"[Tess] was patient and did a great job delivering her feedback and explanation, even though it can be difficult delivering constructive feedback to an executive team. We've since implemented much of her suggestions. Would definitely recommend her work."
- Turi Fesler, Director of Marketing at Swapdom
Swapdom is a startup that organizes large circle swaps: I give Zoe my shirt, Zoe gives Claire her pants, and Claire gives me that dress I love. Tens of thousands of users were joining Swapdom. But why were so few actually swapping? Swapdom’s team asked me to help figure that out.
I conducted four in-person usability sessions with first-time Swapdom users. Participants were asked first to look through the site in an open exploration period, and then make a swap.
I showed that users didn’t understand the basic circle swap interaction on the site - and I explained why not. Because they saw swapping as a social activity, they weren’t comfortable clicking on buttons and figuring it out along the way. Users wanted guidance on their first swap. Swapping was more fun when they understand how the site worked behind the scenes.
As a result of my research, Swapdom changed their slogan to be more on point. The created a new video on the home page, with a visual explanation of the swapping process that payed special attention to misunderstandings discovered through my research. Swapdom also re-wrote their “About” page to focus primarily on the service, rather than on Swapdom's team.