User Study by Abhish
User Background
Software Analyst with over 4 years of work experience and a Master’s degree in Information Technology.
Survey Questions
Have you used craigslist before?
Ans: Yes
Have you used any other websites similar to craigslist?
Ans: yes.
If yes for above question, which other websites did you use? Which website do you trust more and why?
Ans: Sulekha.com, facebook marketplace. Facebook marketplace cause of reputation. Facebook has user profile.
What would be your primary reason to go to craigslist or any similar website?
Ans: to post an ad.
Which device (desktop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.) would you primarily access craigslist from?
Ans: desktop or laptop
Are there any specific services from using other similar websites that you feel should be on craigslist?
Ans: Verification of ads and users
Did you know you could buy stuff for free on craigslist?
Ans: No
Did you know you could sell stuff on craigslist?
Ans: yes
Did you know craigslist has a forum?
Ans: No
Did you know you could apply for jobs on craigslist?
Ans: No
Did you know you could post jobs on craigslist?
Ans; No
The user was asked a brief survey to better understand the needs of a user who would use websites similar to Craigslist
User Study
Task 1:
Search for a dining table in good condition for sale, shortlist 2 to 3 and contact seller to buy one.
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Task 2:
Post an ad to sell a used phone
Notes
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The tasks were chosen based on insights from the survey.
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The user may or may not complete the task fully due to availability of the product being searched for.
Steps performed by user
Task 1:
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Opened website
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Typed into search box “dining table”
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Clicked on posts with table
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Tried to click the “hide search options” button next to search box to go back
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Eventually noticed the star and clicked it to shortlist tables
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User tried to locate the shortlisted item on the top of the page but failed to locate it immediately.
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User clicked starred items link to view items
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User expected grid view for shortlisted items as the user wasn’t sure which one was the one he/she wanted to enquire about
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User tried to find a contact seller button which was not fund
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Clicked on reply button and then clicked email
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User tried to find back button but instead found an arrow which said go back to search
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The user was taken to the short listed items page, while the user expected to go to all search results page
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Task 2:
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User tried to go to home page so tried to locate home button, but eventually clicked the CL icon
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User tried to located link to post ad. The user was lost and wasn’t able to locate it until I directed the user to click the post to classifields link.
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Clicked post to classifields button
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Selected type of posting
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Selected category
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Filled form fields
Redesign Speculations
Posting an ad and browsing for goods are the two most important activities on craigslist performed by users of the website.
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The Home page requires a complete redesign. Some changes include,
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Left side menu should have the different categories found on home page
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The left menu will allow for a more prominent “Sell” button instead of post to classifieds
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The current header region needs to be redesigned to have only the search textbox and craigslist icon
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The favourites and hidden items links should be replaced by a ribbon at the bottom for easier access and viewing experience
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The view dropdown list should have an empty dropdown list and should be labelled to tell the user that it is an option to change view
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The search results could filter items based on nearest location of user. This option or filter is available only in list view which should be made available in grid view as well.
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This grouping by location could avoid having extra-long pages for grid view display of results