What is the sites purpose? In their own words: Barnes &
Noble.com leverages the power of the Barnes & Noble brand to
offer online customers the Web's premier destination for books,
eBooks, magazines, toys & games, music, DVD and Blu-ray, video
games, and related products and services. Provide an easy and
convenient online store for purchase of books Provide support for
issues with purchases or products Work with local stores to provide
quick access to desired product Who is/are the target user
group(s)? Consumers of print and digital media What is/are the
target user group trying to achieve on the site? Purchase desired
items Download content and media for nook devices Receive support
for wrong, damaged, or digital items
Slide 3
Task 1 Locate if a copy of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is
available in a local store Task 2 Locate the upcoming music
CDs/titles that will be released March 6th Task 3 You have a
(hypothetical) Barnes & Noble membership card, locate your
number online
Slide 4
Time to Complete Notes User 14 minutesScrolled up and down
books page several times, commented that link used to be larger
User 23 minutesScrolled to bottom of page before returning to
appropriate link User 35 minutesLeft appropriate page several
times, confused by connection of online to physical store Locate if
a copy of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is available in a local
store
Slide 5
Time to CompleteNotes User 17 minutesConfused by lack of an
easy tab tried using filters and ended up finding answer in a very
complicated use of at least 5 narrowing features User 25
minutesTried an easy search of music but then guessed at looking
under electronics then music then coming soon User 39
minutesSearched music then got frustrated at the lack of choices
for finding music, drifted through site but actually gave up rather
than find an answer Locate the upcoming music CDs/titles that will
be released March 6th
Slide 6
Minutes to Complete Notes User 1Greater than 5 Went to my
account, through bn account, looked to bottom of page for guidance,
found bn membership then manage my profile User 2Greater than 5
Went to bn membership then FAQs, reached log on prompt for bn
online account (but different from bn membership) found a phone #
to call to ask User 3Greater than 5 Has a bn account, logged in,
then spent the time looping through the membership support getting
more frustrated, found page to connect online account to membership
but did not know membership number You have a (hypothetical) Barnes
& Noble membership card, locate your number online *This task
can be called an impossible one as there is no way to do this
online. Having dealt with the frustrations of this myself I wanted
to see how others would react. Thus I cut everyone off after 5
minutes.
Slide 7
Links to music are hidden in obscure places, with user 2
claiming to not want to use the site ever again because of the
confusing manner it took to find music, or to go to the advertisers
linked on the side of the page Customers with the paid membership
card have no way to look up their number to connect it to their
online account The locate in store button is not prominent enough
to make a customers online to instore experience smooth. Some
products lack it completely Severe Less Severe
Slide 8
The convenient search box on the top left of the sight is
prominent and even tries to complete the search, making it easier
to find popular titles. All users would start their search there
for any task given The filters offered to narrow a search are
helpful in finding what you want. User 2 completed a task using
solely filters since the front page tabs failed The bottom of pages
and the site map offer simple paths to what you are looking for
based on product, membership, or support
Slide 9
Where music currently rests It can also be found under
electronics in the same manner
Slide 10
I know that physical cd sales are decreasing, but I feel hiding
the link to it is just alienating those customers from your company
If you dont want a music tab in you main bar change DVDs to
something like entertainment that includes both categories
Slide 11
Customers who have the membership card are in a sense VIPs,
because they pay for the benefits. In store their number can be
searched by email, phone number, address, and name and zip code.
There are no options to search online
Slide 12
Join! Sign up today! But you already have one, so this doesnt
help.
Slide 13
Manage your profile, which you cant do without the number
Slide 14
Log in to manage your account which simply takes you to a point
where you can add your membership number if you know it
Slide 15
The only support they give is a number to call to get your
number. I dont know how hard it is to implement a search option to
find your membership number by your phone number but as they
already use this service in stores I feel they should extend it to
their online customers for convenience across the board.
Slide 16
Make the locate in store link larger, allowing customers to
decide which method would be more convenient for them
Slide 17
State that textbooks are only available online Nothing alerts
that this is an online only item and thus many customers are
frustrated to arrive in store to find there are no textbooks
Slide 18
These changes would make finding these categories or specific
information as easy as searching for a single item in the main
search box The website is very easy if you know what you want to
buy but lacks in its browsing features
