Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 1 iPhone App for Travelers Usability Test Results Conducted by Jayne Schurick Usability Consultant (408)

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 2 Objectives 1.Determine whether the iPhone app for travelers is simple and intuitive for searching and filtering properties and contacting owners. 2.Set up a process for on-going testing of mobile apps.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 3 Test Format and Participants One-on-one sessions between moderator and participants were conducted at Google Venture’s StartUp Lab in Mountain View, CA. Using AirPlay and AirServer, an iPhone 5 screen was mirrored to a laptop. HomeAway observers viewed the laptop remotely via WebEx. A Bay Area Craig’s List ad looking for people who are interested in private vacation rentals and have an iPhone yielded 10 respondents in about 8 hours; 8 were scheduled and 7 completed the study (1 cancelled).

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 4 Findings

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 5 Home Screen The home screen is visually appealing, looks easy to use, and has good affordance (i.e., pictures and branding tell users what the app is about). Even though the sign-in functionality wasn’t yet implemented, it competes for attention with the search bar; participants weren’t sure if they could just search or had to sign in first. One participant didn’t know what “ID” refers to.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 6 Home Screen Participants recognized and liked the appearance of matching results as they were keying in their destination.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 7 Home Screen One participant entered “4 bedroom South Lake Tahoe” and didn’t get any results. The label “keyword” in the search bar indicates that this should be a legitimate search. When there are no results, the screen is empty and black, and the participant didn’t know what had happened and what to do next.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 8 Home Screen After looking at a results page, participants expected the search icon to take them back to the home screen. When they landed on this screen, they commented about not knowing where they were, wanting to go to the home screen, and not liking the dark empty page.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 9 Search Results: Picture View Participants appreciated the large pictures and weren’t afraid to explore by tapping the different icons. Some participants didn’t recognize the filter icon, but all found it while exploring or when looking for a way to filter the number of properties shown.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 10 Search Results: List View There were no issues with this screen. Participants recognized it as an alternative to the scrolling picture view.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 11 Search Results: Map View The map generally worked as expected. One participant really appreciated how the number of results updates as the map is moved and zoomed. Because properties are listed by number of bedrooms and not by a name, it’s hard to connect the mapped properties with those on the picture and list views. One participant suggested showing nearby attractions, like Google maps.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 12 Travel Dates Unless they read the prompts, participants weren’t clear about how to select a departure date. One tried to tap each date she wanted, another tried to drag across dates. One participant, who wanted to travel in June 2014, wanted a faster way to get to a month in the future. He suggested a date picker drop-down. The key indicates that unavailable dates are shown in gray, but, as shown in the screenshot, gray indicates dates in the non-current month. Unavailable dates are actually gray with a line through them. After selecting dates, participants expected an OK or confirm function. The back arrow indicates “go back” (and perhaps cancel).

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 13 Sort There were no issues except that no one knew what “HomeAway Sort” means and users generally want to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 14 Slider Filters All but two participants immediately knew how to interact with the slider. The two who didn’t couldn’t figure it out. One tried over and over to tap the words; the other returned to the previous screen to look for a different way to select number of bedrooms. One said it looks like a progress bar. At this point, participants were generally used to and ok with the back arrow to accept their selection.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 15 Filters Because they had gotten used to not having to confirm their selections and using the icon in the upper left position to continue, many participants tapped the X and were surprised that their results weren’t filtered. One participant, who had some experience with UX design, said that “check in” and “check out” aren’t filters; they are actions. “Availability” would be a filter.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 16 Property Page Again, participants liked the large picture and intuitively knew to scroll down to see more information. Some, but not all, knew to scroll to the right to view more pictures. When asked if the border of the next picture indicated to them that there were additional pictures, they said they didn’t notice it until it was pointed out.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 17 Availability Participants expected to interact with the availability calendar. If they had filtered by date, they also expected to see their dates on the availability calendar.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 18 Contact Owner When first coming to this screen, it’s not clear whether the contact information is for you/the user or the owner. Several participants paused to think about what they need to enter. One participant said the phone number should be optional; if it is required, he said he would quit the app. To one participant, “check in” and “check out” sound too corporate, too hotel-like. He liked the terms “arrival” and “departure” that are used on the calendar. One participant said she’s always confused about whether her 15 and 16 year old daughters should be entered as adults or children. One participant said he would expect to enter the number of pets (if allowed at the property). Participants didn’t recognize the right arrow and its location as continue/next. They expected something at the bottom, below the form.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 19 Contact Owner If they had filtered by date, participants expected to see their dates on this calendar. On this calendar, users do have to confirm their date selection, unlike the filter calendar.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 20 Terms & Conditions Like on most websites, participants blindly accepted the terms and conditions without even looking at them. The few who did said this is way too much information to present on a mobile device. One asked if just the important points could be presented in a list.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 21 Home Screen One participant asked for an editable message template. A couple of participants didn’t recognize the paper airplane icon, and a couple said it’s “too cute.”

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 22 Recommendations Home Screen On the home screen, visually downplay the “Sign In” button so it doesn’t compete with the property search bar. Search and Search Results On the search bar, change “ID” to “Property ID.” If a search yields no results, have users search again from the home screen (either put them on the home screen with a message saying there were no results, or present the message with an action to return to the home screen). On all screens, make the search icon go to the home screen. In search results, use property names so users can easily connect properties on the map with the picture and list views. Sort and Filter In the sort drop-down, add “(Default)” to the HomeAway Sort so even if users don’t know what “HomeAway Sort” means, they will at least recognize it as the default sort order. Consider changing the “Check In and Check Out” filter to “Availability.”

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 23 Recommendations On filters, add an option to accept/confirm each filter (top right) and distinguish it from cancel (top left). On the calendar filter, remove the key for unavailable dates and special deals. On the calendar filter, consider additional ways to select arrival and departure dates, such as tapping each date or dragging…OR display the selected arrival and departure dates more prominently (using color and/or font size) so users are more likely to detect if their selections are incorrect. If the use case is high enough, consider additional ways to select a month in the future, e.g., date picker drop-down. Continue using slider filters (because they are efficient and work well) but work on a design that better communicates how to use them. Property Page Think of other/additional ways of indicating that there are more pictures to the right, such as an arrow or other cue. If users have selected check in and check out dates, display those on the owner’s availability calendar and allow users to change them.

Mobile App Usability Test Results Conducted June 7, 2013 Page 24 Recommendations Add the key to the availability calendar and the don’t use the same coding for unavailable dates as was used to indicate dates not in the current month on the check in/out calendar. Contact Owner On the contact owner screen, add “Your” in front of the first and last name fields. Make the user’s phone number optional. Change “check in” and “check out” to “arrival” and “departure.” Indicate the age below which someone is considered a child. Put the option to continue at the bottom, after the form and label it “Next” so users know there’s more to the contact process. If users had filtered by date or selected dates on the owner’s calendar, show those dates with an option to change them. Consider shortening the terms and conditions to a short bulleted list. Offer a message template with an option to edit it.