Date: July 7, 2018

To: Memoman McGee

From: Zach Gadoury
Subject: Suggested changes for weather forecast instructions.
Reference: Usability study performed on users of the original instructions.
Action Required: Forecast instructions should be updated by 7/26/2018 at 11:55 p.m.
Distribution List: All weather.com employees

This memo’s purpose is to inform weather.com employees about suggested changes to

the “How to tell the forecast” instructions, based on a usability study done on the original
instructions. The usability team ran the usability study on three different subjects, results
follow.

Summary of Usability Test

Three tests were done on the usability of the instructions, this includes: average time of
completion, notes taken during the study by the study giver, and the results of a short
questionnaire, containing both open and close ended questions, which were asked
following the completion of the instructions. The results portion includes areas of
strengths, weaknesses, and the results of the questionnaire previously mentioned.
Following that is a section dedicated to recommended changes to the original document
in order to make them clearer and user friendly. After the recommendations is a copy of
the original instructions, followed by a copy of the new instructions which has been
changed based on the result of the study.

Test Objective
The purpose of the test was to determine the usability and clarity of the instructions on
how to predict the chance of lightning using weather.com. The test looks at the
organization, accessibility, clarity, completeness, and visual aids, or the lack of visual
aids.
Results

Areas of Strength
There were a few areas of strength within the memo that need little to no changes.
Initial impressions were that the instructions were easy to follow. The test subject’s
consensus was that the wording was very clear and simple enough to follow, without
problem. The font size and type was also chosen well.

Areas of Improvement
The layout of the instructions were described as being good; however, during the study I
found most of the users would take a few seconds to find the step they were on again
after tabbing back over. Another big issue was the lack of description of the search bar.
The original instructions pointed out where the search bar was, but the site has two
separate search bars with different functions. Not describing specifically which search
bar to use caused the user to stumble for quite a while trying to decide which one to
use. The instructions also assume the user is going to be using the blue search bar,
which creates a lot of unneeded steps and complication. Using the black search bar
instead makes it much easier to complete the task. The biggest complaint received was
the lack of visual aids to help guide the user through the steps. The website can be a
tad overwhelming, and without these aids it was difficult, at times, for the user to work
through the step they were on. There was also a bit of unneeded text at steps four and
five. This unneeded text follows on the assumption of the search bar the user was
using, which, as previously mentioned, needed to be clarified to create consistency in
the user experience.

Questionnaire

Close ended questions

Three close ended questions were asked. They were based on a scale of one to ten,
ten being the most difficult to complete the mentioned task. Below are the questions and
the average number given.
Close ended question one: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the hardest, how hard
were the directions to follow? The average answer given was 1.3 repeating.
Close ended question two: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the hardest, how hard
was it to read the front with its current type and size? The average answer given was 2.
Close ended question three: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the hardest, how hard
was it to tell the individual steps apart? The average answer given was 3.33 repeating.

Open ended questions

Four open ended questions were asked. They prompted the user to give unguided
critiques. Below are the questions and a summation of the answers given to the
questions.
Open ended question one: What are your first impressions of the design of the
instructions? The subjects said the design is very minimalistic. They pointed out there
were no visual aids in the instructions. They also had a problem with the lack of
specificity of certain steps, mainly step three, four, and five. Otherwise the design was
easy to follow.
Open ended question two: Are the instructions clear and easy to follow? The general
thoughts on this question were that the instructions were easy to follow. Not many
comments were said about it.
Open ended question three: What would you add to the instructions to make them
easier to follow? All three subjects said adding visual aids would make the instructions
easier to follow. They all also suggested working on the wording of question number
four, often the user would get stuck on this question as it wasn’t very clear.
Open ended question four: Any final thoughts? Asking about final thoughts allowed the
user to express any issues not covered by any of the questions. The most common
thought was the addition of visual aids. Otherwise they generally said it was easy to
read.

Recommendations

Based on the results of the study there are a few recommended changes. The biggest
issue found was the assumed use of the blue search bar instead of the black. The
instructions should use the black search bar, and make it clear where this bar is. Adding
a description of the bar and a visual aid with the search bar and a clear distinction within
the picture of the search bar will eliminate confusion when confronted with the two
search bars. Because this change has been made, all the steps relating to the original
search bar should be rewritten; this includes steps three through five. Steps one and
two can also be combined, telling the user to open the internet browser to go to a
certain website is a bit redundant. The physical steps the user must take, for example
“click the appropriate city”, should be bolded to inform the user that is the action to be
taken on this step. There should be five steps instead of eight. The lower amount is due
to the rewriting of steps three through five, as well as the combining of step seven.
These steps are both informative steps to tell the user what to look for on the page, and
since these steps coincide with one another as far as needed information, they should
be combined.
One of the biggest things is the addition of visual aids. Visual aids should be added to
steps two through five, to compliment the instructions. Pointing out the button, or search
bar they needed to use with a red/blue box tells exactly where on the page the user
should be looking. On step five, there are two colored boxes outlining certain parts of a
chart. The title of the chart mentioned in the step should be colored to match the color of
the box so the user knows where to look for the respective information. The users often
had trouble finding their place when switching back to the instructions from the website.
To fix this clear headings should be added for each step instead of just a numbered list.
Its recommended they stand out more than anything else, other than the title of the
document, this will allow the user to go back to the step without any issue; In this case a
black text box was inserted with white text, this adds a clear distinction from the rest of
the document. More white space between steps will create a better separation of
information and add organization. Below each step should be a line to separate the
steps more. The font size of the step descriptions should be increased to allow easier
reading.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the study preformed with three subjects on the usability of the
original instructions, there are a few weak areas that should be changed. These
changes should be based on the recommendations and a copy of changes made to the
original are attached under Appendixes. The changes should mainly focus on adding
visuals and clarifying a few of the steps, as well as changing the search bar used in the
original directions.

Appendixes
Original:
Below are the original instructions followed by the instructions with the recommended
changes.

How to predict the chance of Thunderstorms

Overview: The following instructions were created to inform a user how to predict the
chance of a thunderstorm in the next 10 days in a certain location. These instructions
assume the user has access to a computer and the internet.

1. Open an internet browser of your choice

2. In the address bar type: www.weather.com
3. Once the site has loaded, click in the search bar labeled “Search by city, zip or
place to save a location”
4. Type the city or zip you wish to know the weather forecast for, select the city in
the correct state once the box drops down with different options.
a. Important: make sure the city is spelled correctly or the search results will
not be correct.
b. NOTE: It is possible to add more than one city to your navigation bar in
order to view their weather.
5. The city will appear in a blue box next to the search box, click the appropriate
city.
6. The box that appears will be the current forecast. Scroll down below the map to
the box that says “NEXT 36 HOURS” and click the blue text link that says “10
DAYS ”
7. This will take the user to the 10 day forecast. The DESCRIPTION lists the
weather for that day. If the description has the word “Thunderstorms” in it, there
is a chance for lightning that day.
8. A good rule of thumb is to use the “PERCIP” chance to decide how likely
lightning will be present. If there’s lightning there is often rain.
Revised:

How to Predict the Chance of Thunderstorms

Overview

The following instructions were created to inform a user how to predict

the chance of a thunderstorm in the next 10 days in a certain location.
These instructions assume the user has access to a computer and the
internet.

Step 1

Open an internet browser of your choice ad go to the website

www.weather.com
Step 2

Look at the top of the page for a black search bar (see below). Type the
City and State you wish to view.
Step 3

Search for the appropriate city in the drop down box that appears. Click
the appropriate city.
Step 4

Scroll down below the map to the box with the title “Next 36 hours.”
Click the link “10 DAYS”
Step 5

Look at the chart of the weather for the next 10 days.

TIP: The “DESCRIPTION” portion of the table says “Scattered
Thunderstorms” or “Thunderstorms” there is a chance for lightning that
day. A good rule of thumb is to look at the “PERCIP” chance to figure out
the likelihood of lightning that day.