From Assumptions to Evidence: Competitive Benchmarking Web Ordering Performance
Project Overview
A qualitative study running usability tests on our design and on the designs of our top two competitors. This study is focused on specific user tasks and gives an in-depth look at key areas and functions of the site.
My Contributions
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Outlined study goals and metrics
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Identified competitors and test criteria
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Created test script
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Analysis & documentation of results
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Determined formal recommendations / next steps
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Communicated results to stakeholders
- My Process -
Web Order Competitive Benchmark:
Goal of Repeatable Benchmarking:
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Measure our design vs our top-identified competitors
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Take an in-depth look at how our competitors solve the same problems
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What they are doing
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How they are doing it
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What is and is not working for them
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Track improvements of the experience over time while also tracking
the improvements of our competitors
Occurrence
Quarterly
Approach
I chose to approach this study as an unmoderated usability test, so as to not influence the natural decision-making of the user. This also allowed user's to complete the study in a realistic environmental context.
Recruitment Method
For this benchmark, I recruited participants through UserTesting.com. All participants were set in the same geographic location, identified as one of our main target markets. Each participant went through a screener of having ordered a similar type of cuisine on mobile web order in the past to allow for feedback to be compared to past experiences.
Challenges
Due to the ordering experience requiring participants to enter personal information such as address, name and payment details, I was unable to run a full test with participants placing a real order. This restriction came with the software I was using, Usertesting.com not allowing for the capture of any personal identifying information. As a result, I provided users with an address and payment details which they were asked to enter during the task.
Core Tasks
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Input delivery address
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Browse the menu & add items to order
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Navigate to the checkout
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Add payment details
Metrics
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Successful task completion: % of tasks that test participants complete correctly
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Critical errors: Errors that block the user from successfully completing a task
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Non-critical errors: Error that does not affect the ability to successfully complete a task but does impose a lag in the experience
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Task Satisfaction: How participants felt about the task
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Test Satisfaction: How participants felt about the overall experience
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SUPR-Q (Standardised User Experience Percentile Rank Questionnaire)
Outcome
From this study, I was able to identify key areas for improvement and build a foundation for what makes a mobile web order experience 'Best-in-class'.
What is most important to our users:
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Social Desirability: Users are heavily impacted by ratings/reviews when it comes to ordering food online. As white-label platforms are without these, we have to find alternative ways to build trust between the restaurant and the consumer.
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Convenience: A user's primary motive for ordering food is the fact that it is low effort. Their goal is low effort — high reward.
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Efficiency: Users are most likely to order online when with at least one other person. The faster they can get back to their social environment the better the experience.
Next Steps
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Recommendations presented to PMs & Head of Product
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Recommendations to be translated into backlog items in Jira (ranked by severity)
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Follow-up benchmark to run in the next quarter
