Understanding Your Audience

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Upon looking at the TaylorMade website, I concluded that while there are a lot of good qualities on the site, a redesign is necessary. I conducted a few evaluation methods to determine what changes needed to be made. The methods I used were: A Comparative Analysis, User Personas, Interviews, Surveys, Card Sorts, Empathy Maps, Bodystorming, and Usability Testing.

I started by explaining why TaylorMade’s website needed a redesign. One reason is that too much is going on, creating an unpleasant experience for the user. Another reason is that they need to compete with other golf websites such as Titleist and Callaway. TaylorMade’s website is not as user-friendly as Titleist and Callaway’s website. After explaining why a redesign was necessary, I did a comparative analysis. The comparative analysis showed that the significant weakness of TaylorMade is that there are too many things on one page, making things difficult for a user to understand.

I then created three personas of potential users of TaylorMade’s website. The first persona created was someone who is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. The second persona created was a financial advisor who plays golf on the weekends during the summer. The third persona created was a retired individual who is not the best golfer but likes to golf with his friends to show off his money, so he always needs the best and newest golf equipment. After creating the three user personas, I conducted an Interview. The goal of the interview was to determine what users want to achieve when visiting the TaylorMade website and whether they can achieve those goals. Following the interview, I conducted a 20-question, closed-ended survey that will assist in creating the best possible user experience. The survey participants were promised that their results would be anonymous, making them give honest answers.

After the survey, I conducted two card-sorting exercises. The first card sorting exercise consisted of sorting the different features of TaylorMade’s golf irons. The second card sorting exercise consisted of sorting the different names of clubs to what type of club they were. Doing these two card sorts allowed me to gather precise intel to figure out what needs to change to make things easier for the user and determine which is easier for users to comprehend. I touched upon Empathy Maps and their importance, stating that they allow you to get to know your users. I briefly touched upon Bodystorming as well. Bodystorming allows you to put yourself in the “body” of someone else to experience how they would navigate something. Not only does Bodystorming allow you to better understand the problem at hand, but it also provides you with instant feedback, lower costs, and an increase in collaboration. The final thing I did was Usability Testing. During the Usability Testing method, three participants were observed using the TaylorMade Website and were asked to complete various tasks. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected with these tests along with different factors for the participants completing the tasks. The three participants were all tested in person, and none have previously used TaylorMade’s website.

I learned a lot during the process and am pleased with what I learned. This experience gave me an in-depth overview of how people view TaylorMade’s website and what must change. Please see my entire report below.

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