WELLS & ASSOCIATES, LLP WORKPLACE WRITING UX REPORTING

Usability Report: Google Maps and MapQuest

Executive Summary
Purpose of the study
Participants
Method
Findings and recommendations
Discussion
Appendices

1. Executive Summary

This study was designed to test the usability of Google Maps and MapQuest. The
participant was instructed to complete three tasks using the route mapping function
of both websites. The test took place on March 24 , 2019 in the computer lab of
ESU’s Kemp Library. There was one participant in this study and the test lasted from
approximately 1:00PM-2:00PM. The findings show that Google Maps is a much
easier interface to use when trying to receive directions. The findings also show that
MapQuest has some distracting issues such as ads, too many options on the home
page, as well as a lack of directions for certain routes.

2. Purpose of the Study

The primary reason for conducting the study was to test the usability of both Google
Maps and MapQuest. Both Google Maps and MapQuest are websites that provide
mapping and direction services, but Mapquest also allows user to locate restaurants
and book hotels. These programs were used to map out various driving and walking
routes to determine which interface provided a better experience for users
attemtping to receive directions.

3. Participants

The sole participant was contacted by Wells LLP, by e-mail. Cecilia Barreca is a 19-
year-old female. She is a student at East Stroudsburg University studying Business
Management. She estimates that she spends 30+ hours online, and she considers
herself well-versed in using most computer programs and websites. She mentioned
that her father works in IT, and she has learned some advanced computer
techniques from him.

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4. Method

This study was conducted on March 24, 2019 from approximately 1:00PM-2:00PM.
The test was conducted on a Lenovo computer with a Windows operating system
and the participant used Google Chrome as the browser for this study. We began
the session by asking the participant to detail her computer experience and how
many hours a week she spends on the computer/Internet. We then began the test by
giving the participant three tasks to complete using Google Maps and MapQuest. We
instructed the participant to speak out loud as she completed each step, and to voice
her opinion about the websites. As she completed the tasks, we recorded the steps
that she used to map out different routes, her positive and negative comments about
each interface, and the time it took for her to complete the task on each website. If
the participant had any questions, we did not offer her any help. We wanted to see
what solutions she could find on her own.

The first task was to use both apps to map an automobile route from her home
address to East Stroudsburg Univeristy of Pennsylvania and then to reverse the
route from ESU to her house. We had her compare the number of routes available on
each website as well as the differences in routes.

The second task was to use both apps to map a trip from ESU to Happy Valley-Goose
Bay in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. We asked the participant to add a stop in
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec between ESU and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and add another
stop at the end of the trip in Stephenville, Newfoundland & Labrador.

The third and final task was to use both apps to map a walking route from ESU to
Yetter Park. We asked the participant to pick which of the routes she thought was
the best and why.

To end the session, we asked the participant which interface she preferred and why
and to give us some final comments about each website.

5. Findings and Recommendations

During the session, we recorded the steps the participant took to map out each
route, her general comments, and the time it took for her to complete each task.

Task 1:
This task took the participant 5:00 minutes to complete on Google Maps and
8:00 minutes to complete on MapQuest. The participant was already familiar with
using Google Maps. When using Google Maps, the user commented that Google
provided her with three routes from her house to ESU, all three of which she has
driven before. The user praised the accuracy of the directions in all three routes. The
user had no trouble reversing the route from ESU back to her house.

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When using MapQuest, it took the user some time to find the button that
would allow her to map a route. She commented that she was distracted by other
buttons that would allow her to book a hotel, locate restaurants, etc. After mapping
the route, she noted that the routes were different than the choices she was offered
on Google Maps. Again, it was easy for the user to reverse the route from ESU to
home or home to ESU. She praised MapQuest for including an estimated fuel cost
and estimated traffic level. The user was annoyed with the amount of ads on
MapQuest’s website, including ads that covered portions of the map.

Task 2:
This task took the participant 12:00 minutes to complete on Google Maps and
17:00 minutes to complete on MapQuest. The participant had an easy time using
Google Maps to add and reorder stops. She was discouraged that Google Maps only
offered one route, but quickly realized that she could hand-drag the route to change
the directions.
Using MapQuest was easier for the participant this time around, but she was
unable to complete the task. MapQuest could not find a route that included all of the
stops that we asked her to add. Even after refreshing the webpage and retyping the
stops, MapQuest could not find a route. The participant was frustrated because after
she refreshed the webpage, all of her stops were deleted and she had to start again,
even though MapQuest suggested refreshing the page to fix the problem. Again, the
participant noted the ads covering parts of the map.

Task 3:
This task took the participant 7:00 minutes to complete on Google Maps and
9:00 minutes to complete on MapQuest. Using Google Maps, the participant was able
to map three walking routes from ESU to Yetter Park. She chose the first route as the
best route because it avoided busy streets and was a direct route to the park. The
participant used the “Satellite” mode of Google Maps to see the street view of each
route and see if there were sidewalks available.
When using MapQuest, Yetter Park could not be found in the search bar. She
first tried to search for the park using the road that the park is located on, but
MapQuest still could not find any results. She then tried to locate the GPS
coordinates on Google Maps to transfer over, but was unsuccessful. She then copied
and pasted the address from Google Maps into MapQuest and was finally able to
map a walking route. MapQuest only provided one route. When she used “Satellite”
mode on MapQuest, the participant realized that the only route provided included
walking on busy streets that were not fully equipped with sidewalks. When she tried
to get out of the “Satellite” setting by pressing the back arrow, the participant was
frustrated when her whole route was erased.

Overall, the participant commented that she preferred Google Maps to MapQuest.
She felt that Google Maps had an easier interface to use, and she liked that there
were no ads distracting from the map. She suggested that MapQuest remove some

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ads, a as make the button for directions easier to find because she was confused
with all of her other options (hotels, restaurants,etc). It is clear that the problems
that the participant had are serious, considering her high level of computer
program/website experience.

6. Discussion

After completing all three tasks, it was clear that the participant preferred Google
Maps over MapQuest. We were able to uncover some clear issues with MapQuest
such as distracting adds and hard-to-locate buttons that could help us clean up their
interface. We were also able to identify the positive qualities of both websites. In the
future, the participant has provided us feedback that we can use to help MapQuest.
We hope that MapQuest will consider removing other features from their home
page and focus on creating an easier experience for getting directions. We also hope
MapQuest will work on making sure that directions are available for all potential
routes.

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7. Appendices

Appendix A:

Transcript From Experiment

Task 1: Route from my home to ESU

Google Maps: already familiar with this interface; easy to use; accurate results with routes
that I have driven before; easy to reverse the routes from ESU to home and home to ESU

Mapquest: hard to find the button to map out a route; too many options between booking,
hotels, food, etc.; ads were distracting on the map; liked that Mapquest shows estimated
fuel cost; different routes from Google

Task 2: Route from ESU to Happy-Valley with added stops

Google Maps: easy to add stops; easy to reorder; only gives one route, but can drag to
reorder; no issues because reordering is easy and there are no ads distracting from the map

Mapquest: would not find the total route! Could not add Stephenville even after
refreshing/trying to type again; took a little longer to find a route than Google; refreshing
deleted some of my previous stops; map zooms in very very far when you scroll

Task 3: Walking Route from ESU to Yetter Park

Google Maps: given me three routes; the best/first route avoided main and busy streets and
took me through neighborhoods and directly onto the park trail; easy to use “satellite
setting” to see the street view and see the walking conditions; could not find the GPS
coordinates to transfer over the Mapquest, had to copy and paste the address

MapQuest: Yetter Park did not come up, had to copy and paste the address from Google
Maps; even if you type in the street that yetter park is on, mapquest gave so many
suggestions that were not even in Stroudsburg; even the copy and pasted google address
was a “range” so the end result might not have been the most accurate location of the park;
also has a satellite setting to see the street view; this route was on busier roads; I hit back to
get out of the satellite setting and it erased my entire route

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