Information Architecture Group Project

Final Document

Eventerest Team

Patricia Evans

Andrew Gordon

Cindy Taylor

December 11, 2013

Final Document Eventerest Team

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Initial Concept Discussion, Audience, Vision 2

Preliminary Research Research Plan Research Results and Discussion

3

4 – 14

Strategy Discussion and Initial Deliverables Architectural Strategy Site Blueprints Sketches Page Wireframes Content Mapping

15 16

17 – 19 20 – 31

32

Results Consolidation Concept Refinement Metaphor Exploration and Scenarios

33 34

Design Discussion Technological Implementation Visual Identity Discussion Controlled Vocabularies

35 36 37

Implementation Deliverables Prototype Screenshots

38 – 48

Implementation Testing User Testing & Evaluation – Iteration I & Lessons Learned User Testing & Evaluation – Iteration II & Lessons Learned

49 – 53 54 – 57

Final Design Validation, Commentary & Critique What Was and What Was Not Accomplished Lessons Learned – Retrospective

58 58 59

Actual Project Schedule 60 – 61

Appendix A: Interview Transcripts 62 – 72

Appendix B: Initial Survey Comments 73 – 74

Appendix C: Guidelines and Written Task Handout for Test I 75 – 76

Appendix D: User Implementation Test I Survey 77

Appendix E: User Implementation Test I Notes/Results 78 – 87

Appendix F: Revised Pages I 88 – 95

Appendix G: User Implementation Test II Handout 96

Appendix H: User Implementation Test II Notes/Results 97 – 101

Appendix I: Revised Pages II

102 - 107


1

Executive Summary

Our goal is to demonstrate a prototype of a new concept website that will allow users to learn

about local events, keep track of events that they would like to attend, and engage in a variety of social

media activities surrounding those events. The ultimate site design will include robust search functions

to allow users to narrow their searches, saving time and effort while finding the events they are most

likely to enjoy. A user profile page format will facilitate social functions such as communication,

following other users and posting pictures, while functions such as reviews, news, and forums allow for

a high degree of interactivity. Event pages will gather quick and readable individual event profiles by

genre, allowing for browsing and the ability for users to “collect” upcoming events. Customizable

calendar functions will allow users to keep track of all of their events in one place. For the purpose of

this proposal we will be creating a prototype design for the Austin area, although this site can be easily

tailored to any metropolitan area (as well as smaller cities and regions). We have named this site

“Eventerest” to reflect its function and its social nature.

Research: Considering the broad range of audiences for Eventerest, the research strategy for

this project included a three-tiered approach to identifying the potential need for a new form of event

website, what deficits existed on current websites, user habits and finally a refined examination of user

needs and desires. Our approach included a series of one-on-one user interviews, a review and targeted

critique of existing websites with event functions, and a user survey administered online. User

implementation testing took place as the site developed and into the final stage of implementation.

Architectural Strategy: Based on analysis of our research, we determined that the best strategy

for realizing the Eventerest vision is to use a local hub approach. Eventerest pages for individual cities

will be united by a common design template and linked in an egalitarian structure, with no central or

master site (but linked to one another through an “Other Cities” search). A detailed blueprint outlining

the city-level site structure is included in this report, while the preliminary wireframes explicating five

page types (Main page, Events, Community, Reviews, and News) are also included in this document.

Technology Implementation: The Eventerest Team has chosen to use Axure as the best option to

create the functional prototype needed to demonstrate and refine our vision for this project.

By following the strategies outlined in this document to develop a user-centered, functional, and

engaging event website, we will help users find events more easily, efficiently, and better matched to

their needs and interests. The result will be a rapidly growing user base and a successful new concept

website that combines local event search functionality with social media.


2

Initial Concept Discussion

In major metropolitan areas, such as Austin, keeping up with local events can be a difficult and

daunting task. Our design will be a social media website dedicated to facilitating event awareness,

promotion, scheduling, and rating of local events. While it is true that some social media websites, such

as Facebook, do have event pages, the level of functionality and aesthetic appeal of these pages leave

much to be desired.

Our website was conceived to allow users to create profiles (that they will be able to link to their

current social media profiles on sites such as Facebook and Twitter), connect with other users, search

for local events, create their own calendar of events, upload pictures and videos, as well as read/write

reviews for events (primarily for annual events). Our site allows users to learn about local events and

keep track of events that they would like to attend. The functions of the site will allow users to organize

events more easily and set up reminders, find potential conflicts, and connect with friends.

Audience and Vision

Due to the broad range of events featured on Eventerest, we believe that a wide scope of

different audiences will be attracted to the site, ranging from young singles and students, to families

with young children, to adults of a variety of ages. While the social media focus, and simply the nature

of many of the events available for featuring on the site, will keep the demographic relatively young, we

recognize and have designed for the diversity of our audiences and interests.

We believe that, considering the web technologies available today, it should be much simpler to

find local events to attend that fit a given user’s needs and tastes. Our vision is to be the preeminent

event locating site, to build a place where people can come to find any event, to provide the public with

the ability to attend the events they are most interested in.


3

Preliminary Research Plan

Considering the broad range of audiences for Eventerest, the research strategy for this project

included a three-tiered approach to identifying the potential need for a new form of event website,

what deficits existed on current websites, user habits and finally a refined examination of user needs

and desires. Our approach included a series of one-on-one user interviews, a review and targeted

critique of existing websites with event functions, and a user survey administered online. This planning

stage data was used to map out a more realistic plan for our site prototype: what features to include,

layout, and how best to integrate the social aspect. Following development of the prototype based on

early audience research, two stages of implementation testing were undertaken as the site developed

and in the final stages. The following is an examination of the Planning Phase research and the lessons

learned from those results. A discussion of Implementation Phase testing follows this section.

Interviews:

The interviews we conducted for our research were arranged as informal, conversational

discussions with only a suggested range of question topics. This was done largely to leave the interviews

open to the interviewee’s thoughts and questions in regards to the project/site, and to allow the

conversation to evolve more organically. Our interviews took place both in person and over the phone,

which allowed us to converse with people from several different age groups and interest groups (such as

college students, young parents, teachers, single adults, etc.). The majority of those interviewed stated

that their predominant methods for finding out about local events are Google, Facebook, local media,

and word of mouth. When asked if they would be interested in a social events website, many replied

encouragingly, stating that their current methods left much to be desired. Those that currently use

available event sites had many negative criticisms, particularly in regards to finding specific event genres

and the search-ability of the sites. Many responded that they would like the potential new site to link

with Facebook. Please see Appendix A for a transcript of the nine interviews.

Website Critiques:

For a better understanding of event-locating websites, the Team conducted our own critiques of

four currently available and popular event websites (Eventful.com, Active.com, Evenbrite.com, and

Zvents.com), as well as Facebook’s events planning page. Overall we found the majority of the available

event-locating options were poorly designed and/or implemented, as shown in Table 1 on the following

page. However, we have also taken the positive aspects of those sites into consideration in designing

Eventerest.com.


4

Preliminary Research: Results and Discussion

Table 1: Pros and Cons of Existing Event Websites or Sites with Event Functions

SITE: PROS: CONS:

Facebook.com -Social interaction -invite friends, meet other people, see who is going -easy to manage the 'people' aspect -customization

-Poor search -poor use outside of specific groups -event info spotty and reliant on linking to other sites -best for smaller events - any that happens to an event’s page appears in the News Feeds of all attending -apps cannot be added to Events page; cannot add voting feature -no organization or categories or purchasing options - all about the social media

Eventful.com -Find tickets -categorized -map -slight Facebook connections -good search -select by neighborhood

-Very little information regarding event -links to sites not displayed well (down below, listed) -lacks social aspect

Active.com -Tickets -good link to organizer's website - clear and at the top -more information than eventful - better descriptions

-No social aspect -Facebook liking/posting -very poor map - graphically displeasing

Eventbrite.com -Tickets -maps -VERY good event descriptions - FAQ's, cancellation/refund policies, etc

-Focused on selling tickets -bad layout, bad labeling -poor search

Zvents.com -Good search filtering -good map with nearby locations -better descriptions -clear link to event website -ability to write reviews

-No social/sharing aspect -no ratings aspect

With the exception of Facebook, none contain a social aspect, with which the user can interact,

which severely limits the user experience. However, while Facebook is the best tailored to including a

social aspect, we have found that it works best with smaller, more intimate events (such as private

birthday parties and weekend get-togethers) rather than for large scale, public ones (such as concerts,


5

parades, and festivals). While each site has definite drawbacks, ranging anywhere from poor search

options (Eventbrite.com) to having little event information available (Eventful.com), each had positive

features as well; such as being able to purchase event tickets (Active.com), clear links to event websites

(Zvents.com), and the ability to invite friends (Facebook.com).

Survey Results

A seven-question survey was created and distributed amongst UT iSchool faculty, staff and

students, as well as across Facebook. A total of 70 people responded and provided us with excellent

feedback that has shaped the way our prototype is structured, functions, and looks. On the following

pages are the questions and graph results of each question and a summary and analysis of the results.

Textual answers to the “Other – Please specify” responses are included as Appendix B.


6

For question 1, the internet was clearly the most popular choice, followed by word of mouth.

‘Other’ responses for question 1 included – mailings, Facebook invites, the Chronicle, friends, local news,

television, apartment newsletter, and listservs.


7

Most participants responded in the “somewhat satisfied” range, over 17% were “somewhat

dissatisfied and few were extremely satisfied with present options. We believe that this demonstrates a

great deal of room for improvement and a niche that needs to be filled.


8

Participants emphasized the importance of an individual event’s main page, as well as using

general events websites, Facebook, and a search engine (Google). “Other” responses for question 3

included – email flyers, listservs, emails from the organization, 365thingsaustin.com, online news

articles, the Austinot, do512.com, meetup.com, and locally written news blogs.


9

Participants expressed generally positive response in this question, which bodes well for

Eventerest.


10

We had some negative

feedback in question 5 regarding the

lack of choices (too extreme of a drop

from very important to not at all).

However, we were still able to

determine a few things from our

results, such as the continued

importance of linking with Facebook

and with the event’s main page, as

well as ticket purchasing.


11


12


13

Question 6 provided us with

some good feedback in the ‘other’

responses – especially regarding

categories we had included.

Responses included: volunteer

opportunities, professional

opportunities, political events,

farmers markets, animal events, and

food-related events. We did not

include all possible event types due

to not wanting to overwhelm the

survey-takers. However, we have

learned that many people prefer

more options.


14

Question 7 was an open-ended feedback question that solicited quite a bit of response from

participants. There was a lot of stress on being able to specify the type of event users are looking for

through better searching, browsing and filtering. There was also a lot of emphasis on parking,

transportation and maps, as well as including as many kinds of events as possible (instead of just

entertainment based, for example). Several participants noted that they have to spend too much time

looking around on Google and across other websites and can often not find what they’re looking for.

Open-ended responses are included in Appendix B.

Based on all of the survey results, we decided to expand our events categories and place

emphasis on ease of linking to the events information pages as well as providing a variety of ways to

effectively search, sort and filter results. The Team learned that we should have included more response

options for some of the questions.


15

Strategy Discussion and Initial Deliverables

Architectural Strategy

Based on analysis of our research, we determined that the best strategy for realizing

the Eventerest vision is to use a local hub approach. Eventerest pages for individual cities will be united

by a common design template and linked in an egalitarian structure, with no central or master site. Each

city’s site will be linked to all others through an Other City search function. The decision for this high

level structure was made due to the fact that users, as evidenced by the research discussed in the

previous section, are looking for a reliable and complete localized approach to event identification,

scheduling, ratings, and communities. The organizational and labeling systems we have selected define

an organizational scheme for the site that allows users to navigate by event, date, task, and/or category.

The following blueprint (Figure 1) shows the general outline for Eventerest. The site’s main page

will have a search function and default to either a general page with nation-wide sponsored or featured

events, or a local events page (based on the IP location) with local sponsored or featured events. Now,

let us explore the blueprint for one of the individual city-level sites, taking Austin as our example. The

user can browse events without logging in but will not have access to several features such as event

creation, review posting, community boards and profiles. The page has “about”, “terms”, “contact” and

“help” sections, as well as a “settings” section when logged in. The five main sections of the site are

“events”, “community”, “reviews”, “news” and “profile”. “Events” is a more detailed version of the main

page, giving the user thorough searching and browsing options by category (grouping can get more and

more specific). “Community” will consist of forums, chat and Facebook sharing options. “Reviews” will

consist of browsing, sorting and comparing reviews for events as well as uploading photos and creating

user reviews. “News” will contain event-related news at different geographic levels or in different,

specified locations (example: event cancellation). The “profile” page provides the user with the greatest

degree of costumization and set this site apart from currently existing events websites. The user has

access to customizable calendars and the ability to form groups, add friends and network with other

users, as well as creating custom options for events categories and suggestions.


16

Deliverable: Blueprint

MainPage

LocalPage

(Loggedin)

Events Reviews

Community ProfileNews

ContactSettings HelpAbout TermsofUse

Search

Entertainment

Volunteering

Political

Forums

Groups

Calendar

Event

Preferences

Friends

Browse

WriteReviews

PostPhotos

Discuss

Professional

<Continues>…

Local

Nationwide

Figure 1: Eventerest.com Blueprint


17

Deliverable: Settings Blueprint

After establishing the site architectural strategy, the Eventerest Team began to consider the

layout and appearance of individual pages and the arrengment of navigational interfaces on those

pages. The following two images show our first sketches for Eventerest Austin pages.

Figure 2: Eventerest.com Settings Blueprint


18

Preliminary Page Sketches: 1 of 2


19

Preliminary Page Sketches: 2 of 2

Sketches allowed the Team to explore initial page layouts for key pages such as the Home Page

and Profile page, applying what we had learned in the initial research phase. With a clear vision for

proceeding, we were able to move rapidly into wireframe generation using OmniGraffle.


20

Deliverables: Wireframes

Figure 3 shows a wireframe for the main page of Eventerest Austin. The top has a general site

search bar, primary navigation, and login, sign up, and help buttons. Browsing by category, community

groups (most popular groups in the user’s area are shown at the top) and nearby cities are shown on the

left. Featured events are in the center and are scrollable. A customizable community chat box was

included (linked with Twitter and Facebook), but can be hidden for those who who do not want to see

the chat feed. The calendar on the right is for selecting event dates – it is not the same as the

customizable calendar that the user will use in their profile to schedule and plan events.

Figure 3: Main Page


21

The next wireframe (Figure 4) shows the events page. Now the user is logged in and has

“settings” as an option. The events are laid out in a Pinterest style with blocks of images that can be

browsed easily. A more specific search option (not site-wide like the bar above) was included and the

user can click on categories and will be presented with a list of events with further options to sort and

filter results. “Create an event” will allow the user to create his or her own event to share on the

website and invite people via the community forums or Facebook. The calendar on the right functions

similarly to the one on the main page, showing events solely for a specific day.

Figure 4: Events Page


22

Figure 5 shows the event page. This is the page that will be shown for a specific event, giving all

of its specific information and links to the event site, maps, and tickets. When the user clicks on an event

on the events page, main page, or elsewhere on the site (e.g. forums) they will be taken here.

Figure 5: Event Page


23

The community page (Figure 6) is a page that is used for finding friends and discussion groups to

join that will give them opportunities to meet others in their area for events or to discuss events.

Figure 6: Community Page


24

The forums page (Figure 7) is for people to discuss events and meetup for events. It can be

searched and browsed by social groups, cities, and interests. It will be split into sections (as shown) such

as rules/moderator posts, general discussions, specific interest groups, and group forming.

Figure 7: Forums Page


25

The news page (Figure 8) works almost exactly like the main page but has news articles featured

in the middle as opposed to featured events. It can be searched, browsed by category/geographic

location, and filtered.

Figure 8: News Page


26

The profile page (Figure 9) allows the user to create a basic profile (with photo, information,

etc.) and manage reviews, pictures (public, private, or review-based), friends/groups, events (event

preferences are managed in settings) and tickets. The customizable calendar will provide the user with

the ability to organize and create reminders for events (this option will be available from every profile

page).

Figure 9: Profile Page


27

The My Reviews page (Figure 10) will allow the user to write reviews for the events they have

attended and to keep track of which events they have rated.

Figure 10: Profile Page – My Reviews


28

The My Photos page (Figure 11) will allow the user to upload, organize, and share their event

photos. The user will also be able to post their photos to their event reviews from this page.

Figure 11: Profile Page – My Photos


29

From the My Friends page (Figure 12) users will be able to navigate to their friends’ profile

pages, see which friends are and are not currently online, as well as add and remove friends from their

list.

Figure 12: Profile Page – My Friends


30

Each profile will also include a My Events page (Figure 13). From this page users will be able to

see which events they have scheduled to attend, add or remove events from their favorites list, and sort

their events by date, location, and name.

Figure 13: Profile Page – My Events


31

For convenience, each user profile will also contain a My Tickets page (Figure 14). This page will

enable the user to not only find information regarding their events tickets, but also provide the user

with the option to purchase tickets for their scheduled events. For account purposes, the page will also

list tickets for previous events.

Refinements in design were made to many of these pages as a result of both User

Implementation tests. These changes are discussed in the Prototyping and Implementation Deliverables

section and are illustrated I depth in Appendix F (Revised Pages following User Test I) and Appendix I

(Revised Pages following User Test II).

Figure 14: Profile Page – My Tickets


32

Deliverable: Content Map

Figure 15: Site Content Map


33

Results Consolidation

Consolidating the results of the initial 3-step research, architectural strategies explored as

blueprints and content maps, and preliminary page concepts realized in wireframes, the Team was

ready to make some concept refinements prior to implementation. However, it was necessary to first

delineate some of the specific situations in which users might need to access Eventerest, and to

articulate the metaphors we were using to drive the organizational, functional, and visual metaphors of

the site.

Metaphor Exploration

The Eventerest site may probably best be thought of a hybrid of two familiar user environments,

with a local focus. Combining the best of social networking sites (profiles, forums, ability to follow

specific users, review sharing and photo posting) arranged around the common theme of local events,

and adding the ability to “collect” events on the user’s Profile page (much like Pinterest users collect

elements), Eventerest achieves a dual organizational metaphor that is more than the sum of its parts.

Functional metaphors used on Eventerest draw parallels between event-related activities done in real

life: collecting fliers or ads for upcoming events and pinning them to a bulletin board for example, using

an address book or calendar to keep track of social events, or searching for reviews in a local newspaper.

Visual metaphors are extended by using familiar formats of calendars to organize events and to find

events on specific days and colorful event icons in which pictures of the events mimic promotional ads

and fliers that someone might put up on the refrigerator or a bulletin board in real life.

Scenarios

The team began early on to consider common scenarios in which users might need or want to

use Eventerest. For example, we considered users who might have a friend or family member travelling

to visit them in Austin on a specific weekend – they would need to not only know what events were

available that weekend, but would need to narrow those events to specific genres that they knew to be

of interest to their guests. For example, a user’s father coming to town might prompt a search for

comedy acts, yielding the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, while a visit from a friend who loves Indie Rock

would require a search for concerts that could be narrowed by genre. We also considered a young

mother who would need a running list of family friendly event options to keep her children occupied.

Another scenario we referenced was a user who is relatively new to Austin and wants to see reviews of


34

events based on the previous year’s user experiences, needs parking/map information, or wants to find

out the latest news on events that may be cancelled or changed due to weather or other factors.

Concept Refinement

The Team took a great deal of care to incorporate user needs and wants identified during

preliminary research at the earliest stages of the design. The idea was to make the wireframes the best

possible representation of the ultimate page designs, so that we could move as rapidly as possible into

functional prototyping. The Team recognized that true refinements would come following the two

planned User Implementation Tests, discussed later in this document.


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Design Discussion and Deliverables

Technological Implementation

The Eventerest Team chose to use Axure to develop this project as a functional prototype. We

believe that this is the best option available to develop all of the functions and features needed to

realize our vision.

One of the key considerations when creating a website is the integration of familiar and useful

technologies, as well as developing technologies when appropriate. These technologies can vary to quite

a degree depending on the type of website being created, the target audience, and the level of

sophistication of the website. In order to make our website as user friendly as possible we have decided

to utilize several different, but familiar technological tools, including search engines, organizational

schemes, navigation systems, and personalization.

Our utilization of organizational schemes includes both exact and ambiguous types. Events will

be organized both by geographical location (exact scheme) and by topic/audience (ambiguous scheme).

In order to wade through the myriad of events available, the user can employ both our navigational

system and our search engine. Our navigational system (closely tied to our organizational schemes)

allows the user to browse events by selecting a category listed to the left of the page. Our search

engine, located at the top of each page, will give the user the option to search a specific event, location,

or specific audience (i.e. children’s events). Our site also facilitates user personalization, provided that

the user creates a profile.


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Visual Identity Discussion

Choices were made early on regarding colors, fonts, and other design elements that support a

visually appealing and cohesive site. We chose to use consistent and striking color choices and a unique

logo to establish a recognizable brand for Eventerest.

Color choices reinforce the identity of the city represented by the site and engage with the

target audience’s sensibilities. We are employing a theme that echoes the hip, “mid-century modern”

vibe of Austin in the logo and color choices (i.e., aqua blue) and make use of burnt orange prominently

as a color associated with the University of Texas and the Longhorns. Readability has not been sacrificed

for a striking appearance. We believe that it was important to keep our graphics limited and simple in

design to avoid competing with the picture-heavy nature of the site. The page employs significant use of

whitespace as a backdrop that allows for readability and showcases the pictorial elements of all the

photo-based event icons more effectively. Further development of this site beyond the initial phase

could include a more sophisticated graphic design, but the Team feels that a simple, easy to read design

that allows the many photos and event profiles to take center stage within plenty of whitespace is the

best approach at the prototype stage.

A sans serif font was chosen and text variations were limited to different line weights within one

font family. The single exception to this font consistency is located in the logo, which uses two fonts.

This preserved unity of the site and prevented competing with the event images.

A logo was developed to give the site a distinct brand

identity. Working with layouts established in the

initial Wireframes, we utilized consistent visual design

cues, including the consistent appearance of universal

navigation elements, colors to be used consistently

for each type of element across all pages, and icons.


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Controlled Vocabularies

The Team explored vocabularies by creating a matrix of vocabulary types for metadata that

facilitated the discussion and prioritization of controlled vocabularies. This has allowed us to determine

which vocabularies would be prioritized were a full implementation of this site to be undertaken.

Table 2: Metadata matrix for Eventerest

Vocabulary Description Examples Maintenance

Event Categories Terms for major categories

used to group events

Music/Concerts; Family

Friendly; Sports

Easy

Event Types Level below Event Categories,

Specific type of event

Alternative music; Family

Movies; Half-Marathon

Moderate

Event names Names of individual events Austin Film Festival; Cap 10K Difficult

Venues/Locations Individual places where events

take place

Zilker Park; Paramount

Theatre; Circuit of the

Americas

Moderate

Event Organizations Event hosts, sponsors, or

organizers

Austin Children’s Museum;

Austin American-Statesman

Moderate

Geographic

locations: General

Name of geographic locations Austin; Central Texas;

United States; Other cities

Easy

Geographic Location:

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods (to help

pinpoint events in search)

Downtown; Barton Hills;

East Austin; Mueller

Moderate

Local terms Terms used by local residents Mopac; SoCo; Austinite Moderate

Function related Social, other user activities Forum; Follow; Help Easy

Artists, groups Names of featured talent Milo Greene; V-8 Supercars Difficult

Audiences Kinds of Eventerest audiences Members; First-time

visitors; Event sponsors

Easy

Document Type Purpose of content object Forms; Instructions; FAQ Easy

To create a Controlled Vocabulary matrix to manage the vocabulary terms and relationships,

tables in Microsoft Word could be used, due to ease of search and sorting capabilities.


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Implementation Deliverables

With structural decisions, visual design styles, and a wide range of wireframes of individual

pages in place, the Team was ready to move forward with prototyping pages in Axure.

Prototype Screenshots

The following figures (figures 16 through 26) demonstrate pages from the first generation of our

functional Axure-generated prototype.

Figure 16. Main Page


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Figure 17. One of the Events Pages


40

Figure 18. Community Page


41

Figure 19. Thread Page


42

Figure 20. News Page


43

Figure 21. Profile Page


44

Figure 22. Reviews Page


45

Figure 23. My Photos Page


46

Figure 24. My Friends Page


47

Figure 25. My Events Page


48

Figure 26. My Tickets Page


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Implementation Testing

The implementation testing plan for this project consisted of two iterations of user testing in

which participants worked from a standardized list of tasks. Each Team member observed and timed

his/her participants in completion of each task and recorded those results, along with taking notes on

participants’ comments and any difficulties encountered. The goals of testing were to establish the level

of usability, discover specific issues or problems encountered by users, and gather both positive and

negative feedback. All of these results informed the Iteration I revisions and prepared for the Iteration II

testing, which in turn led to further refinements of the final prototype. Results of both tests are

discussed below.

Format: Axure software was used to create the working prototype for user implementation

testing, which all Team members participated in creating and refining. Functionality was developed to

support specific tasks that the Team felt were representative of real, typical user tasks for this site.

Test preparation: Testing guidelines were developed for the Team to reference in conducting

the tests and written instructions were developed for the participants (Appendix C). A post-test User

Survey (Appendix D) was developed for use in both iterations of the tests.

User Implementation Test Iteration I: Results

User Test Iteration I took place between November 27 and December 1, 2013 and involved a

total of nine participants, who were selected to fit within the primary anticipated audience

demographics.

On the whole, users found the prototype site readable, easy to use, and appealing – however, they

did make a number of very helpful recommendations for improving functionality. First, let us examine

the tasks that users were asked to complete, followed by the average number of seconds it took a user

to complete each task:

1) Use the website to find out on what dates South by Southwest festival will be held next year.

All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 30.3 seconds average.

2) Fill out a form to create your own profile (profile will not save).

7 users successfully completed task, with a time of 47.6 seconds average.

3) Find out why ACL was canceled using the forums.

7 users successfully completed task, with a time of 16.4 seconds average.

4) Find out why ACL was canceled using the news.


5) Find the reviews you've written in your profile.

All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 11 seconds average.

6) Find the list of your upcoming events.


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All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 6 seconds average.

7) Find the host website page for Fun Fun Fun Fest.


Complete notes from all nine user tests are included at Appendix E, including tester comments and user

comments. The following represents the results of the User Survey that followed Test I.

User Implementation Test I Survey Results

1) How easy or difficult was it to complete the tasks you were given?

o Very easy o Easy o Moderate o Difficult o Very difficult

2) How easy or difficult was the website to read (fonts, layout, text blocks, etc.)?


3) What did you think of the website’s graphic design and colors?

o Very appealing o Appealing o Neutral o Not very appealing

o Unappealing

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Ease of Use

Readability

Questions 1 and 2

Very Difficult Difficult Moderate Easy Very Easy

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Graphic Design and Colors

Question 3: Graphic Design and Colors

Unappealing Not Very Appealing Neutral Appealing Very Appealing


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4) How likely would you be to use a website like this one, if it was fully implemented?

o Very likely o Likely o Neutral o Not very likely

o Very unlikely

5) What were the best things about this website (up to three)?

User/Participant 1: “colors, logo”

2: “Logo, organization, colors”

3: “readability”

4: “colors”

5: “logo, organization, creativity”

6: “logo, layout, readability”

7: Information was easily accessible. Content was informative. The profile concept was also very

well done.

8: overall concept is really good, given time to create it fully, it would be very convenient to have

an events website like this

9: different ways to find each type of information, searching, browsing, etc. liked the use of

white space, open design, easy to read

6) What were some things you would change about this website (up to three)?

User/Participant 1: “get rid of extra search bars; make search text go away when you click it”

2: “get rid of extra search bar; search text should go away when you click it”

3: “update the graphics/colors/theme – you could do so much more with this!”

4: “Make the browse bars on the side only for events; get rid of extra search bars; make the

search text go away when clicking in it”

5: “Get rid of browse bars on side completely; make the search bar text go away when clicking.”

6: “Make the search text go away when clicking in the box”

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Likely to Use Site

Quesiton 4: Likeliness to Use Website

Very unlikely Not Very Likely Neutral Likely Very Likely


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7: “Your content is very well developed and to me, could very easily become a major success.

Just a few tweaks (esthetics) and it will be on par with any other major site. I prefer your page to

the one attached to the link I'm about to share but, some elements could be incorporated into

yours if you choose to pursue this incredible product you all have made. goo.gl/S8hDx9 It's not

all about design… but, design sells.”

8: “don't have two searches, just one. have the small calendar clickable to link to a larger, more

detailed calendar. It just hard to search as it is right now”

9: “search box. there are two search boxes on some pages and also the search text doesn’t clear

when you type in”

User Implementation Test I: Lessons Learned

As can be seen by the above results and the attached testing notes, the participants were able

to give the Eventerest Team a number of specific and implementable suggestions for improving our

prototype. In response to user feedback, the Team made the following refinements to the prototype:

Completely removed the search bar found on the left side of all pages, except events page

News and forums replace browse bar with categories and you click to go to where you want

Removed “create event” and moved it to profile

A few color changes

Changed appearance of the primary navigation bar

Removed all search bars except main site search bar

“Create your event” page extended

Removed text from the search window because it did not automatically disappear when users started typing into it.

All in all, nine pages were revised within the prototype as a result of Test I feedback. A

representative sample of one of those pages is included on the following page (Figure 27), while the

remaining eight revised pages are included at Appendix F.

In general, we concluded that the Team is on the right track in regards to the visual design and

layout (and we recognize that the purpose of this project was not to become graphic designers). We

think that most participants realized that our goal was usability and readability and responded positively

to the prototype in those areas. We also learned that users have a wide range of ways in which they like

to find information, and in response we did a great deal of functionality work in Axure to accommodate

the various search and browse habits of users (i.e., we had to make more of the elements functional

than anticipated).


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Example of Eventerest Page Refined per User Feedback in Testing Iteration I

Figure 27: New Home Page

Conclusion: The Team made substantial progress in testing and refining the prototype to meet user

needs and improve usability in Test I. One additional stage of user testing was the next step, followed by

additional refinements to arrive at the final product by December 11, 2013.


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User Implementation Test Iteration II: Results

User Test Iteration II took place between December 7 and December 9, 2013 and involved a

total of nine participants. A set of ten tasks was developed incorporating a few tasks from Iteration I

with several additional new tasks. A Handout listing the tasks was created for participants (Appendix G).

The same post test survey with 7 questions used in Test I was deployed again in Test II.

On the whole, users found the prototype site readable, easy to use, and appealing – however,

with the addition of new tasks, they did make some additional recommendations for further

enhancement of usability. First, let us examine the tasks that users were asked to complete, followed by

the average number of seconds it took a user to complete each task:

1) Use the website to find out on what dates South by Southwest festival will be held next year. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 22 seconds average (a 26% improvement over test I for the same task).

2) Fill out a form to create your own event. 8 users successfully completed task, with a time of 58 seconds average.

3) Using the forums, find out why ACL was canceled. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 20 seconds average.

4) Find forum posts on photography. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 36 seconds average.

5) You heard that something terrible has happened in Town Lake that has canceled all kayaking events. Find out what it is. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 23 seconds average.

6) Find reviews that you have written (assume you’re logged into an account) All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 15 seconds average.

7) Find the list of your upcoming events. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 9 seconds average.

8) Find the receipt for your ticket to SXSW. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 14 seconds average.

9) Find the host website page for Fun Fun Fun Fest. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 11 seconds average.

10) Find events on Nov. 8, 2013. All 9 users successfully completed task, with a time of 7 seconds average.

Notes from all nine user tests are included at Appendix H. The following represents the results of the

User Survey that followed Test II.


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User Implementation Test II Survey Results






o Very appealing o Appealing o Neutral o Not very appealing

o Unappealing

4) How likely would you be to use a website like this one, if it was fully implemented?

o Very likely o Likely o Neutral o Not very likely

o Very unlikely

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Ease of Use

Readability

Questions 1 and 2

Very Difficult Difficult Moderate Easy Very Easy

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Graphic Design and Colors

Question 3: Graphic Design and Colors

Unappealing Not Very Appealing Neutral Appealing Very Appealing


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5) What were the best things about this website (up to three)?

User/Participant 1:” I like the new forums and news navigation. It’s easier to understand.”

2: “Color of the logo and the navigation bar, layout, simplicity”

3: [No answer]

4: “Graphics, colors, simplicity”

5: “Colors, navigation”

6: “Colors”

7: “all the social functions” and “seemed to have lots of events of different types”

8: “nice layout, good variety of events”

9: “Attractive site – I liked the design and the social features”

6) What were some things you would change about this website (up to three)?

User/Participant 1: “Nothing.”

2: “Didn’t like chat box. Could see it making sense on the community or maybe forums page but not

elsewhere. Also was a little confused on where the create event button might be located. Didn’t

understand the community page or how that would function.”

3: [No answer]

4: “I don’t understand why the chat is on all the pages… Is it like the Facebook chat? Can I close it?”

5: [No answer]

6: “So I can create events in two places? Is that a good idea? Won’t that be confusing? Why would I

look for random friends? That’s a little odd to me…”

7: “had a little trouble figuring out how to get to some of the stuff on the forums page”

8: “I’d have a ‘create your own event’ button on the Events page, not just on the profile”

9: “Nothing really. I know its not fully functional – would love to see it when its fully functional”

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Likely to Use Site

Quesiton 4: Likeliness to Use Website

Very unlikely Not Very Likely Neutral Likely Very Likely


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User Implementation Test II: Lessons Learned

Following the implementations after Test I, the second set of participants scored Iteration II

higher on both usability and likelihood that they would use a similar site. Tasks that remained consistent

from Test I to Test II showed improvement in times needed to complete tasks (e.g., Task 1 showed a

26% reduction in time) and only one task remained unfinished by one user. With the addition of new

tasks, the participants in Test II were able to give the Eventerest Team some additional specific

feedback, which we implemented in refining our final prototype:

Added a “Create Event” button back to events page (but also keep on Profile Page). This was the opposite of the advice we had received in Test I, however, not having it on the Events page seemed to cause more confusion than having it on two pages.

Removed the clickable calendar from forums and news, community

Removed community chat from everything except community page

Replaced chat box in forums/news with more browsing options and top news stories, respectively.

Created sketch of possible improvements to Community page, by adding methods of searching for groups or for friends.

Our aims were to eliminate any remaining confusion expressed by some of the users, and to

more closely emulate the functions of a fully implemented site, to the best of our ability within an Axure

prototype. Pages that were changed following Test II (final pages) are attached at Appendix I.

In general, we learned that each set of users has their own expectations and pacing when

performing tasks. Users prefer clean layouts and will express confusion if too much information is

presented on one page where they are not expecting it. On the other hand, if they do not find

something where they are expecting it to be (e.g., the “Create Event” button on the Events Page), they

become frustrated. We felt that both rounds of testing were very successful in that participants were

able to point out user expectations and challenges in the design that we as the designers had not

thought of.


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Final Design Validation

Design validation is understood by the Eventerest Team to include confirmation and evidence

that the requirements of a project have been fulfilled. Our goal was to demonstrate a prototype of a

new concept website that will allow users to learn about local events, keep track of events that they

would like to attend, and engage in a variety of social media activities surrounding those events.

Through two iterations of user testing we refined the demonstration of key functions and a final internal

validation of the prototype was completed by the Team following changes suggested by Test II. We

confirm that all navigation and features that were intended to function in the prototype do so and that

the usability of the prototype has achieved a high level in the final product provided as an Axure file on

flash drive. The goals of our project were met successfully in the final prototype and in this document.

Commentary & Critique:

What Was Accomplished

The Eventerest Team accomplished solid architectural design structure and implementation and

testing of a successful prototype of our Eventerest vision. Setting out to demonstrate a new style of

events website that combines engaging social functions with robust event searching and tracking

abilities, and maintains a clean, readable and appealing appearance were our goals – all of which we

were able to accomplish. A thorough Preliminary Research plan and later two rounds of User Testing of

the prototype were all successfully accomplished and the lessons learned were implemented in a total

of three versions. The resulting prototype is thorough, including extensive pages beyond those needed

to run basic test functions, and has been demonstrated through user testing and surveys to be easy to

use, highly readable, and visually appealing. Each page was carefully designed and includes thoughtful

graphics and text in order to offer a realistic look at what a fully functional Eventerest would resemble.

We have demonstrated that users want and would use a site like Eventerest, based on survey results.

What Was Not Accomplished

By design, the implementation of a live website was not accomplished. The goal was to develop

a prototype with functionality sufficient to demonstrate the primary functions that users will come to

Eventerest to access. Although not a part of our testing plan, it is acknowledged that one additional

iteration of testing could have been added to the project cycle, time permitting.


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Lessons Learned - Retrospective

The Eventerest project has demonstrated through research that gaps exist in current event

websites, and that users were able to provide sound guidance on both positive aspects to include and

gaps or frustrations they have experienced with other sites or methods to avoid. The Team learned that

initial user surveys and critiques of potential rival sites were key elements to conduct very early in the

process. These forms of research were extremely valuable and saved time in the long run by setting the

project off on the right path from the start and thus saving us from having to conduct major retooling of

the prototype at later user testing phases. Based on the initial survey results, we refined our preliminary

ideas and decided to expand our events categories and place emphasis on ease of linking to the events

information pages as well as providing a variety of ways to effectively search, sort and filter results.

The Team learned that users sometimes have unanticipated methods of use and that the IA

professional must be open to accommodating the real practices of users. By the same token, we must

recognize when unexpected responses may be aberrations and that the preferences of the majority of

users should be considered first. If possible to redo this project, we would probably consider more of the

alternative ways people might seek information before sending the first prototype out for testing.

The Team learned that User Testing is extremely valuable and that careful selection of

participants is important. The Team selected test participants who were representative of our intended

user audience, in order to guide our prototype in right direction. Users as a result had valuable insights

and caught navigational issues and other issues that the designers could not see. In general, users:

Want a clean, uncluttered layout and appreciate readability

Prefer having a variety of ways to search and browse for information

Were highly familiar with navigational conventions (e.g., logo at top left navigating to Home Page) and common social media layouts and expected these to follow conventional lines

Wanted more differentiation than anticipated between the appearance of different pages

Found it confusing to have too many search or browse options on one page, but wanted them available on other pages.

Ultimately, the users determine the success of the project and we believe that we have

demonstrated that success by the fact that 82.7% of survey respondents (72 out of 87) said that they

would be “Likely” to “Very Likely” to use a site like Eventerest.

The Team learned that IA is an extremely time-consuming process involving the input of large

numbers of people – if it were possible, we would move up the early prototype phase testing in the

schedule and try to fit in one additional Iteration of testing.


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Actual Project Schedule

September 18 – 24, 2013 COMPLETE

Site Ideas and Concept Discussions

September 25 – October 2 COMPLETE

Initial Site Proposal discussion and development

Team Formation

Deliverable: Initial Site Concept and Team formed

User audience defined

Development of Site Proposal concepts User Research Plan developed, revised

Deliverable: Initial Site Proposal and User Research Plan

October 3 – 9 COMPLETE

Interview questions completed; interviews begin

Survey developed

Site research

Deliverable: User Research Report I


Interviews complete, results compiled and analyzed

Survey completed, posted, distributed online

Site research, critiques of other sites continues

User Research Report and Project Schedule development

Deliverable: User Research Report II and Project Schedule


Survey Results compiled and analyzed

Preliminary site design, Wireframing

Completion of Strategy Document

Deliverable: Strategy Document


Completion of Design Document

Deliverable: Design Document

October 31 – November 6 COMPLETE

Refinement of page designs, prototyping begins

Completion of Implementation Progress Report I


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Deliverable: Implementation Progress Report I

November 7 – 13 COMPLETE

Prototyping of site

Completion of Implementation Progress Report II

Deliverable: Implementation Progress Report II


Prototyping continues, site implementation begins

Completion of User Testing & Implementation Progress Report III

Deliverable: User Testing & Implementation Progress Report III


Prototype Site implementation and refinement

User Testing Iteration I

November 28 – December 4 COMPLETE

Prototype Site Testing I continues

Analysis of prototype site testing

Refinements made per User Test I results

Completion of User Testing & Implementation Progress Report IV

Deliverable: User Test & implementation Report IV

December 5 – 11, 2013 COMPLETE

User Testing Iteration II completed

Refinements made per prototype testing results, prototype complete and tested

Project Presentation

Completion of Final Document

Dec. 11 Deliverable: Final Prototype and Final Document

Deliverable: Final Project Presentation

Risks and Dependencies

Risk/Dependency Impact Remediation and Contingency Plans

User research may reveal need for change of basic strategy

High Conduct user research early in process. User feedback is integrated into design and strategy, not an afterthought.

Development of prototype may reveal need for considerable change in design document

Medium Allow enough time and flexibility to revamp design document overlapping with prototyping schedule.

Site testing may reveal unanticipated user preferences or functional use issues

High Develop first prototype as early as possible to allow user testing to meaningfully inform the development of final product.


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Appendix A: Interview Transcripts (Preliminary Audience Research)

Appendix A: User Interviews

Interview 1: Adam A. - University Student (younger age bracket)

Q: Currently, how do you find and keep up with events?

A: Every once in a while I see a flyer on campus but mostly I just use Google, sometimes Facebook. Or I'll

try to lookup something on Google that I know is happening soon.

Q: How much does the internet play a role in this?

A: That's mostly what I use except for flyers and things I see on campus. Or sometimes someone tells

me about an event.

Q: Give me an example of how you'd find a specific event that you're looking for

A: I'd just type it in Google and find a page with info. Doesn't matter where as long as I can figure out the

details.

Q: What if you were just browsing for events?

A: I don't do that a lot but I would just use Google.

Q: What if you couldn't find an event you were looking for?

A: You mean after I searched Google?

Q: Yea

A: I don't know really… Ask around. If I can't find it on the web, chances are I won't find it otherwise.

Q: Would it benefit you to have a social events website with listings for all of the events in your area and

aspects such as photos, reviews, maps, information, groups and chat, sort of a combination of Meetup,

Pinterest and Facebook?

A: Yea I think so.

Q: What would you like to see in such a site?

A: Connections to Facebook would be nice for sure. Also I usually can't find detailed info unless I find the


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event's main page. Sometimes I can see reviews on other sites like Ticketmaster or Yelp. I don't use

Meetup but I know what it is… If you had a customizable profile on this site that might be cool.

Q: What kind of "detailed info" do you mean?

A: Time, date, and what the event is all about. A big description, a map, parking… Reviews. Just more

than the time and location I think.

Q: Can you name three features that would be most important on such a site?

A: Facebook connection, good layout, and event info. Well, enough info.

Q: Any other comments/concerns/advice?

A: I don't see this being much different from searching Google but if you could have a profile and upload

pictures maybe it would be easier for people to share stuff or invite others to events.


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Interview 2: Jeanette K. - Teacher (older age bracket)


A: I go to the city's website, or Google events in the specific area I'm going to. I do a lot of Googling.

Q: How much does the internet play a role in this?

A: It's all I use except when I'm talking to someone and hear about an event. Then I still look it up online.

Q: Give me an example of how you'd find a specific event that you're looking for

A: Sometimes I know there's an event and I can't even remember the name so I do Google search a lot

until I can find it, such as an antique festival south of Austin I couldn't remember so I searched antique

festivals. Or sometimes I'l just look at a website like a business site that I might want to go to their

events. I use a variety of stuff online mostly.

Q: Do you ever just browse for events?

A: Oh yea, of course.

Q: How would you go about that?

A: I'd Google events in my city, usually with some category like antique shows, or festivals, or fireworks

shows. Or even sometimes I see a visual ad online and I'll go to that.

Q: What if you couldn't find an event you were looking for? How would you find it?

A: Google searching and browsing around, like I did with that antique show. Usually I can find it

somewhere. I go to different events listing pages too.




A: Yea I think that would be beneficial because it would be a way to aggregate reviews and see more

about what other people think about these events. Like when I wanted go to the art festival in Santa Fe,

I wanted to find advice and comments about traffic, was it worth it, prices, etc. I could only find a few

yelp reviews… They weren't very helpful. I like how Trip Advisor is right now. I just don't like going

through so many layers and so many different places to find what I need.

Q: What do you think about the social aspect - and even meeting with people that you might meet on

the site?


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A: I think so, I'm not sure if I'd do that, though. It would be random people online. It seems like a good

thing to have in it though and have a meet up section within the events.


A: Um can I be general? Like organization?

Q: That's fine.

A: Okay, organization of the site, consistently up to date, and event attendee comments or suggestions.

A lot of the time you'll find things out you didn't know before.

Q: Any other comments/concerns/advice?

A: No I don't think so!


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Interview 3: Katie W. - Psychologist (middle age bracket)


A: I usually just Google it, for example I was looking for Halloween events so I just Googled Halloween

events or something. Sometimes word of mouth, you know if someone says something. Sometimes the

news, too.

Q: How would you find a specific event you're looking for?

A: Google it.

Q: Do you ever just browse for general events in the area?

A: No, I really don't. Only if I'm looking for something specific or at least a category like Halloween.

Actually I don't really do it because there's no way to. There's no place to go to see that stuff that I know

of.




A: Not if it were something like parties or group activities only, but as long as it had things like family fun

day at the aquarium with admission or something, those big events, or entertainment, I would do that. I

could use it a lot actually.


A: It should be in categories like kids friendly, you know. Easily navigable, so you could organize and find

everything. Also easy and quick to use, too.

Q: Any other comments/advice?

A: No, not that I can think of… Seems cool if it's like Pinterest that would be neat.


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Interview 4: Taylor T. – Student (younger age bracket)

Q: How do you currently find out about events in your community?

A: Social networking (Facebook), for music events word of mouth and music posters, fliers on campus,

etc.

Q: What do you use to plan/organize your events?

A: Calendar book – like an old-fashioned planner

Q: Would it benefit you to have a website where you could search for local events, find and post

reviews/photos/videos of events, and plan/organize events?

A: Yea, it’d be great to be able to search for local events by category (like music), and to post and read

reviews. I’d also use the event calendar a lot.

Q: What other features would you like to see in this website?

A. An easy and quick search function that pinpoints the kind of events I’m interested in. It

should be easy to find the info you want without too much trouble or time. People don’t have

time to hunt for the info.

Q: Would you like to link it to social media site? (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

A: Yea, I’d like it to link to Facebook.


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Interview 5: Jim W. (middle age bracket)


A: A bunch of different websites, depending on what I want to do (like for running, I’ll go to runtex, or

for movies and plays, I’ll search multiple theatres’ sites, things like that). And Austin Monthly, use that a

lot. Word of mouth, too.


A: I put them in my phone.



A: Yea, I’d use that a lot – all those features, I’d use a lot. I feel like I miss a lot of events I didn’t know

about, because everything’s not together in one place. It needs to be organized.


A: Recommendations, reviews, but no email advertisements

Q: Would you like to link it to social media site? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

A: Yes, Facebook (I don’t tweet).


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Interview 6: Chris B. (middle age bracket)


A: Word of mouth, Facebook, and the local newspaper. And several different websites, if I remember to

visit them!


A: To organization, I use my office calendar and calendar in my iPhone.



A: Yes, to have different types of events in one place would save time. Also I’d like to see what other

people thought of events and be able to post my pics [the respondent is an avid photographer].


A: The ones you mentioned are most important…having a way of searching that filters out events I’m

not interested in or just selects for certain types of events. Also, we’re so busy, I’d want to pinpoint

dates to search when we’re free, not just find out about everything that’s happening all month long.

Q: Would you like to link it to social media site? (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

A: Yes, Facebook!


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Interview 7: Tiffany L. (Young mother)


A: Usually from other people on Facebook. Occasionally one of the other moms at school and daycare

will mention something kid friendly that they heard about.

Q: Do you use anything to plan or organize events?

A: Not really. Usually I don’t hear about them in enough time to really plan much of anything. I just go to

the ones I can, the ones that aren’t scheduled during a day when I can’t do something.

Q: Do you ever use the internet to search for events?

A: Sometimes I use Google, but not very often. Since I don’t really plan anything out in advance I don’t

see the point in searching for things to go to. Just see what pops up.

Q: Do you think you would use a website like what I described earlier?

A: If I heard enough about it from other moms. It’s just so hard to deal with creating profiles to sites and

then having to deal with them. They’re all so difficult to use and it’s hard to filter by kid friendly events,

so I don’t usually bother.

Q: Well, if you did end up using the site, would you like to be able to link it to your Facebook and Twitter

accounts?

A: That would be nice actually. I might be willing to use the site more if I could do that.


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Interview 8: Jeffrey G. (Young adult)


A: From my wife mostly. She’s the one that tries to keep up with things that are happening. Although

she does mention a lot of things that have already happened because she didn’t hear about them

beforehand.


A: *chuckle* You mean other than my wife? We have a calendar on the fridge, but I don’t use any

websites or anything like that. Every time I’ve tried I usually get annoyed with how difficult it is to find

anything worth going to and just give up.


A: If I do try to find something I just use Google. Although I don’t usually find anything, or it’s all so

convoluted I don’t really understand what I’ve found or if it’s worth going to.


A: I might. Although chances are it would be something my wife used. She loves to plan things for us to

do as a family, particularly for nice weekends. I bet she would love having something like this.


accounts?

A: I would probably link it to my Facebook, but not my Twitter. I don’t use Twitter often, and I don’t like

to publish where I’m going, or when on such a public site. At least on Facebook I can limit who sees it.

Q: What kinds of things would you like to see on an event website?

A: Well, I really like the idea of the calendar you mentioned, and linking it with Facebook. But I think I’d

really like to see something more concise than what’s already available. I find most sites to be confusing

and all over the place, so if you could make it really simply that would be nice. And would save time too,

I wouldn’t have to search for anything.


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Interview 9: Matt C. (single young male)


A: Mostly on Facebook, from coworkers, and occasionally from the radio.


A: No, not really. I just kind of go to stuff if I don’t have anything else to do.


A: Oh yeah. I use Facebook, mostly suggestions from my friends, and Google.


A: If I could filter it I would. I don’t usually like to go to events with a lot of kids, they make a lot of noise

and are distracting, so if I could filter for more adult type events that would be great. If I had the option

to search for Pub Crawls and things like that, that would be awesome.


accounts?

A: Oh yeah. That way my friends could see and meet up with me.

Q: What kinds of things would you like to see on an event website?

A: Like I said, being able to filter for more adult type events would be awesome. If you could throw in

parking information and public transit nearby that would be great too, especially for bar events that way

I can plan either for a DD or to ride the bus home.


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Appendix B: Initial [Pre-implementation] Survey Comments

Survey conducted on www.surveymonekey.com

Q1 other comments: -Facebook invites in particular -mailings -newspaper, the Chronicle -local news on TV -friends -apartment newsletter -TV -listservs Q2 other comments: -flyers by email -listserv and direct emails from the organization -365thingsaustin.com -newspapers and magazines on the internet -email -website summarizing events throughout the metro area -the Austinot -locally written news blogs -do512.com -email -local newspaper's website -Meetup.com Q6 other comments: -professional opportunities -farmers markets or chili-festivals, etc -events with dogs -political activism (what about volunteering-based events, non-entertainment based?) Q7 comments (regarding site): -When I lived in San Francisco I used SFfuncheap extensively. It's not quite the same as what you're proposing, but it does a really good job of letting you know of unusual (and cheap!) events coming up in the area. -I would find it particularly helpful to be able to specify an area or a type of event more specifically than I currently can. The website I use right now allows me to search for music events in a large metro area, or it allows me to search for general events in a smaller area, but I can't search for music or performances in a small area.

http://www.surveymonekey.com/

http://365thingsaustin.com/

http://do512.com/


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-Parking. Having a website that offers feedback on whether the venue has parking, if it's off street, or has decent and regular bus service...getting to/from events is an important part of deciding whether or not to attend, e.g. I try to avoid any events on Pecan/6th during the weekends because driving is a nightmare during those times. -sounds like the key to this project would be an aggregation of event data seamlessly linking with the resources needed to find/attend/talk about events. Don't try to reinvent resources (like directions/maps) just provide the connection to the app/service that does it really well (like Google maps). -Currently I use do512. They allow me to "follow" bands, and then email me when a band is in the area. I can also link it to my Google calendar so events I might be interested show up automatically on my calendar. -I've had a particularly hard time finding good sources to find thorough listings of running events. All the sites I can find might add up to a good base, but you have to look around so much. I also have a hard time finding things like eco-conventions, green fairs, stuff of that sort. I like the idea of genre based event listings. Q7 comments (regarding survey) -I didn’t respond to question #5 because the options on your scale didn’t adequately address my feelings. I think it isn’t helpful to go from very important to neutral to not important. This might misrepresent your participants' feelings -Question #5 would work better if it had two more options like "important" and "less important" since "very important" and "not important" are fairly extreme ends of the opinion spectrum, and you're likely losing some subtly.


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Appendix C: User Implementation Test Guidelines and Written Task List

Guidelines for the Eventerest Team members to use when testing the prototype with participants

Introduction

Introduce yourself and thank the participant for helping to improve the design of a new website

Don’t say that you are the developer (to get more honest feedback)

Make sure that participants:

o Understand basically what they’ll be asked to do (user scenario, survey) and that you’ll

be taking notes on how well the system functions

o Give their informed consent

o Know that they can stop at any time

o Understand that the system is being tested, not them

o Know that the data collected will be kept anonymous.

Give the participant the attached written Task List and go over with him/her verbally.

• Use the observation techniques that follow, throughout the test

• Let them know when they have finished the task(s).

Observation During the test, observe the user and take detailed notes:

• What they do and also how they react to it

• Time and record the accomplishment of each task

• Prompt the user gently to talk while they perform tasks

• Encourage comments that evaluate the system

Respond to any questions, but don’t tell them how to use the system.

Record any and all problems that come up

Keep in mind while gathering data:

o Does the UI work the way you thought it would?

o Did users take approaches you expected?

o What, if anything, is missing?

o What should be changed?

Survey and Closing

Ask participant to complete the attached one-page survey. Encourage them to be candid and let

them know that their responses are strictly confidential

Thank them for helping the Team to improve the design of this website.


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Written Task Handout for Implementation Test I

Thank you for helping to test the Eventerest website prototype!

Using the Eventerest website prototype, please complete the following tasks in this order

– feel free to talk through what you are doing as you go along and please let the tester

know about any problems you encounter with the prototype.

Tasks:

8) Use the website to find out on what dates South by Southwest (SXSW) festival

will be held next year.

9) Fill out a form to create your own profile (profile will not save).

10) Find out why ACL was canceled using the forums.

11) Find out why ACL was canceled using the news.

12) Find the reviews you've written in your profile.



Thank you for helping us improve this developing website!


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Appendix D: Implementation User Test I and II Survey

Eventerest Prototype User Survey

Thank you for helping to test the Eventerest website prototype! Please help us to improve the

website by answering the following questions. Feel free to be completely honest- all responses

are kept strictly confidential.


o Very easy o Easy o Moderate o Difficult o Very

difficult


o Very easy o Easy o Moderate o Difficult o Very

difficult


o Very

appealing

o Appealing o Neutral o Not very

appealing

o Unappealing

10) How likely would you be to use a website like this one, if it was available for your city?

o Very likely o Likely o Neutral o Not very

likely

o Very

unlikely

11) What were the best things about the prototype website (up to three things)?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

12) What were some things you would change about the prototype website (up to three)?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Thank you – we value your input!


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Appendix E: User Implementation Test I Notes/Results

A total of 9 Users participated in testing between November 25 and December 1, 2013.

User: Jeff G.

1) Completed successfully

13 seconds


1 minute


15 seconds


1 minute and 6 seconds


15 seconds


7 seconds


5 seconds

Survey results:

1) Easy

2) Easy

3) Appealing

4) Likely

5) Colors, Logo

6) Get rid of extra search bars; make the search text go away when clicking in it


79

User: Matthew R.


30 seconds


45 seconds


15 seconds

Tester comment: You know you have this in the chat box, right?


22 seconds


17 seconds


9 seconds


11 seconds

Survey results:

1) Very Easy

2) Very Easy

3) Neutral

4) Likely

5) Logo, organization, colors

6) Get rid of extra search bars; make text in search bar disappear when searching;


80

User: Matthew C.


32 seconds


55 seconds


20 seconds


20 seconds


6 seconds


4 seconds


7 seconds

Survey results:

1) Easy

2) Easy

3) Not very appealing

4) Neutral

5) Readability

6) Make the search text go away when clicking in the box; update the graphics/colors/theme – you

could do so much more with this!


81

User: Katie W.


11 seconds

Tester comments: She clicked on the entertainment browse button first, then used the events search

bar.


1 minute 37 seconds


3 seconds

Tester comments: Website already had this information in the chat box, so she was able to find it really

fast. This was not intended. Afterwards, I prompted her to also check in the forum posts and she was

able to find the appropriate post approximately 10 seconds later.


2 minutes

User comments: Browse boxes are confusing. I thought they were all browsing for events but then I

didn't realize they were for news and forums, too. I would make it so that they are only for events.


11 seconds


4 seconds


3 seconds

Survey results:

1) Easy

2) Very Easy

3) Very Appealing

4) Not very Likely

5) Colors

6) Make the browse bars on the side only for events; get rid of extra search bars; make the search text

go away when clicking in it


82

User: Jeanette K.


55 seconds

Tester comments: User clicked on entertainment browse button, then used the primary search bar.

2) Failed

Tester comments: 'She couldn't find the create event button. After showing her where it was located,

she was able to understand the form. Initially she tried to go to the profile to look for the button."

User comment: 'I thought the button would be under the profile page.'

3) Failed

Tester comment: 'User was confused on the nature of the question. Once clarified, the user was able to

complete it after given more detailed instructions.'

User: The link is broken and doesn’t work. [There was a browse link that was not functioning properly]


1 minute 10 seconds


15 seconds


11 seconds


8 seconds

Survey results:

1) Moderate

2) Very Easy

3) Neutral

4) Likely

5) Logo, organization, creativity

6) Get rid of browse bars on side completely; make the search bar text go away when clicking


83

User: Kimberly P.


35 seconds

Tester comments: Most users have a little difficulty figuring out this first part. They pause and sort of

don't understand where to go. The home page seems to be confusing them a big (do I stay on home

page or go to events page?)


1 minute 5 seconds


20 seconds

Tester comments: User used search bar for #3 and #4

User comment: Don’t like the chat box.


25 seconds

User comment: I would get rid of the browse bars completely except on the events pages. They’re

confusing.


2 seconds


2 seconds


6 seconds

Survey results:

1) Easy

2) Easy

3) Appealing

4) Neutral

5) Logo, layout, readability

6) Make the search text go away when clicking in the box


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************************************************************************************

Gave an additional question to his users (at the last minute).

Additional question: Find events that happen on November 8th.

Results: They all went straight to the calendar and clicked no the date (all within a few seconds). This

worked well. The calendar seems like a good idea for the site.


85

User: Taylor T.

1) Completed successfully.

12 seconds

User comment: Liked the logo.


45 seconds

User comment: this function was “very well done” and “self-explanatory”


15 seconds

Tester Comment: Participant found this information via the community chat box on the main page, not

via forums. When prompted, he was able to find info


25 seconds


10 seconds

Tester Comment: that the picture of the dog (on the Profile page) drew his attention and from there he

saw the “My Reviews” link directly underneath.


5 seconds


7 seconds

Survey results:

1) Very Easy

2) Very Easy

3) Neutral

4) Very Likely

5) Information was easily accessible. Content was informative. The profile concept was also very

well done.

6) Your content is very well developed and to me, could very easily become a major success. Just a

few tweaks (esthetics) and it will be on par with any other major site. I prefer your page to the one

attached to the link I'm about to share but, some elements could be incorporated into yours if you

choose to pursue this incredible product you all have made. goo.gl/S8hDx9 It's not all about

design… but, design sells.


86

User: James W.


55 seconds

Tester comment: Participant had some trouble searching this using “sxsw” all lowercase. He also

commented that the search field text does not automatically clear when you start to type, which he

found inconvenient. He did find the page by searching from the home page for “south by

southwest” and he also went back and found it by clicking on the icon for SXSW in the “Events”

page. He wondered why there was no “Music” link on the Browse feature.


1 minute


25 seconds

Tester Comments: Participant tried using the “search forums” button to complete the task, but

noticed the Chat bar at the right and answered the question that way. However, he said that he did

not think the chat bar should be included on the main page.


25 seconds


12 seconds


5 seconds


5 seconds

Survey results:

1) Somewhat difficult

2) Very Easy

3) Appealing

4) Very Likely

5) overall concept is really good, given time to create it fully, it would be very convenient to have an

events website like this

6) don't have two searches, just one. have the small calendar clickable to link to a larger, more detailed

calendar. It just hard to search as it is right now


87

User: Christine B.


30 seconds


50 seconds


18 seconds


25 seconds


11 seconds


7 seconds


7 seconds

Survey results:

1) Easy

2) Very Easy

3) Appealing

4) Likely

5) Different ways to find each type of information, searching, browsing, etc. like the use of white space, open design,

easy to read

6) There are two search boxes on some pages and also the search text doesn’t clear when you type in to the box


88

Appendix F: Revised Pages (following User Test I)


89

Revised Pages (following User Test I) cont.


90



91



92



93



94



95



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Appendix G: User Implementation Test II Handout

Instructions for Testing the Eventerest Prototype Website

Thank you for helping to test the Eventerest website prototype!

Using the Eventerest website prototype, please complete the following tasks in this order

– feel free to talk through what you are doing as you go along and please let the tester

know about any problems you encounter with the prototype.

1) Find out on when the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival will be held next year.

2) Fill out a form to create your own event.

3) Using the forums, find out why ACL was canceled.

4) Find forum posts on photography.

5) You heard that something terrible has happened in Towne Lake that has canceled

all kayaking events. Find out what it is.

6) Find reviews that you have written. (Assume you’re logged into an account.)


8) Find the receipt for your ticket to SXSW.


10) Find events on November 8th, 2013.

Thank you for helping us to improve this developing website!


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Appendix H: User Implementation Test II Notes/Results

Katie W. (previous user, retested) Test: 1) Complete – 15 seconds 2) Failed (couldn’t find button) User: Didn’t realize that the create event button moved. It makes sense on the profile page but didn’t see it on the events page this time. Maybe have it on both? 3) Complete – 6 seconds 4) Complete – 29 seconds User: Forum navigation is better than it was before. 5) Complete – 15 seconds User: Navigation is also better for news. 6) Complete – 5 seconds 7) Complete – 3 seconds 8) Complete – 8 seconds 9) Complete – 6 seconds User: Main page and events page might need to be a little bit more distinguishable. 10) Complete – 4 seconds User: Like the calendar, but don’t think it should be on every page. Only pages for events; remove it like the browse was removed. Survey: 1) Easy 2) Easy 3) Very Appealing 4) Likely 5) I like the new forums and news navigation. It’s easier to understand. 6) Nothing. George L. (new user) 1) Complete – 27 seconds 2) Complete – 55 seconds User: Took a while to figure out where it was. 3) Complete – 29 seconds 4) Complete – 33 seconds 5) Complete – 22 seconds User: A lot of searches wouldn’t work. Had to try a lot of different words before they did. Tester: (He tried searching kayaking events, didn’t work.) 6) Complete – 20 seconds 7) Complete – 4 seconds 8) Complete – 11 seconds


98

9) Complete – 13 seconds 10) Complete – 8 seconds Survey: 1) Very Easy 2) Very Easy 3) Neutral 4) Neutral 5) Color of the logo and the navigation bar, layout, simplicity 6) Didn’t like chat box. Could see it making sense on the community or maybe forums page but not elsewhere. Also was a little confused on where the create event button might be located. Didn’t understand the community page or how that would function. Jennifer T. (new user) 1) Complete – 40 seconds 2) Complete – 2 minutes 10 seconds 3) Complete – 29 seconds 4) Complete – 58 seconds 5) Complete – 45 seconds 6) Complete – 31 seconds 7) Complete – 6 seconds 8) Complete – 17 seconds 9) Complete – 19 seconds 10) Complete – 12 seconds Survey: 1) Easy 2) Very Easy 3) Appealing 4) Very Likely 5) [No Answer] 6) [No Answer] Jeff G. (repeat tester) 1. Complete – 12 secs 2. Complete – 35 secs 3. Complete – 8 secs 4. Complete – 28 secs 5. Complete – 18 secs 6. Complete – 8 secs 7. Complete – 4 secs 8. Complete – 12 secs 9. Complete – 8 secs 10. Complete – 5 secs


99

Survey 1. Easy 2. Easy 3. Appealing 4. Likely 5. Graphics, Colors, Simplicity 6. I don’t understand why the chat is on all the pages… Is it like the Facebook chat? Can I close it?

Tiffany L. 1. Complete – 15 secs 2. Complete – 45 secs 3. Complete – 9 secs 4. Complete – 25 secs 5. Complete – 16 secs 6. Complete – 7 secs 7. Complete – 8 secs 8. Complete – 13 secs 9. Complete – 10 secs 10. Complete – 6 secs Survey

1. Easy 2. Easy 3. Appealing 4. Likely 5. Colors, Navigation 6. N/A

Tiffany P. 1. Complete – 25 secs 2. Complete – 1 min 2 secs 3. Complete – 25 secs 4. Complete – 42 secs 5. Complete – 36 secs 6. Complete – 25 secs 7. Complete – 5 secs 8. Complete – 14 secs 9. Complete – 21 secs 10. Complete – 10 secs Survey

1. Easy 2. Easy 3. Appealing


100

4. Likely 5. Colors 6. So I can create events in two places? Is that a good idea? Won’t that be confusing? Why would I

look for random friends? That’s a little odd to me…

Esther M. 1. Complete – 12.5 secs 2. Complete – 36.8 secs 3. Complete – 20 secs 4. Complete – 48 secs 5. Complete – 11 secs 6. Complete – 12 secs 7. Complete – 6 secs 8. Complete – 12 secs 9. Complete – 9 secs 10. Complete – 8 secs Survey

1. Very Easy 2. Very Easy 3. Appealing 4. Likely 5. All the social functions, seemed to have lots of events and different types of events 6. Had a little trouble figuring out how to get to some of the stuff on the forum page.

Teresa M. 1. Complete – 23 secs 2. Complete – 41 secs 3. Complete – 36 secs 4. Complete – 39 secs 5. Complete – 23 secs 6. Complete – 14 secs 7. Complete – 9 secs 8. Complete – 30 secs (from My Events, tried to get there by clicking SXSW icon, had to go back) 9. Complete – 8 secs 10. Complete – 7 secs Survey

1. Easy 2. Easy 3. Appealing 4. Very Likely 5. Nice layout, good variety of events 6. I might have a “create your own event” button the “Events” page, not just Profile page?


101

Lynn M. 1. Complete – 24 secs 2. Complete – 58 secs 3. Complete – 19 secs 4. Complete – 20 secs 5. Complete – 17 secs 6. Complete – 9 secs 7. Complete – 8 secs 8. Complete – 9 secs 9. Complete – 7 secs 10. Complete – 9 secs Survey

1. Easy 2. Very Easy 3. Very Appealing 4. Likely 5. Attractive site – like the design and all the social features 6. I know it’s not fully functional, but would love to see it when fully functional.


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Appendix I: Revised Pages (following User Test II - Final Pages)

Events Page


103

Appendix I: Revised Pages (following User Test II - Final Pages) Cont.

Community Page


104


Forums Page


105


News Page


106


Profile Page


107


Information Architecture Group Project

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