Usability Testing
Heuristic Evaluation
Universe was evaluated using a formative usability testing approach.
The goal of the evaluation was to identify usability issues, validate design decisions,
and iteratively improve the application during development.
Testing was conducted early and repeatedly to ensure that user's feedback directly
affected design changes.
This initial evaluation was conducted on the early prototype of the application
before user-based testing and followed heuristic principles such as clarity of navigation,
consistency of interaction patterns, and visibility of system status.
Hypotheses and Testable Questions
The usability test was guided by the following hypotheses and testable questions:
- Users can intuitively create, edit, and complete tasks without help
- Users understand the purpose of Exam Mode and are able to activate it when needed
- Users can correctly interpret dashboard information such as priorities and study streaks
- Users can efficiently navigate between the Planner and Calendar views
Usability Test Plan
The usability test focused on how intuitively users could navigate the app
and complete core academic planning tasks such as creating tasks, managing exams,understanding
study Streak and understanding dashboard information.
- Participants: 5 university students aged between 18 and 24
- Data collected: Demographics, prior experience with productivity apps,
task ease ratings (SEQ), System Usability Scale (SUS), and likelihood of recommendation
- Methods: Google Forms questionnaires, note-taking, and
a thinking-aloud protocol during task completion
- Test type: formative usability testing conducted during different
development phases
Pilot Test Findings
Early pilot testing revealed that most usability issues were related to
discoverability, hierarchy, and interaction clarity,
rather than misunderstandings of the core concept.
Users generally understood the purpose of the app but sometimes struggled
to locate certain features efficiently.
- Tasks could not be opened to view full descriptions
- Weekly goals were not editable after creation
- The “Link” field caused confusion and lacked clarity
- The onboarding flow led users to Login instead of Registration
- Cards did not consistently link to detailed views
- Cards were not clickable
- Dashboard cards did not clearly lead to the Calendar or Planner
- Task and exam entry types were not visually distinguished
- High-priority and overdue items were not clickable
Usability Test Results
Overall, the usability test results were very positive.
Participants rated Universe as intuitive and suitable for everyday academic use.
- Intuitiveness: All participants rated the app in the upper range
- Daily use: 80% of participants stated they would use Universe
- Recommendation: 80% rated their likelihood of recommending Universe
to a friend as 10 out of 10
- SUS score: The application achieved an overall
System Usability Scale score of 85
A SUS score of 85 is considered excellent and well above
the industry average.
Interpretation of Results
The results suggest that the overall design concept of Universe is effective
and aligns well with user expectations for a student productivity tool.
Identified issues were mainly related to navigation clarity and feature visibility.
Changes Based on User Feedback
- Weekly goals were moved from the Profile screen to the Dashboard
- Task and exam type selection was moved higher in the creation flow
- A pop-up explanation was added to clarify the study streak feature
- Task details can now be viewed immediately after creation
- Dashboard cards now has the option to navigate to the Calendar or Planner
- The onboarding flow now directs users to Registration instead of Login
- The optional link/URL field was removed to simplify task creation
- A background was added to the study streak timer to improve visibility
