The National Institutes of Health and the University of Michigan engaged TecEd to conduct usability testing of a group health benefits planning application after it transitioned from client-server to Web.
Objectives
Identify improvements to user interface so that users can:
- Understand how to use the application without human intervention
- Make informed health benefits choices
- Participate in group discussion and negotiating
- Complete the process
Solutions
- One cycle of usability testing with ~30 participants, many of whom had medium to low experience with computers and the Web
- After user interface improvements were identified, negotiated, and made, second cycle of usability testing with a group to validate improvements and identify any more problems
- Another cycle of user interface improvements and writing of instructions, then a third cycle of usability testing with a small group to validate improvements
Results
- Enable more direct point-and-click selection
- Make needed information easy to find and read
- Display “quick instructions” instead of relying on users to click Help
- Simplify group process methodology to essential steps
- From 50% task completion success rate in first cycle to ~90% task completion success rate in last cycle
Preliminary User Interface
User Interface after Two Usability Tests
