CarePlace UI Evaluation

Summary

CarePlace is a startup based in Boston, MA with the mission “to address the difficulties caregivers and patients encounter in their search for social support and peer information.” Their social networking site, CarePlace.com was about to enter their Beta phase, but first they enlisted Vestal Design’s services to review the UI of the site.

Problem

Before launching their Beta site in August, Careplace had several issues they wanted advice on.

• An evaluation of the site’s usability and user interface
• Consulting on how to design and administer a user study
• Advice on creating an effective user survey
• Recommendations and Improvements for the site

Approach

For a week, Vestal Design worked with the CarePlace team, both in 1-on-1 meetings, and in team discussions to help them identify what they were seeking in their user studies and surveys. At the same time, Vestal went through the entire site and documented potential usability issues, formally known as an expert heuristic evaluation.

Solution

None of the CarePlace team had formal training in user interaction, so Vestal provided mini-courses on topics like performing a user study, selecting questions which would not produce a biased result, and other related topics. Inbetween these courses, Vestal carefully reviewed the entire site, identifying, documenting, and classifying usability issues. At the end of the week, Vestal gave an hour presentation to the CarePlace team reviewing the topics we had covered earlier, as well as providing recommendations on how they could improve the UI and design of their site.