[JoePistell]

Very Interesting idea: Low cost usability testing - UserTesting.com

$69 for 3 user reviews (15 minute desktop videos). I'm in.

Here's the task sheet for the reviewers.

URL: www.usedcarking.com
Scenario: Pretend to shop for a car.

Task: Look at the homepage for five seconds. Then look away and answer these two questions (without peeking!): (1) What do you remember? (2) What do you think the site is about?

SHOPPING SCENARIO #1)
You have a new family and a tight budget of $250 a month or less. You need a used 4 door car AND the car your driving now is making new noises, you want to trade it before it dies.


SHOPPING SCENARIO #2)
You want a SUV, you're interested shopping between a brand new 2009/2010 Chevrolet Suburban and an almost new one at UsedCarKing.com. You're in no hurry, purchase sometime in the next several weeks.

Describe your experiences:

Did you find what you were looking for?

If this wasn't a test, would you have made a call or email to the dealership? Why or why not?

Would you use this site again?

What is missing, what would help the most?

[umer.autojini]

What you like/dislike about the site?
Would you bookmark the site? Reason?
Is the step to take next clear on each page?

[JoePistell]

Yup, more good points Umer.

Here is the 1st review... gulp...UserTesting.com - Written Summary

Written Summary

Used Car King - Used Cars & Trucks | Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Rochester, Central New York

User tester: chal7ds

Date: November 28,2009

What would have caused you to leave this site?

• Not being able to get a direct trade-in search result 'might've' caused me to leave; however, most of the site provided me with what I wanted.

What other ideas do you have about how this site could be improved?

• Make the trade-in form interactive? i.e. give direct results? Add a year option menu for the search on the homepage?

What did you like about the site?

• I loved the information provided for the vehicles. Gave everything one would need to make an informed decision about purchasing. Also liked how it felt like you guys actually care about the customer. Got a friendly vibe from the site.

Anything else you would like to say to the owner of the site?

• Great site, overall. I would definitely recommend this site to friends and family as my experience overall was satisfactory. Goodluck!

[JoePistell]

1st VIDEO REVIEW:
http://www.viddler.com/player/c3daab88

[JoePistell]

Site Review #2 has arrived.

Video:
http://www.viddler.com/player/c04d6d65

Written:
UserTesting.com - Written Summary

Written Summary
Used Car King - Used Cars & Trucks | Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Rochester, Central New York

User tester: snirk

Date: November 28,2009

What would have caused you to leave this site?

• I don't think anything inherent in the site would cause me to leave. However, car purchase, and especially used car purchase, is an extremely cost-sensitive process, and so as I mentioned, I might find myself looking up alternative pricing schemes to make sure I was getting a competitive price.

What other ideas do you have about how this site could be improved?

• As I mentioned, featuring the "Trade in" checkbox on the car purchase page would be of great benefit.
• The first page is extremely long with lots of white space. As a first impression, I would try and punt on displaying so much to the user. I tend to associate professionalism on the web with conciseness, so even if you want to show that much information to the user, porting it off to a linked page might serve better.

What did you like about the site?

• Intuitive and streamlined interaction from top to bottom.
• Well-features and well-sized nav buttons
• Seasonal theme was a nice touch, though it was inconsistent between the main page and the "Trade in form"

Anything else you would like to say to the owner of the site?

• Great job making the flow clear and simple to understand.

[umer.autojini]

Nice... love the video... nice to see... what the user is thinking... thank you for sharing.

Quick questions... can you put in a criteria for users internet experience... on usertesting.com.

[JoePistell]

I TOTALLY agree with you Umer, knowing the level of Internet Experience is very important, but, given the fact that they have to know how to run a desktop video redording system, you'll have to assume that they are EXPERIENCED web surfers and comfortable with all things interent. The good news is that they're NOT in our industry.

I've got pages of notes.... mostly confirming my suspicions. I've got a lot of work to do, bit, there's a lot of upside to squeeze out of it!!

[JoePistell]

Review #3 has arrived...

Video:
http://www.viddler.com/player/964f8502

Written:
UserTesting.com - Written Summary

Written Summary

Used Car King - Used Cars & Trucks | Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Rochester, Central New York

User tester: jben827

Date: November 28,2009

What would have caused you to leave this site?

• I didn't see anything that made me want to leave the site. I did have a problem with the mouseovers, but nothing major.

What other ideas do you have about how this site could be improved?

• I could not find information about the optional equipment on the SUV I was looking at. I think it could've been clearer which tab I was searching under when using the search by payment option.

What did you like about the site?

• I like the ability to search for a car by monthly payment. I also liked the versatile calculator function for monthly payments. There were lots of pictures which would be important to me if buying a car.

Anything else you would like to say to the owner of the site?

• Good Luck!

[Tordiway]

Originally Posted by JoePistell

Task: Look at the homepage for five seconds. Then look away and answer these two questions (without peeking!): (1) What do you remember? (2) What do you think the site is about?

SHOPPING SCENARIO #1)
You have a new family and a tight budget of $250 a month or less. You need a used 4 door car AND the car your driving now is making new noises, you want to trade it before it dies.


SHOPPING SCENARIO #2)
You want a SUV, you're interested shopping between a brand new 2009/2010 Chevrolet Suburban and an almost new one at UsedCarKing.com. You're in no hurry, purchase sometime in the next several weeks.

Who wrote these objectives? You or the vendor? These are excellent directions. Fascinating product/service!

[Alex Snyder]

This is awesome Joe