Art Gallery of Ontario
Improving the "Book A Ticket" task flow by conducting a heuristic evaluation and applying design changes
DURATION
2 Weeks
ROLE
UX Designer
UI Designer
DEVICE
Desktop
TEAM
Akhila Liyanage
Lindsay Sands
OUR GOAL
CHOSEN TASK
The mission of the AGO is to bring people together with art to see, experience, and understand the world in new ways. We hoped to facilitate this mission by implementing design enhancements that allow users to more seamlessly immerse themselves in the gallery's digital landscape.
The task flow we chose to assess, purchasing a ticket, is a critical interaction point between users and the AGO's digital ecosystem. By focusing on this task, we aimed to enhance the user experience, ensuring a seamless and engaging entry point for visitors.
EVALUATION FRAMEWORK
We employed Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics as the foundational framework for evaluating the AGO's digital experience. Nielsen's heuristics provided a widely accepted and comprehensive set of guidelines, offering a structured approach to identify usability issues and enhance overall user satisfaction.
#1: Visibility of System Status
#2: Match Between System & Real World
#3: User Control & Freedom
#4: Consistency & Standards
#5: Error Prevention
#6: Recognition Rather Than Recall
#7: Flexibility & Efficiency of Use
#8: Aesthetic & Minimalist Design
#9: Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, & Recover from Errors
#10: Help & Documentation
Illustrations by MobileLIVE & Haseeb Danyal
SEVERITY SCALE
HEURISTIC VIOLATION #1
Location: Admission Type
User Action: Selects the 'Book Your Tickets' card to proceed to purchase
HEURISTIC VIOLATION #2
Location: Date Picker
User Action: Selects a date then clicks the 'Admission' CTA to proceed to the next screen
HEURISTIC VIOLATION #3
Location: Shopping Cart
User Action: Selects ticket type and clicks 'Add to Cart' to checkout
HEURISTIC VIOLATION #4
Location: Checkout
User Action: Completes checkout form then selects “Review Order”
THE DESIGN IMPACT
The applied design changes to the Art Gallery of Ontario's 'Purchase a Ticket' task flow will significantly enhance the user experience.
By establishing a consistent interface, empowering users with control over their interactions, and proactively preventing errors, the task flow now offers a more intuitive, reliable, and user-friendly journey, fostering increased user engagement and satisfaction.
KEY LEARNINGS
#1: Refining CTA labels can reduce strain during the user’s ticket buying journey, so it's imperative that labels are clear and action-oriented.
#2: Button states, including inactive, active, and hover, offer visual cues and feedback to improve user interaction and enhance navigation.
#3: By solidifying error prevention, we can enhance efficiency, mitigate risks, and deliver increased reliability to the user.
All these improvements ensure users can more seamlessly immerse themselves in AGO's digital ecosystem.