Usability Test Report: eBay.com Website - CI6310 Module

This report presents a usability test conducted on eBay.com, evaluating its current features and functionality. The study employs the Common Industry Format (CIF) methodology to assess user performance, satisfaction, and identify areas for improvement. The report includes an introduction and background on eBay, its recent developments, and the existing user interface. It outlines the aims, objectives, and research questions, followed by a detailed description of the methodology, including participant selection, task design, metrics, and procedure. The results section provides an overview of the findings, performance data, identified user experience issues (such as lack of affordance and redundant information), and specific redesign recommendations. The report also includes a discussion of the findings, references, and appendices with detailed supporting materials such as evaluator scripts, questionnaires, and task descriptions. The ultimate goal of this report is to provide actionable insights for enhancing the usability of eBay.com.

Module CI6310
Usability Test Report for eBay.com
Student's name
Institution Affiliation(s)

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction and Background....................................................................................................2
1.1 Recent Developments and Trends..........................................................................................3
1.2 The Existing User Interface...................................................................................................3
2.0 Aims...........................................................................................................................................6
3.0 Method.......................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Method overview...................................................................................................................7
3.2 Participants.............................................................................................................................8
3.3 Tasks......................................................................................................................................8
3.4 Metrics...................................................................................................................................9
3.5 Materials & Tools..................................................................................................................9
3.6 Procedure.............................................................................................................................11
4.0 Results & Recommendations...................................................................................................12
4.1 A brief summary of overall findings....................................................................................12
4.2 Performance Data.................................................................................................................14
4.3 User Experience Issues........................................................................................................16
4.4 Redesign Recommendations................................................................................................17
5.0 Discussion................................................................................................................................20
6.0 References................................................................................................................................22
7.0 Appendices..............................................................................................................................25
7.1 Appendix (a): Evaluator Script............................................................................................25
7.2 Appendix (b): Demographic Questionnaire.........................................................................25
7.3 Appendix (c): Consent Form................................................................................................26
7.4 Appendix (d): Tasks for usability testing.............................................................................26
7.5 Appendix (e): Post-session Questionnaire...........................................................................27
1

2

1.0 Introduction and Background
The most popular website offering retail online auction services is undoubtedly eBay. It
is not just a pioneer of the market, but it can also be considered as a model of e-business (Drake,
Cegielski, & Byrd, 2015). Together with his payment system PayPal, it has revolutionized
commerce and has paved the way for other businesses, particularly retail and trading. However,
together with the success that eBay has been able to achieve is the realization that it needs to stay
competitive and anticipate developments (Tahmasebifard, 2018). In the last few years, there has
been an abundance of other similar services on the internet, some even being sponsored by
industry leaders such as MSN and Yahoo (Pham, Wallenius, & Wallenius, 2015). To be able to
accomplish this, eBay must be able to offer not only quality services but develop new ones based
on the needs of its patrons.
The business goals of the website is to facilitate trade between sellers and buyers in an
online platform globally (Black, 2017). Sellers are able to list their items for sale and parameters
that buyers would require to fulfil in order to qualify to purchase the item. On the other hand,
buyers can brows for any item that is listed and place their bids. Also, eBay.com facilitates
secure payment transactions between buyers and sellers in their online marketplace.
The purpose of this paper is to study eBay and the current features and functionality of
this auction website to learn its competencies and deficiencies. In doing so, the paper will be able
to present ways to improve services or features that can enhance the experience of website users.
The features recommended will be assessed considering their requirements for operation and the
possible partners that the company can have to provide the services. The paper will present the
usability test for the eBay.com website.
3

1.1 Recent Developments and Trends
The online auction business is one of the cores of e-commerce ventures. The
development of the structures permits for consumers to have access to almost an unrestrained
number of goods and traders to an have access to a boundless market. Most online auctions are
usually based on the English system, where the price is increased by interested buyers, unlike the
Dutch system (Zhong & Chang, 2016). Online auction is not only interesting in terms of their
commercial purpose but also provides interesting insights to people. Spaid and Wood (2018),
believe that online auctions are a good example of the objectives of globalization and the
internet.
Businesses on the web, it is important that there is a thorough understanding of how
buyers are motivated to buy (Rahman, Sultana, & Chakravorty, 2018). eBay's competitors, such
as Overstock.com, uBid.com, oZtion.com.au, and eBid, all have their specializations. Overstock,
based in Cottonwood Heights, Utah that sells surpluses; uBid is an identical service with eBay
selling directly by companies and those sold by pre-approved Certified Merchants; Oztion is an
Australian version of eBay, and eBid is an online auction that has its payment service called
PPPay which is similar to eBay's PayPal. Consumers will consider status, security, comfort, and
quality to be the essential requirements of selecting a product or service, and their perception of
this is influenced by factors such as culture, politics, technology, and economy(Fischer &
Peralta, 2013). Buying decisions are motivated to maximize profitability, reducing costs, and
enhancing productivity (Lin & Khomnotai, 2017).
1.2 The Existing User Interface
The company's development of the website concentrates on its role as a trading platform,
as a community for users, in developing a competitive format, developing support market
4

services, and providing customer service (Bucko & Ferencová, 2018). The website contents are
developed by the company itself, and the infrastructure is connected with payment and logistic
services either with the site's sister company, PayPal or other credit financial services, and
support for the computation of payments, transfers, and shipping.
Platform
The company wants to maintain a platform that is fully automated, responsive to
customer needs, user-friendly and available 24/7. At the same time the site provides software
tools such as Turbo Lister, Seller's Assistant, Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro, Picture
Services, Shipping Calculator, Shipping Labels for U.S. Postal Service postage and UPS services
and Shipment Tracking. The company is also providing site-independent services in the form of
the eBay toolbar, which is supposed to help users to tune in to eBay services such as alerts
without being actually on the site (Osman, Salahuddin, & Abdullah, 2016). In addition, the
platform of the site also provided database functions such as eBay Sales Reports and eBay Sales
Reports Plus. The site is also has a direct interface with PayPal for exchange of funds.
Community
To maintain its network of users, the company would like to maintain the highest
conversion rate possible (Yuan, Chen, & Mathieson, 2011). One of the primary concerns is to
maintain the security of the interface while providing the greatest options in terms of products
and services for users. The company wants to provide maximum information and interaction for
users through announcements, bulletin boards, and customer support boards, personal web pages
for users or members based on topics. Alerts are designed to keep inactive users in the updated
with eBay (Prashar, Saivijay, & Parsad, 2017). The application of standardized policies serves as
primary guidelines for users and mimics a real marketplace. At the same time, there is an
5

objective to access broader markets while maintaining the same trade conditions for businesses
and customers alike. The community should build on a value proposition emphasizing the
strategic market competencies provided by the site regardless of the size of customers and buyers
(Chen, Lai, & Yu, 2017).
Site layout
The company is trying to expand the site's format to accommodate the interaction of
users. The company wants to maintain the standard format of the site since the beginning to
afford its most loyal customer, the same touch and feel of the eBay site (Mickey, 2010). But at
the same time, the company has made considerable efforts to make the site support client needs.
The Buy Now the function of the site is an example of this response after sellers' posts reflected
their desire for such a function to facilitate sales when they felt that they had already achieved a
good price for items (Elfenbein, Fisman, & McManus, 2019). The company also is now
providing an alternative bidding format utilizing the Dutch auction systems to enhance multiple
sale of items (Chin, 2020). In 2004, the company launched mobile eBay services in Germany,
the Netherlands. Investment options are also now structures in classiNeed, facilitating trading
and sales. One of the most recent features in their format is Rent.com which is an expansion to
online housing and apartment rentals.
Marketplace Services
The company provides marketplace services to enhance selling activities. These include
trust and safety programs which include feedback forums, SafeHarbor programs and eBay
Standard Purchase Protection Programs. These services are user-independent and are considered
as site services (Mishra, 2010). The services are accessible by all users and can serve as basis for
credentials for sellers and buyers. The feedback forums provide information on the experience of
6

dealing with specific users (Smith, 2019). The site tries to controls content and discourages users
of the services form inappropriate behaviour but at the same time encourages complete
disclosure regarding transactions. The SafeHarbor feature provides the site guidelines for
trading, information for resolution of disputes and coordinates action for reported misuse of eBay
services (Mishra, 2010). The eBay Standard Purchase Protection Programs provide support when
disputes cannot be settled between sellers and buyers. Part of the service is in the coordination
with PayPal for a Buyer Protection Program that extends protection for purchases up to $1,000
(Powell, 2011).
Customer Support
The site provides "pre-trade'' and "post-trade'' services for the user experience. The
services include support for the listing of items that include photo hosting, authentication
services and productivity software (Chang, 2010). For post-trade, the site support for insurance,
processing, escrow, shipping vehicle inspections and postage. To create an environment that
supports the idea of actual market, the company also provides support for users in creating their
own websites via the site. The service allows users to build online stores and to connect the
personal websites to all other services and functions of the site (Devries, 2017). As an additional
service, the company also provides an "About Me" website that provides users a venue to upload
personal information, interests, and profiles.
2.0 Aims
Statement of Aim
This report aims to evaluate and enhance the usability of a retail auction site, eBay.
List of Objectives (Deliverables)
7

A CIF methodology is adopted to aid the usability professionals involved in enhancing the
usability of the eBay website. An online survey will be conducted, and data analyzed to provide
recommendations on what the usability stakeholders need to do.
Table of Research Questions
The identified problems include lack of affordance, lack of structure regarding how information
was presented, redundant information, and lack of simplicity of indexes. The usability test report
contains user feedback, task completion rates, time-on-task metrics, and recommendations for
improving the website.
Reseach issues
1 Lack of affordance
2 Lack of structure regarding how information was presented
3 Lack of simplicity of indexes
4 Redundant information
3.0 Method
3.1 Method overview
Common Industry Format (CIF) provides guidelines for reporting usability tests (Masip,
Oliva, & Granollers, 2014). The methodology defines the reporting procedure for the results of a
usability test that was done to collect both qualitative and quantitative data for measuring user
performance of a system, software, or an application. CIF requires that the usability test must
include the measurements of the systems, software, or application's efficiency and efficacy
together with metrics to determine the level of user satisfaction (Borsci, Federici, & Filippis,
8

2019). On the contrary, CIF does not outline the process of conducting a usability test. CIF has
the following functions, especially for professionals responsible for system usability.
(a) CIF helps usability stakeholders in an organization in determining if a system, software
product, or an application is ready to be released.
(b) CIF is critical for individuals within the organization who are tasked with the
responsibilities of making decisions on what software tools the organization should buy.
3.2 Participants
Five participants took part in this usability test. Four of the participants were male, while
one participant was a female. The participants were recruited by the evaluator based on their
history with online auctions. Two of the participants have in the past bought items from online
auction sites, while three of the participants have listed their items for sale at online auction sites.
All five participants have previously had or engaged with eBay. To be specific, two of the
participants had previously purchased or ordered items at eBay.com, while three of the
remaining participants had not previously used the site.
3.3 Tasks
Five task scenarios which developed and participants were required to take part in these tasks
a) Task 1: Search for a listed item on eBay. The participants had the option of the search for
any item, such as a book, a movie, a home appliance, among others.
b) Task 2: Order an item from eBay. After searching for a product on eBay, users were
required to select one item and purchase it. The process would include entering personal
information, the billing address, the credit/debit card details, and authorizing the
purchase.
9

c) Task 3: List and item for sale with eBay. Users were required to follow the steps in
listing a product for sale at eBay. The process involved writing a short title and
description of the item, posting the product image(s), posting the product price range, and
finally publishing it on eBay.
d) Task 4: Subscribe to the eBay website. You want to subscribe to the website's journals
and newsletters to be able to get popular purchases, sales, and promotions at eBay. In this
task, participants were required to find the subscribe page and subscribe in order to get
more information from the site.
e) Task 5: Read an eBay blog. The participants were asked to read the eBay blog to get
more information on similar kind of purchases, sales, promotions and frequently asked
questions. The eBay blog icon is on the homepage. In this task, participants were asked to
look for the "Read blog" navigation tab and find one blog to read. The purpose of the task
was to investigate how easily users can find and read blogs on eBay.com.
3.4 Metrics
Both binary-task-success and time-on-task metrics were employed in order to measure
the performance. The binary-task-success metric measured the successful rate of compression for
each task while the time-on-task metric was used in order to establish the time that each
participant took to complete a given task. Then, the average completion time was calculated. The
result showed that the faster a participant completed a task, the easier the website was to navigate
and gave the user a better experience while the more time they took to complete a task indicated
that the website was not user-friendly. This metric established the efficiency of the website.
10

3.5 Materials & Tools
The “worksheets” that I will be utilizing to conduct the test sessions and gather data
include task instruction sheets, observation sheets, and questionnaires. In addition, an online
survey will be included at the end of the sessions. Conducting an online questionnaire has a
myriad of advantages and disadvantages. It is significant to comprehend the different changing
aspects of the online questionnaires to be able to understand how to use and engage the survey.
Some of the advantages of using online survey to collect data include the following;
a) Cost-effective - Online questionnaires are cost-effective as the surveyor sends the
questionnaires to the respondents through an online platform and receives the feedback
just by a click of the button. The surveyor does not move from one place to another,
dropping, and collecting the questionnaire questions. The online platform reduces the
transportation cost and the cost of printing of the questionnaires hence making these
kinds of survey cost-effective.
b) Speedy result - Online surveys provide a faster way of getting a response from the
respondents as the respondent needs to respond to the questionnaires at the comfort of
their living rooms. Once the surveyor sends the questions to the potential respondent,
they relax and wait for the results that take less than a week which is faster than taking a
standard questionnaire.
c) Scalability - It is easier to attain larger and more varied respondents as the survey
reaches out to different people across the globe. The kind of diversity that the online
researcher achieves is enormous and hence making the study more practical and real.
d) User anonymity - The respondents in the online platform have the option to display their
identity or remain incognito. When the respondents have the option to go public or not,
11