommendations are prioritized in terms of their impact on usability
*Methodology defined by Dr. David Travis
Task 1
Task 1
Task 1
Medium severity- Some users found it difficult to determine whether to sign in to "affiliate" or "guest" login
○Users did not know if they were considered an “affiliate”
○2 users found the terms “guest” and “affiliate” difficult to understand
○Several users gave feedback that the login page had unhelpful words on it (“Customer Authentication”, “Validation Provider”) which made the task more confusing
Recommendations-
●Replace the login terms with “Guest” and “ASU Student/Faculty”
●Change “Customer Authentication” to “Login”
Task 2
Task 1
Task 1
●High severity- Users found it difficult to locate where to buy a permit
○Many users scrolled up and down page & took awhile to locate the “Get a permit” button
○Users did not realize that the words “Purchase a parking permit” were clickable
●Medium severity- Users described the order of information on the page as “unorganized”
○Users felt the informational content on the page was irrelevant and “distracted away” from the main task
○Users felt that the information was not organized in a way that made sense (the welcome message was misplaced, permits section should be above citations section)
○Users felt that the permits section was more popular and significant than the citations section; meaning it should appear higher than the citations section
Recommendations-
●Create a larger/more visible “Get a permit” button
●Create options that appear as a button or as a hyperlink ●Switch the order of the Permits section to come before the Citation section
Task 2- Recommendations continued
Task 2- Recommendations continued
Task 2- Recommendations continued
●Reorganize the information so that the “Welcome” message is first, followed by “Permit Availability”, and finally the “Reminder” message
Task 3
Task 2- Recommendations continued
Task 2- Recommendations continued
●High severity- Users found it difficult to complete this step without a map of the parking lots
○All users had remarks of expecting a map in this step
○4 users described it as an “inconvenience” to open another tab to find a map of ASU parking lots
○1 user said that the lot descriptions were not sufficient
●High severity- Users found the amount of information overwhelming
○4 users found the information included irrelevant
○2 users called this page “wordy”
Recommendations-
●Include a map of the parking lots
●Reduce the amount of information provided in this step by eliminating unnecessary information
Task 3- Recommendations continued
Task 3- Recommendations continued
Task 3- Recommendations continued
- Create a pop-up link to read the rules & regulations, minimize amount of words displayed on page
Task 4
Task 3- Recommendations continued
Task 3- Recommendations continued
●Medium severity- Users felt inconvenienced for having to pause the process to retrieve vehicle information
○Users expressed that they would’ve preferred a list stating the required information before starting the process
○2 users said they would’ve paused acquiring a permit online altogether under normal settings
●Medium severity- Users felt there was too much information
○3 users said the information was not helpful
○4 users said they were not inclined to read the information due to amount of words
Recommendations-
●Include a list of the required information that the user will need at the start of the procedure
●Reduce the amount of words (utilize bullet points), eliminate unnecessary information, or relocate the information to a more fitting location
Task 5
Task 5
Task 5
No severity- Users were able to select a delivery method
Recommendations-
●No recommendations for improvement
Task 6
Task 5
Task 5
●None- Users were able to enter payment information
Recommendations-
●No recommendations for improvement