www.MMS.

com Test

Jasy Pham

09/20/23
Introduction
MMS.com serves as the landing zone for patrons of the M&M chocolate brand,
owned by Mars Inc. The website provides buyers with an information hub on
the various product lines along with a forum to purchase the product through.

A usability test is intended to determine the extent an interface facilitates a

user’s ability to complete routine tasks. Typically the test is conducted with a
group of potential users either in a usability lab, remotely (using e-meeting
software and telephone connection), or on-site with portable equipment.
Users are asked to complete a series of routine tasks. Sessions are recorded
and analyzed to identify potential areas for improvement to the website.

The MMS.com usability test was conducted by digital marketing student,

Jasmine Pham using a live version of the MMS.com website on the test
administrator’s laptop. The test was conducted on participant, Patrick Scales.,
and data was actively logged on Pham’s notepad as the tasks were
completed. The data collected included the participant's organic thoughts,
task completion time, overall satisfaction, and feedback.

Executive Summary
The MMS.com usability test was conducted on the night of September 20th,
2023 at the home of Jasmine Pham. The purpose of said test was to assess
the usability of M&M’s website.

The one participant spent a total of 6 minutes completing the test, including
the scaled question and commentary portion. The 26-year-old, male
participant stated that they felt the website was easy to use but not visually
appealing.

The test identified only a few minor problems including:

- Excess information on the landing page
- Clashing colors on the overall website
- Lack of information division
- Too many distractions on site pages
- Too many CTA buttons
- Difficulty locating nutritional information

This document contains the participants feedback, scale question ratings, task
completion rates, ease/difficulty of completion, time on task, and
recommendations for improvements. The scenario tasks and questionnaire
are attached to this report.

Methodology
Sessions
The test administrator contacted a willing friend to participate in the testing
procedure. The overall testing lasted about 6 minutes — 2.20 minutes for task
completion. During the session, the test administrator explained the purpose
of the testing, the task scenarios, and the questionnaire. Prior to the task
completion, the administrator asked the participant to express an initial
impression of the state of the M&M’s website.

After each task, the administrator asked the participant to rate the interface
on a 5-point, Likert Scale with measures ranging from Strongly Disagree to
Strongly Agree. Post-task scenario subjective measures included:
- How easy was it to find the customization option from the home page?
- How clear was the information given to you on the product?
- How easy was it to find the nutritional information from the home
page?
- How clear was it for you to understand the various packaging options?
- How satisfied are you with the customization options?
- How satisfied are you with the final product you customized?
- How satisfied are you with the amount of nutritional information
provided?

In addition, the test administrator asked the participants the following overall
website questions:
- What part of the customization process did you like the most?
- What part of the customization process did you like the least?
- What changes would you suggest for website navigation?

Participants
There was one male participant in the M&M usability test conducted on
September 20th, 2023. The participant, Patrick Scales, is a Physical Therapy
Technician. The participant stated he spends 3-5 hours a day online with a
non-frequent browsing behavior. Scales expressed that he had not accessed
MMS.com prior to the testing.

Role
Physical
Therapy

Evaluation Tasks/Scenarios
Test administrator, Jasmine Pham, created the following tasks for the
participant to attempt completion:

- Find the serving size and calories per serving for milk chocolate M&Ms.

- Customize your own set of M&Ms with packaging under 50$. Go

through the selection process and stop before you enter
payment/shipping information.
Results
Task Completion Success Rate
The administrator timed and recorded the participant ability to complete the
task. The participant successfully completed Task 1 (find the nutritional info)
and completed Task 2 (customize M&Ms).

Task Completion Rates

Participant Task 1 Task 2

Success 1 1

Completion
100% 100%
Rates

Task Ratings
After the completion of each task, participants rated the ease or difficulty and
clarity of completing the task for three factors:
- It was easy to find the information from the homepage.
- The information provided was clear & understandable.
- I was satisfied by the information provided.

The 5-point rating scale ranged from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly

agree).

Ease in Finding Information

The participant strongly agreed (5/5) that it was easy to find customization
features from the landing page. However, the participant stated that they
simply agreed (4/5) that the nutritional information was easy to find.

Information Clarity & Understanding

The participant simply agreed (4/5) that the information provided on the
product was clear. The participant also agreed (4/5) that the packaging
option information was clear.

Satisfaction
The participant strongly agreed (5/5) that he was satisfied with his
customization options, final customized product, and the amount of nutritional
information provided.

Test 1 – Mean Task Ratings & Percent Agree

Ease in Information
Task Satisfaction Overall
Finding Info Clarity
1 – Find Nutritional Info 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 3

2 – Customize M&Ms 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 3

 Time on Task
The testing software recorded the time on task for each participant. Some
tasks were inherently more difficult to complete than others which is reflected
by the average time on task.

Task 1, Find the serving size and calories per serving for milk chocolate
M&Ms, took 30 secs to complete. However, the participant stated that it
wasn’t clearly displayed by M&M and may be more difficult for other users to
find. Task 2, Customize your own set of M&Ms with packaging under 50$. Go
through the selection process and stop before you enter payment/shipping
information, took longer to complete at 110 seconds (1.50 minutes).

Time on Task
P1 Avg. TOT*
Task 1 30 30

Task 2 110 110

Overall Metrics
Overall Ratings
After task session completion, participants rated the site for seven overall
measures. These measures include:
- How easy was it to find the customization option from the home page?
- How clear was the information given to you on the product?
- How easy was it to find the nutritional information from the home
page?
- How clear was it for you to understand the various packaging options?
- How satisfied are you with the customization options?
- How satisfied are you with the final product you customized?
- How satisfied are you with the amount of nutritional information
provided?

The participant rated all factors as 4-5 “Agreed”.

See the table below.

Post-Task Overall Questionnaire

Strongly Strongly Mean Percent

Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree Rating Agree
How easy was it to
find the
1 1 100%
customization option
from the home page?
How clear was the
information given to 1 1 100%
you on the product?
How easy was it to 1 1 100%
find the nutritional
information from the
 Strongly Strongly Mean Percent
Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree Rating Agree
home page?
How clear was it for
you to understand
1 1 100%
the various
packaging options?
How satisfied are you
with the
1 1 100%
customization
options?
How satisfied are you
with the final product 1 1 100%
you customized?
How satisfied are
you with the
amount of
1 1 100%
nutritional
information
provided?
*Percent Agree (%) = Agree & Strongly Agree Responses combined

4.6.2 Likes, Dislikes, Participant Recommendations

Upon completion of the tasks, participants provided feedback for what they
liked most and least about the website, and recommendations for improving
the website.

Liked Most
The following comments capture what the participants liked most:
“I liked being able to write my own words on the customization form and the
amount of emoticon options provided.”

Liked Least
The following comments capture what the participants liked the least:
“I didn't outright dislike anything. I would say I didn't like that I could only
choose 3 colors for my custom set of M&Ms”

Recommendations for Improvement

“I would recommend that they put less stuff on the landing page. It would be
easier to consume if they separated the information on the home page into
tabs to access later if needed. The landing page looked too busy”

Recommendations
The recommendations section provides recommended changes and
justifications driven by the participant success rate, behaviors, and
comments. Each recommendation includes a severity rating. The following
recommendations will improve the overall ease of use and address the areas
where participants experienced problems or found the interface/information
architecture unclear.

Homepage Clarity.
 Change Justification Severity

● distribute homepage High

The participant expressed throughout the testing
information into tags that the website’s design felt difficult to digest
due to the amount of information, colors, and
● simplify colors graphic movements.

Conclusion
The main participant of the usability testing for MMS.com found the site to be
easy to navigate and use. He felt that the information provided and the
features for users to interact with were satisfying from a consumer
prospective. Implementing the recommendations and continuing to work with
users (i.e., real lay persons) will ensure a continued user-centered website.