Gain an appropriate understanding of users by applying an appropriate design philosophy
THE BRIEFIntroduction This is an individual assignment and you are asked to conduct usability evaluations on Steps to Wellbeing Service’s website and produce a new design based on evaluation findings. Learning Outcomes Assessed
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Sample Answer
Usability Evaluation and Redesign of the ‘Steps to Wellbeing’ Website
1. Introduction
This report focuses on evaluating the current usability of the Steps to Wellbeing Service website and providing a new design based on findings. The aim is to understand the users, identify problems in the current design, and propose improvements that follow a user-centred design (UCD) approach.
2. Understanding the Users
To begin the evaluation, it`s important to know who the main users of the website are. The Steps to Wellbeing service supports people with mental health issues. Likely users include:
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Adults seeking mental health support
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People with anxiety, stress, or depression
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Carers or family members of patients
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NHS professionals referring patients
Design Philosophy Used: User-Centred Design (UCD)
UCD focuses on the needs, tasks, and experiences of users at every stage of the design process. It ensures the product is usable, accessible, and meets user expectations.
3. Usability Evaluation of the Current Website
To evaluate the website, I used two usability methods:
a. Heuristic Evaluation
I used Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics to assess the site. Key findings include:
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Visibility of System Status: The site does not clearly show what page the user is on.
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Match Between System and Real World: The language used is mostly clear, but some medical terms may confuse users.
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Consistency and Standards: Menu layout is not always consistent between mobile and desktop views.
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Error Prevention: There are few clear error messages or confirmation prompts on forms.
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Aesthetic and Minimalist Design: Some pages feel crowded with too much text, which can overwhelm users with anxiety.
b. User Testing (Observation and Feedback)
I asked three users to complete simple tasks such as:
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Booking an appointment
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Finding out what therapies are available
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Accessing contact information
Findings:
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Users struggled to find how to self-refer.
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Some links were hard to find or broken.
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The homepage was not welcoming or easy to scan.
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On mobile devices, text was small and not well aligned.
4. Redesign Suggestions
Based on the above findings, a new design is proposed:
Homepage Redesign
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Use simple language and friendly visuals
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Add a large, visible “Get Help Now” button
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Shorten text with bullet points and icons
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Make self-referral and contact info easily accessible
Navigation Improvements
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Clear, sticky menu at the top of every page
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Use familiar terms like “Therapies,” “Self-Referral,” and “FAQs”
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Improve mobile responsiveness
Accessibility Features
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Option to change font size
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High contrast mode for visually impaired users
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Add screen reader-friendly tags to all images and buttons
Form Improvements
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Break long forms into smaller steps
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Use clear error messages with suggestions
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Include confirmation messages after submission
Continued...