ZURBlog is where we discuss product design, business and strategy.

Recently you've seen how you can use Verify for some unorthodox purposes, like investigating watch-wearing trends or seeing whether people will switch to Verizon for the iPhone, or stay with AT&T. Today we thought we'd show you how you can use Verify for a more topical purpose: evaluating the usability difference in two competing services.

The Setup

For the test we wanted to see how usable Craigslist and eBay Classifieds were when a user needed to find a specific category. In this case we went with motorcycles, something we were reasonably sure would be represented using similar terms on each service, and that most people wouldn't be visiting on a frequent basis.

Using Verify we created a Linked Test, which is two or more tests strung together into one flow for test takers. In that linked test we created two click tests, one for each service asking users to click on where they'd go to view motorcycle listings.

The Analysis

Click tests obviously show you where people click - what they also do is show you how long it took the user to click. For this test we wanted to see not only an overall view of whether people found the category but also how quickly they did so.

To accomplish that we exported each tests' raw data to CSV format, which gave us the precise time it took to click. We could then use a simple spreadsheet tool (in our cases Google Docs) to average the time it took for each test.

The Results

On average, it took Craigslist users 31.5 seconds to click on the Motorcycles category. In contrast it took those same users on eBay Classifieds 14.8 seconds. That's with the clear outliers removed in favor of Craigslist. To find an uncommon category like Motorcycles, it takes users on eBay roughly half the time it takes users of Craigslist.

Also of interest was the actual click map. While time was important for this test, it's also useful to accompany that with the click data.

As you can see, testers looking at eBay Classifieds overwhelmingly clicked in the same place. While the incidence of clicking the correct category was also high on Craigslist there was a great deal more uncertainty - people indicated they would try and search and check under automotive services, as well as many who clearly didn't want to try and find it, so clicked anywhere else on the page.

The Conclusion

With about 80 respondents there's certainly a trend indicated by these results that eBay Classifieds does a better job of more usably displaying the breadth of its categories and services. This despite the fact that Craigslist is much more popular - we could assume people are more familiar with Craigslist, and still find eBay Classifieds easier and faster to use.

Would you consider using eBay Classifieds based on its usability? Or does Craigslist's dominance mean you'll head there, no matter how annoying it is to find something? Let us know in the comment!

Collect and analyze user feedback quickly with Verify.

At ZURB we've been helping people and organizations make better use of design since 1998. During that time we've learned some important lessons about the design process, lessons we've been translating into applications for everyone to use.

Lessons like the importance of focused feedback gave rise to our flagship product, Notable; we're now bringing our understanding of early user feedback and testing to everyone through the newest addition to our product family: Verify.

What is Verify?

Verify is the fastest way to collect and analyze user feedback. Verify is surprisingly simple to use: select a screenshot (or screenshots) to test, choose a test type, and then start getting data from your Twitter followers, your internal network, or whoever you want!

Verify will initially have six test types including click tests, 5 second tests and more — we'll be adding tests that help you get useful data over time.

Why Use Verify?

1. Act on data, not intuition. With Verify you can get information quickly that helps you make better decisions. Don't guess at what users will do; find out for yourself!
2. Analytics and Optimizer are too slow. Google has great tools for shaping decisions, but it comes too late. Verify lets you find out early how users will behave, before you invest time and money into development.
3. 3 minute validation. Users won't give you product ideas or open up the problem, but they will validate your concepts and ideas. You can get user feedback in less than 3 minutes.
4. Visual feedback and results. Verify doesn't produce complicated reports or obtuse data points. We present the result visually so you can quickly see what users are doing.

Sign up for the private release!

We'll be inviting people to the private release over the next few weeks. To get early access and start running tests of your own, simply go to verifyapp.com and sign up for the private release. You'll be seeing results, and making better decisions, in no time.

Sign up for Verify »