User Research

The Official Tourism Authority for Dare County’s Outer Banks, also known as the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, is responsible for promoting tourism in Dare County, North Carolina. They provide information, resources, and support to visitors and businesses to enhance the tourism experience and boost the local economy.
A screenshot of the Things to Do landing page from the OBX website

My Role

Lead UX Researcher

Problem

The media team identified three user segments, and the client wanted to know how each segment uses the website. Were there considerable differences? Any shared points? Were they using it during the planning phase or the in-market phase?

Solution

We conducted unmoderated, remote user testing for the three identified segments, covering both mobile and desktop users. While the questions varied slightly, they all focused on the same parts of the website: the homepage, places to eat, places to stay, and a couple of other areas.

First, analyze the problem against UX standards

Starting a user research project can be challenging without first establishing a hypothesis. To develop this, we began with a foundational website audit, analyzing pages against usability heuristics. We also formulated hypotheses based on user personas. For example, we assumed that people with young children would want family activities presented to them promptly. Additionally, we examined competitors to compare their style, usability, branding, and accessibility with ours.

This approach helps us focus on which parts of the website to test and how to write questions that avoid yes/no responses.

Screenshots from a presentation to the client about needing to be ADA compliant, a need for writing for the web, and a list of competitors

Find Users that Meet Identified Personas

We were able to use Userlytics to set up a personalized session for the three distinct user groups. Part of this included setting up screener questions that would verify if the user actually fit the persona we were seeking to test.

Collage of three different personas: single adults, families, and childless retreaters
A screenshot from Userlytics of a participant working through a scenario

Observe and Take Notes

This part is time-consuming. While there are AI tools available to help summarize the feedback, they come with an extra cost. Instead, we utilized different tools to note eye-opening comments, whether positive or negative. As a UX designer, I also observed common wayfinding patterns. In doing so, I noted that most mobile users across all segments didn't use the mobile navigation. Instead, they used the home page to navigate to other parts of the site.

Use Affinity Diagramming to Identify Themes

Affinity diagramming was an efficient way to group notes and identify patterns. Key insights we discovered included:

1. Frustrating website parts were not ADA-compliant, even for users without disabilities.
2. UX audit issues, like the need to exit mobile filters, were echoed by participants.
3. Many users were unaware of the Outer Banks (OBX) location.

We also found that families specifically wanted a quick way to view kid-friendly activities. Being able to identify these themes helped us create a plan on how we could move forward with actually making these changes.

Single adults enjoyed the variety of information  but had trouble getting through all the contentFamilies wanted a way to see children-related content faster bur liked the Yelp reviews and all the informationChildless retreaters had trouble skimming through content but like that the videos and Yelp reviews

So what's next?

During the testing phase, we gathered valuable user feedback and made several iterations to the design. This iterative process allowed us to refine and improve the user experience. Users praised the modern and clean design, and found it easy to navigate. We took their suggestions into consideration and implemented changes that enhanced the overall usability. Our goal was to create a seamless and intuitive experience for our target audiences, which include large corporations and businesses. By incorporating user feedback, we ensured that our design met their needs and expectations. The testing phase was crucial in validating our design decisions and ensuring a high-quality user experience.

A collage of images showing parts of the final report: takeaways, a journey map, next steps and learnings, and user profiles

Let's talk!

Not sure where to start? Let's start with a 30 minute conversation on what your obstacle may be and how I can help.