Usability and user experience case study

1. SKYPE WEBSITE REVIEW

2. AGENDA
 Review the Skype website and pick 3 pages that you think
would be very important to them in terms of optimising
conversion rates – please choose non-transactional pages.
 Highlight the sort of information you would like to know
about these pages to understand how good conversion is
and how you would be able to spot issues that could be
tested and improved
 Suggest 1 specific test you would do for one of the pages
you highlighted

3. USABILITY & USER EXPERIENCE
Making the Online Experience Relevant
User Experience is the quality of experience a person has
when interacting with a specific design. This is can range
from a specific artifact, such as a cup, toy or website, up
to larger, integrated experiences such as a museum or an
airport.”
User Experience Network (www.uxnet.org)

4. USER CENTRIC APPROACH
Easy to Use
Intuitiveness Aesthetic
Context
CREATING EXPERIENCES THAT BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WHICH DRIVE RESULTS

5. SKYPE BRIEF REVIEW
Making the Online Experience Relevant
Heuristic Approach:
 User searching for “Cheap Internet Calls” using Google search
– Skype in not listed among the top 20 sites!
 Home Page as a landing page.
 Readability Issues
 Not built around personas, but Products

6. SKYPE BRIEF REVIEW Good
Making the Online Experience Relevant Navigation Toolbar
not intuitive
Background and
characters colour

7. SKYPE REVIEW
Making the Online Experience Relevant
1. Good title length (about 50 characters) - only issue the word
“Skype” is repeated twice whilst “Internet” being omitted
2. HTML structure – keywords mainly on level H4 rather than H1
3. 6 of the 26 pictures do not have alternative text
4. Text/HTML ratio is below 11%
5. Frames being detected

8. To Make the Experience Relevant
↔

9. SKYPE most likely Personas
E-ager Beavers Social Secretaries Young Professional Business
Consultant
Well educated single man in his Playschool Female user in her 40s,
mid 20s, looking for his first job well educated, liberal in her views A image conscious career person,
likely in Hi-Tech or services, still with a keen interest in willing to sacrifice time with his
living with his parents. environmental and humanitarian family in order to get ahead, who
Cosmopolitan in taste and open to issues. likes taking risks and stands out of
new ideas and influences. Tends to spend more on services the crowd. A perfectionist, who loves
Heavy Internet users, with a and less in products. to buy new gadgets and appliances
preference over Motoring, Keys exceptions are small high value and is prepared to pay more for
websites. More than 1 in 2 go equipment; convergence of products that make life easier. He
online through their newest HTC technologies is a necessity. More dreams of setting up its own business
handset, using 3 Network. More likely to buy brands promoting and has a keen interest into financial
likely to share videos with their multi-cultural image. Her lifestyle is services.
closed friends and to subscribe to hectic, having to juggle between His mobile phone is his mobile office:
LIVE TV on their mobile phones. family/friends and work, features in used Internet/WAP and e-
nevertheless she is 40% more likely mail downloaded. He uses its mobile
to help out a local charity group. for checking its financial position.

10. SKYPE VIDEO PAGES
Making the Online Experience Relevant
Premi
NAV
um
HP Video Down DL
Free
Featu
Free
res
Busin
ess

11. SKYPE VIDEO PAGES
Making the Online Experience Relevant
Premi
NAV
um
HP Video
Down DL
HP Free
Featu
Free
res
Busin
ess
1. Visits entering the HP searching for Free Video Calling
2. HP Clicks analyse (usage of the Navigation vs. Feature elements and
Search Box)
3. Visits to the Video HP by sources
4. Visits/Clicks to the Download Button by sources
5. Visits/Clicks to Free Skype by sources
6. Visit/Clicks to the Business Link behind the Free Skype Offer by
sources.
7. Video usage.
THE AMOUNT OF OPTIONS AND PATHS SHOULD NEVER OVERWHELM THE USER

12. SKYPE HELP PAGES
Making the Online Experience Relevant
Best Resea Now
Supp Fit t Check
Searc Acco
ort email
unt
HP h
FAQ
Not Easy
Readable
Not always
Relevant

13. SKYPE MY ACCOUNT PAGES
Making the Online Experience Relevant
1. How Visitors check for help – Forum vs. HP redirect (and Search)
2. Time spent on HP before clicking on the Support Link
3. How many search done in the Help search box (search refinery)
before landing to the relevant page
4. Best Fit vs. FAQ lists – does anyone read the glossary?
5. Time laps from resetting the account and the email received
6. Click from the email and successful resetting account
TIME LAPS SHOULD BE MONOTORED AS WELL AS USERS THAT HAVE TO
MANUALLY TYPE THE TOLKEN CODE.

14. SKYPE SMALL BUSINESS
Making the Online Experience Relevant
Not easy
Readable nor
intuitive

15. SKYPE SMALL BUSINESS PAGES
Making the Online Experience Relevant
NAV
Top
Acco
HP Story B HP SMEs MNG Trial
unt
Acco
unt
Acco
unt
Acco
Featu
unt
Acco
res
unt
1. How users search for Business call: Keyphrase analyses (voip explained
page!)
2. Search Optimised for US version
3. HP clicks analyses – depth of visitors
4. Path analysis – usage for each page – abandonment rate
5. Time spent on this section: are picts of any help?
6. Usage analyse: how users interact with the overwhelming and unclear
options
THE AMOUNT OF OPTIONS AND PATHS SHOULD NEVER OVERWHELM THE USER

17. TEST
Making the Online Experience Relevant

18. Q&A?