Project 1: Usability testing

COntext setting

Casebook PBC is a platform for human and social services workers. It’s comprised of a family of integrated apps. Casebook’s solutions are the response to frustration among human services professionals and leaders who have struggled with antiquated information systems. I experienced this first-hand during my many years as a case manager and therapist.

Challenge

cb Track and cb Engage are two of Casebook’s most popular applications currently in use by social and human service workers. Due to constraints at the time of their respective releases, these two business apps did not undergo thorough usability testing. My opportunity was to conduct in-depth usability research and identify needed improvements.

Goals

The goals of this research project were to invite subject matter experts to perform realistic tasks on cb Track and cb Engage in order to learn the following:

  • Can a person self-learn Casebook or is there a learning curve?

  • Where are the main points of friction and confusion?

Information Architecture

  • Does the organization of information make sense?

  • Is the information relevant to their business processes?

  • Can they easily find information and actions needed to complete their work?

  • What actions and information are missing?

Identify shortcomings from the findings and present solutions and concepts to address them.

My role

I conducted this study independently.

Process

  • Create a research plan and script

  • Recruit a total of 12 subject matter expert research participants

  • Methodologies

    • Stakeholder interviews, user interviews, usability testing, and third-party accessibility testing via Fable

  • Analyze research data and synthesize via affinity mapping

  • Present research findings

  • Make evidence-based recommendations

Affinity Diagram

Affinity Diagram

“When you’re going out into the field you want to keep it as simple as possible because you’re dealing with so many complicated issues outside of this computer. This is great if you have time to just sit around and click, click, click, and go into this one and this one and this one to put the same information in, you need one primary site. Boom.”
— Jeanne, Research participant, Explaining a discoverability issue

Recommendations

T+E Study recommendations page 1.jpg
T+E Study recommendations page 2.jpg

Success Metrics

  • Three severe bugs were identified and fixed.

  • A fourth was resurfaced and prioritized.

  • Additionally, my recommendations drove strategy and were added to the Product and Design System’s respective roadmaps.