Usability Review of the HSD Mini-Site

 

A heuristic evaluation revealed there were improvements to be made including removing animated page transitions and improving content readability. This resulted in a design that embraced more users and supported more tasks.

 

Project: Launch of Hybrid Synergy Drive Mini-Site
Services: Heuristic Evaluation/Usability Review
Deliverables: Usability Report

This case study outlines one of many heuristic evaluations I conducted for Toyota.

Working with Proxicom, now acquired by iCrossing, we reviewed Toyota's mini-site dedicated to educating consumers about the company's hybrid engine technology.

The Product: In 2005, hybrid vehicle engines were beginning to gain a great deal of interest and popularity among consumers. Toyota wanted to educate users while at the same time provide them with an emotionally engaging experience. The mini-site prototype was Flash-based with many fun, colorful animations and page transitions. There were also many educational animations explaining the mechanics of the hybrid engine and a wealth of information that users could read.

The Method: A "heuristic evaluation" involves comparing a product against a set of commonly accepted guidelines for good usability. The "usability review" component employs the consultant's deep understanding of, and empathy for, users. We used multiple reviewers in this case, which tends to work even better than one reviewer.

The Results: We found that the mini-site did not meet the needs of a diverse set of users. While the animations and page transitions were fun and aesthetically pleasing, some users just want to get their questions answered quickly, and we needed to enable them to do that. At the same time, the information was not explained in laymen's terms; the heuristic for this is "Speak the user's language."

We recommended fewer animated page transitions which were not necessary once the user was past the introductory screen. We made recommendations for editing the section titles/nomenclature and content for scannability and a clearer explanation of complex terms. Finally, there were issues with the color palette which prevented easy-readability, so we recommended an increase in color contrast. While these changes may seem small, they added up to an experience which was both emotionally engaging and usable at the same time.

This study took place in 2005; Toyota has since redesigned its Hybrid Synergy Drive mini-site, replacing the one referred to here.