Konga Usability Testing : A UX Research Case Study
Disclaimer: I neither work for nor affiliated with Konga. This case study was done to improve and hone my skills as a User Experience Researcher.
Introduction
Konga is an e-commerce company that offers a third-party online marketplace, as well as first-party direct retail spanning various categories including consumer electronics, fashion, home appliances, books, children’s items, computers & accessories, phones and tablets, healthcare and personal care products.
While using the app, I found searching for items as well as using the navigation bar to be quite difficult. This created an unenjoyable and frustrating shopping experience for me. The search feature doesn’t bring out accurate results and the navigation bar has unclear product categories making it hard to locate products.
I carried out this research to find out about other users’ experiences with the search and navigation features. I wanted to find out the actions users take when they want to find an item, their preference when it comes to search vs navigation and the frustrations they experience during this process.
Project Goals
This research project aims at conducting a usability test on Konga Mobile app to understand users’ experiences when searching for items, by either using the search feature or navigation and identifying their pain points when trying to find products.
The objective of this usability test is to answer these questions;
- Can users find products easily using the search feature?
- Is the app navigation easy to use?
My Role
This was a solo project, where I worked as the only UX researcher:
- Participant screening and recruitment
- Created and sent out screener form
- Formulated test scenarios and test tasks
- Conducted remote moderated usability tests
- Report writing
Process
Recruitment and Research Method
- I conducted 5 usability testing sessions, and recruited participants using a screener form. These participants are people who use mobile apps daily and have used an e-commerce app in the last month.
- All test sessions were done and moderated remotely using Zoom, and recorded with participants’ consent.
Discover
User Reviews
Online reviews revealed that users experience problems navigating through the app and also searching for products. Going through customer reviews on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store further showed how much users’ struggled and their pain points.
Empathize
User persona
I created a user persona to better understand who an ideal Konga mobile app user is, based on the information I gathered online from user reviews.
Usability Testing
With a better understanding of the users, I recruited 5 participants for the test session to evaluate users’ experience with the search vs navigation feature. Each participant was asked to imagine he or she was in a scenario and to perform a series of tasks while “thinking out loud”. Here are 2 of the test scenarios and tasks listed below;
Test Scenario 1: Imagine you have been saving up for a while to get a new phone. Now that you have met your target and ready to buy a phone between 100,000–150,000 Naira. Show me how you would go about finding a phone within that price range
Test Scenario 2 : Let’s say it’s that time of the year when the weather gets really hot. You live in a poorly ventilated apartment and there is no better time to get an air conditioning unit than now. Your budget is between 80.000–120,000 Naira for a 1.5HP AC. Show me how you will find if there is an air conditioner within your budget
Define And Analyze
Affinity Mapping
I transferred all the insights from the notes I took and reviewed recordings from the test sessions into an affinity diagram. I used an affinity diagram in order to group themes and patterns that are similar from participant’s responses. I segmented the participants using different sticky notes and wrote down the major points on each one.
I found patterns in ;
- Users’ Behaviour: how users interact with Konga mobile app and the steps they take when searching for a product
- Users’ Pain points: the frustrations they experienced when interacting with the app. Findings from the usability tests revealed that users have needs that are not being addressed in the current experience of the app.
Key Insights
User Behaviour
- Most participants used the navigation bar first when searching for products using the product category
“Going to the product category through the navigation bar gives me more options of a product I’m looking for”
- Some participants that used the navigation bar first to get to a product category used the search bar inside the product category afterwards
“ The product category is not broken down enough and showing wrong results, I’m using the search bar to get better search results”
- All participants used the search feature when searching for a particular type of product, with a brand or colour
“ I use the search bar to streamline my options because I know exactly what I am looking for”
- All participants used the filter feature to search for products that has a price range to streamline options and make search easier
“The filter feature enables me to get products between a particular price range”
User Pain Points
- All participants reported inaccuracy in search results after using the search feature
“ The search feature brought out a lot of unrelated items from what I searched for”
“I had to do a lot of scrolling on the search results page before seeing what i was looking for, quite tiring and frustrating”
- Some participants could not find what find what they were looking for in the task given
“ I could not find the item even after changing my search input repeatedly”
- All participants used the filter feature in the process of searching for a product and did not enjoy the experience.
“I don’t understand how to use the filter feature, it is not easy to use”
“ The filter did not function at all as it didn’t bring out the products within the minimum price inputed”
- All participants do not like the current process of searching for items on Konga mobile app
“ I wish products were more easier to find, the process is not enjoyable”
“ Using either the search feature or going through the navigation bar, I could hardly find my preferred choice of item. This totally ruined my shopping experience
Recommendations
After analysing the insights gotten from the test sessions, these are my recommendations:
- Optimization of search feature
The search feature’s functionality constituted a major problem that all participants encountered during the research and also carries a large percentage of complaints from user reviews online. This has a negative implication on user experience and also business goals.
Findings revealed that getting accurate search results is very important to users and also a major factor in them making a decision to purchase a product on the app.
The search feature or algorithm needs to be optimized to bring out accurate search results for users.This will improve the shopping experience of users and also help the business in getting more users to buy products.
- Redesigning the filter feature
Participants had issues customizing their search for products using the filter feature. Some could not input maximum price ( this is specific for just android users only).
Also, some users did not understand how to use the filter, few users could not find the filter feature at all and the price filter did not bring out results within the price range inputted.
The redesign should cater to providing a similar filter experience for both android and IOS users, a better UX for users to know how the filter feature works, providing other filter options other than price, and an overhaul of its functionality; ensuring users get accurate results
Reflections
As a User Researcher that works to understand user’s needs, behaviour and goals in order to drive successful business outcomes, this case study has helped me to learn some lessons that will applied to subsequent projects going forward.
To make this research process better, I would:
- Increase the number of research participants in order to explore various user personas
- Do more research on other pain points users are experiencing
This is my first post on Medium! Please leave your feedback in the comment section, give me some claps to encourage me to do more or do both!
I’m open to meeting other professionals in the UX field. If you would like to collaborate with me, or you have an opportunity for me or you just want to chat, feel free to send me an email at hello@gbemiogunbiyi.com or connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter
Thank you for reading.
