Case Study: Gaming Gears

Usability testing for this project uncovered key areas for improvement. In the first round, users expressed the need for an additional review page before finalizing their purchase, leading to its implementation in the next iteration of the design. They also sought clearer explanations of character stats in their profiles, which I addressed with detailed tooltips. Two users encountered difficulties during the payment process, in response to which I introduced a stepper at the top of the screen to help users track their progress. I also defined over a dozen local variables for the shopping cart so users can play around with it to their heart’s content.

In the second round of testing, one user remarked, “I really enjoyed the shopping experience; the gamified aspect was fun and I was able to learn about it in more detail as I explored the app.” This feedback validated our design approach. Additionally, accessibility was a priority, with a fly-out navigation menu being designed for better readability and color contrast ratios meeting WCAG standards.

In conclusion, this project managed to successfully balance user enjoyment with functional improvements to the online shopping experience. The next steps will involve a bottom-up (progressive enhancement) approach for compatibility with more devices, improved metrics for personalized recommendations, and continuing to optimize for accessibility and inclusivity.