Ensure Usability

Usability Practical Exercises
Exercise 2

CANON AUSTRALIA: http://www.canon.com.au/ Close this Window

User Tasks

Task 1:
Find specifications for the digital SLR EOS 5D body.

Task 2:
Locate any Product Disclosure Statements

Task 3:
Find the company’s Privacy Statement

Observations (User Reactions)

Task 1: Find specifications for the digital SLR EOS 5D body.
Time: Search ended after 1 minute at the right location.
Start Time- 15:19
Finish Time- 15:20
Accuracy: Our user used the product drop down menu triggering activation of a second drop down menu with a more specific selection. From there he ended up on the page offering hyperlinks to all currently available SLR camera specifications. Peace of ease.

Task 2: Locate any Product Disclosure Statements.
Time: Search abandoned after 5 minutes.
Start Time- 15:23
Finish Time- 15:28 (Search called off)
Accuracy: The user tried hard to find results, but simply could not find a thing. The closest our user came to a result is to find, with a great amount of difficulty (and good skills!), some product specific EULA’s (End User License Agreements. Certainly not very impressive.

Task 3: Find the company’s Privacy Statement
Time: Search ended after 4 minutes in correct location.
Start Time- 15:30
Finish Time- 15:34
Accuracy: Our user used the site search to navigate to the task, slightly diluted by visual links that where less then obvious.

Summary

· The site delivers ease of use when it comes to product information, but becomes incredible challenging when it comes to disclosures.

· The result therefore has been mixed with satisfaction on one side and frustration on the other.

· The user had little trouble getting back to the home page as the top nav offered the solution in most cases.

· The Privacy Statement (.pdf) does not open in a new window and is therefore a dead end without return options other then the back arrow.

· The site is generally reasonably user-friendly and our skilled user familiarized himself quickly with the site navigation.

· Obviously banking on skilled professionals, Canon does offer the goods. The lack find disclosures easily is however frustrating.

Report prepared by ArtPhoto Rene Thalmann, 25 August 2006.