Gramercy Cleaners
Usability Evaluation
Client: Gramercy Cleaners
Team: Amanda Snyder, Oladipo Aluko, Jenn Vang, Mike Norman, Melanie Bethke
My Roles: UX Research & Testing, UI Design
Methods: Heuristic Analysis, Usability Testing, Think-Aloud Protocol, Wireframing
Tools: Figma, Zoom, Powerpoint
Problem Statement
Gramercy Cleaners has provided laundry, dry cleaning, and tailoring services to the Gramercy Park neighborhood in New York City for over 30 years. Their website serves to provide new and returning customers with information regarding pricing and hours of operation, as well as their business and cleaning practices.
The existing website does not provide users with the necessary information or processes to successfully complete primary tasks without calling the store.
Project Goals
Gramercy cleaners identified the following goals for this project:
Improving the information architecture and page layout
Improving the way menu items are displayed for clarity and ease of navigation
Improving the aesthetics and communication of content
Reducing clicks/actions along primary task flows
Any other suggested improvements
User Goals
Gramercy cleaners identified the following as the primary tasks they expect users to be able to accomplish on their site:
Research
Usability Review
First, I conducted a usability review using Jakob Nielsen’s Design Heuristics.
I flagged two significant areas of concern:
I hypothesized that these two factors were driving potential new customers away from using Gramercy Cleaners
Usability Testing
I collaborated with a small team to develop a usability test utilizing the think-aloud protocol to test my hypothesis and uncover other potential areas of opportunity.
11 participants were recruited for testing:
Tests were completed in 30 minute Zoom sessions, using the Think-Aloud protocol as participants attempted to complete several of the primary tasks identified by Gramercy Cleaners:
Screenshot from Test Moderation
Findings
Users respond well to some aesthetic elements, but not others
“I assume if I called, it would be fairly simple. There’s just nothing [on the site] about it. I have no clue how it would work or how I would get it to work.”
“Now I have more questions than I thought I had! … There’s a lot of questions that this site doesn’t answer for me.”
“It seems like a real classy place”
“The polish is lacking a bit. If it was a bit more polished [they] could charge more money!”
Through this round of testing, we discovered that:
Users expect to schedule services using the website but are currently unable to do so
Users desire to see more information about Gramercy Cleaner’s services and story
Recommendations
In response to user feedback and the initial usability review, I recommended the following changes to the client:
2) Create a NEW Contact page
1) Implement updates to the layout of the Home page and Navigation bar
3) Update About Us page to include history and images of business
4) Redesign Services page to allow online scheduling
Conclusion
The existing Gramercy Cleaners website communicates an identity of class and quality to users, but lacks clear information and the option of completing primary tasks online.
Gramercy has the opportunity to provide useful information to users on all pages of their website, including the About Us section, the FAQ section, a new Contact page, and an updated Services section of the site.
With updated Services section, users will be able to easily schedule online for laundry, dry cleaning, and alterations. This will ensure that users who are averse to calling, or who want to schedule during non-business hours, will stick with Gramercy Cleaners rather than seeking services elsewhere.