Task 1 – Update Status

Task 1 (Update Status) was chosen because the feature to update status was visible and located near the top of the Prioritised version and the Facebook mobile version, and visible and located at the top of the actual Facebook full site version. All participants successfully completed task 1 on both versions.

Two places where users can update their status on the Facebook full site are on the Home page and the Profile page as illustrated in Figure 7.1.

Update status on the Profile page Update status on the Home page

Figure 7.1 Update status features on the Home page and the Profile page of the Facebook full site

96 Update Status on the Prioritised Version

Similarly, on the Prioritised version 12 participants updated their status on the Home page and one on the Profile page. Figure 7.2 illustrates the two locations where status could be updated on the Prioritised version.

Of the 12 participants who used the Home page, 11 updated their status on the Home page when they immediately spotted the update status box. However, the other participant overlooked the status box and had to click the link ‘more...’ first before realizing that the status box was actually at the top of the page.

In contrast, one participant went to the Profile page to perform the task as he claimed that was where and how he would normally do it when he used Facebook on his computer. However, once in the Profile page he was having difficulties. Although the status box was at the top on the Profile page (at the same location to the Facebook full site), he overlooked it and started to show his confusion by clicking other links available on the page. The participant claimed that he has forgotten where he could update his status. The participant finally updated his status using the status box after clicking the link Wall on the Profile page.

Update Status on the Facebook Mobile Version

On the Facebook mobile version, participants also updated their status on the Home page and the Profile page, in a similar way to the Facebook full site. Figure 7.3 illustrates the update status features on the Facebook mobile Home page.

Figure 7.2 Update status box available on the Home and Profile page of the Prioritised version

Update status on the

Homepage of the

Prioritised version

Update status on the

Profile page of the

97 Six participants chose to update their status on the Home page. However, most participants faced some difficulties in completing the task. Recalling that the status box was on the Home page of the Facebook full site, participants scrolled down the Home page to find the status box and four participants also, at first, overlooked the box while scrolling. For example, one participant, P1 commented, “I scroll down but I couldn’t find the... oh, it’s very different than on the computer.” The participant was trying to use her experience with the Facebook full site while performing the task as she further added, “I know where I’m going, I’m thinking of the big screen on the computer”.

The other seven participants attempted to update their status on the Edit Profile page. From observation, participants were actually looking for the Profile page (as it would be on the actual Facebook full site version), instead of the Edit Profile as one participant stated, “I will go to Profile” but clicked on the Edit Profile instead. This was because the link Edit Profile appeared on the top main menu where the link Profile is normally located on the Facebook full site. On the Facebook mobile, the link to Profile was located at the bottom of the page. Of the seven participants, six eventually went back to the Home page when they still could not find the status box after visiting a few links (such as wall, info, and Profile) from the Edit Profile page. One of the seven participants managed to update her status after she eventually found the link to Wall from the Edit Profile page. This confusion caused participants to take a longer time completing the task.

It was observed that, by having the status boxes and the link to Profile in locations close to where they are on the familiar Facebook full site, the item could be more easily found on the Prioritised version. In addition, having the items located at the top of the page where participants could immediately notice them, helped participants to quickly use the items.

As users scrolldown on the Home page of Facebook mobile

...

98 However, having the items on the Facebook mobile in places which were different to the full site version caused more scrolling and clicking, caused a few participants to overlook them and contributed to participants’ confusion. Performing task 1, as observed, was easy on both versions but was completed with less scrolling on the Prioritised version.