Canonical
on 23 March 2013
Understanding user behaviour through user research is an integral part of our design process. In the last ubuntu.com website testing, some insights surfaced about user behaviour, which could help to shape a great user experience for our website. We share the three mains ones here. They have been much discussed in the UX, and the findings from the testing reinforced their importance.
Who were the participants?
12 participants took part in this research. They belonged to two different groups:
- Ubuntu novices: those who have limited computer knowledge and had not heard of or used Ubuntu before. 8 participants were from this group. They were professionally recruited and of mixed genders.
- Ubuntu users: those who use Ubuntu OS on a daily basis. They were from our Ubuntu users database pool and were recruited via emails.
What were the three main types of user behaviour found?
The Power of Images
“I go straight to the pictures before I go to the words. You look at pictures and they give you a flavour of what it is all about.”(P3)
” I use images to decide on a product. I tend to work very visually. Sometimes it is not easy to understand the jargon, and it is much easier to see what it is like. ” (P6)
“I’m just looking at the picture to see how much learning is required.” (P10)
In the testing process, we observed that participants appeared to rely on images heavily to help them form an opinion about Ubuntu. They used images in multiple ways throughout their interaction process, including:
- To understand what the interface is about or make sense of an unfamiliar concept/feature
- To decide whether or not it looks easy to use
- To compare it with what they are currently using, and to see how much learning it may require
Images are therefore a powerful communication medium for us to build a positive brand with our users.
Take away:
It is important that images are relevant to their context and offer the best presentation of the product. We should use images to reflect the user friendliness and uniqueness of Ubuntu.
The Journey of Persuasion
“When I first came to your site, you need to tell me why I want to use this. This is paramount.” (P2)
“ It (the site) needs to highlight what I don’t know. Why I should use it, and with examples.” (P5)
When participants first landed on the homepage, they expressed their need to be informed about what Ubuntu does, who it is for, and why they should use it. They wanted to be convinced from the very start.
During the exploration process, when they were looking at Ubuntu pages, participants were attentive to the apparent benefits Ubuntu could offer to satisfy their personal needs. They relied on concrete examples and statistical figures to establish and enhance their understanding and trust. They also enjoyed browsing through different quotations from our users.
Take away:
The persuasion process should start from the moment users land on our homepage, until leaving the site. The key proposition messages should be specific, apparent and repeated throughout the user journey.
Make Use of Opportune Moments
“It says free upgrade for life, that’s good. Built in security, that’s good. Thousands of apps, that’s good too. I want to click on these to find out more.” (P3)
Our website has many good design features that grabbed participants’ attention straight away, for instance, the image tiles for ‘Reasons to love Ubuntu’ and the use of bullet points to outline essential information about Ubuntu’s main features. When participants encounter such design features or content that they found interesting, they often wanted to click an icon or topic to explore it further. They were disappointed or even frustrated if these were not clickable.
Take away:
We should make use of these opportune moments to keep users engaged and informed by providing efficient and desirable navigational paths to lead them to more detailed and relevant information.
What’s next ?
The web team has been carrying out changes in response to the user testing results. The aforementioned user behaviour findings will feed into the next web design cycle to help with the design decisions. This will help users to get even more out of their visits to Ubuntu.com.
