The actual survey took place between September 20 and September 26, with 63 people participating in it. An invitation to participate in the survey was sent to the same families that participated in the research for understanding their views on age verification (earlier in the project), along with colleagues and partners of the members of the consortium. The results were then analysed and the respective findings are included in a specific report, with final results presented in the following.
The objective of this early pilot was to test a first prototype of the euCONSENT solution with real users. This allows us to gather valuable feedback regarding the usability of the system, and the overall user experience (UX), as well as identify and solve potential problems in the user journey before the implementation of the actual system. In order to achieve this goal, we opted for a quantitative approach, which allowed to test our prototype with a relatively high number of people. Specifically, the following process has been followed:
The first prototype of euCONSENT was created in Adobe XD, during the first two weeks of September, and right after the business requirements were finalized. During this activity, we started by creating the wireframes of the systems, along with the main user flows, which depict all the paths and steps that the users need to follow in order to complete specific tasks. Then, we created the mockup screens, by adding specific graphic elements, such as colour-schemes, visual styles, fonts, icons, etc. Finally, we transform the mockups into a first prototype, which includes all the interaction details and can simulate how the users can interact with the system.
A survey was created using Maze, one of the best and most powerful tools for prototype testing. The survey included three missions that the participants needed to complete, along with some follow-up questions. The survey includes three main missions, aiming to test the following user journeys of euCONSENT:
- Use an AV provider to have my age checked for the first time, in order to buy alcohol from an online store.
- Use a previous age check to get access to the online store, without having to prove my age again.
- Get access to the online store by using another AV provider than the one directly supported by the store.
What are the results of the first pilot?
- The usability rating for the three main user flaws that were tested was above average, with 45 out of the 63 participants being able to successfully finish the missions (71%) and a misclick rate of 27%.
- The average durations for the missions were: 167 seconds for the first mission, 17 seconds for the second missions and 19 seconds for the third mission.
- On a scale of one to ten, the average opinion of the participants, regarding the clarity and easiness of the missions, was 8.2
- 75% of the participants believe that having the option to choose amongst multiple age verification providers is very or extremely important.
- 12 participants shared their interest to participate in the large-scale euCONSENT pilot which will take place on January 2022.
What are the next steps?
This first pilot, and at this early stage of the implementation, gave us invaluable feedback that we can take advantage of, in order to improve the overall UX of the euCONSENT experience. The results show that, even though most of the journeys have a high usability rating, there are still some specific screens that are rather confusing, and in a real environment this could lead to lost users.
During the next two weeks, our UI/UX experts will prepare their recommendations, and an updated prototype will be prepared. For this, we will also try to conduct some short interviews with some of the users that failed in their missions, in order to better understand the reasons of their confusion.
This new prototype will be tested again during a second iteration of the survey, which is planned to take place until the end of October. The survey itself will also be adjusted (especially the mission instructions), in order to ensure that the missions and the objectives are clear to the participants.
