MMS.

com Test

Addison Blackstone

09/24/23

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 1
 Introduction
MMS.com is the central website for the M&M chocolate brand. Mars Inc., an
American candy manufacturer, owns this brand. The website provides specific
information on M&M branded products, and a forum for purchasing said
products.

A usability test is a detailed test of an online platform's ability to convey,

guide, and empower users to complete routine tasks related to the platform's
chosen content. This test is often conducted with a group of users either
remotely or in person through a controlled testing environment. During the
testing, the user was instructed to complete routine tasks and questions
discussing their experience while being timed. The tests are documented and
accessed thoroughly to identify potential areas for improvement for the online
platform.

Addison Blackstone, a Marketing student at the University of North Georgia,

conducted this MMS.com usability test. The test used the current, live
MMS.com website, presented to the test participant via Blackstone's laptop.
The participant, Jason Papka, completed a series of prescribed questions and
activities while being timed. All data from the test was tracked via a written
note sheet upon completion of each test activity. The data consisted of the
participant's initial thoughts, overall testing time, and general satisfaction
with the website's experience.

Executive Summary
The MMS.com usability test was conducted on the morning of September 24,
2023, in the participant’s office. The central goal of the test was to
understand the usability of M&M's website for the typical user.

The participant took 7 minutes to complete the test, including the scaled
question and commentary portion. The 48-year-old participant stated they
were fairly satisfied with the website's usability but found it "cluttered"
aesthetically.

The test identified only a few minor problems including:

- Too much information on the site’s landing page
- Unclear CTA buttons
- Unclear separations and direction
- Small fonts
- Difficulty finding valuable information

This document contains the entirety of the participant’s feedback, scale

question ratings, task completion rates, ease/difficulty of completion, time on
task, and improvement recommendations. The scenario tasks and
questionnaire are attached to this report as well.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 2
 Methodology
Sessions
The test administrator requested the participation of a close family friend to
undertake the test. The test took about 7 minutes to complete overall, of
which 1.75 minutes was used to complete the prescribed tasks. In the
session, the test administrator explained the purpose of the test, the task
scenarios, and the questionnaire. Before completing the tasks, the
administrator asked the participant to describe their first impression of M&M’s
website.

After completing each task, the administrator asked the participant to rate the
website on a 5-point scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly
Agree”, respectively, for each point added.

Post-task Questions Included:

- How easy was it to find information on the home page?
- Was the information provided comprehensive?
- Was the information clear and understandable?
- How satisfied are you with the amount of information provided?

In addition, the test administrator asked the participant the following overall
website questions:
- What part of the website’s navigation did you like the most?
- What part of the website’s navigation did you like the least?
- What changes would you suggest for website navigation?
- What changes would you suggest for the website’s information?

Participants
There was one male participant in the M&M usability test. The test was
conducted the morning of September 24th, 2023. The sole participant of the
test, Jason Papka, is a sales associate for a hardware store. The participant
stated he spends 2-4 hours a day online and that he has a non-frequent
browsing behavior. The participant stated that he had not accessed MMS.com
prior to the testing, but was a customer of the brand in the past.

Role
Sales
Associate

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

- Find nutritional information regarding classic milk chocolate M&Ms.

- Find purchasing locations and/or distributors for M&Ms products.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 3
 Results
Task Completion Success Rate
The administrator timed and recorded the participant’s ability to complete
their prescribed tasks. The participant successfully completed both tasks
assigned (Find nutritional info and purchasing locations).

Task Completion Rates

Participant Task 1 Task 2

1 √ √

Success 1 1

Completion Rates 100% 100%

Task Ratings
After completing the tasks, the participant was asked to rate their overall
experience in completing the task based off three factors:
- Was it easy to find the information from the homepage?
- Was the information provided clear & understandable?
- Were they 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 rated finding the nutritional information a (3/5) as it was not
easy to find from the landing page. Additionally, the participant rated the
finding of purchasing locations/distributors a (4/5) as it was slightly easier to
find on the landing page compared to the prior task.

Information Clarity & Understanding

The participant simply agreed (5/5) that the nutritional information provided
on the product was clear. The participant also agreed (4/5) that the location
information was clear once found.

Satisfaction
The participant rated their overall satisfaction as mild (3/5) given the quality
of the location and nutritional information provided and the ease of finding
both pieces of information.

Test 1 – Mean Task Ratings & Percent Agree

Ease in Information
Task Satisfaction Overall
Finding Info Clarity
1 – Find Nutritional Info .6 (60%) 1 (100%) .6 (60%) 2.2/3
2 – Purchasing
.8 (80%) .8 (80%) .6 (60%) 2.2/3
Locations of M&Ms
*Percent Agree (%) = Agree & Strongly Agree Responses combined

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 4
 Time on Task
The overall time recorded for each task assigned to the participant was
recorded. Some tasks were more difficult to complete than others, which is
reflected by the average time per task presented below.

Task 1, Finding nutritional information regarding classic milk chocolate M&Ms

took 60 secs to complete. The participant remarked that the time was the
result of M&Ms not clearly and easily displaying said information on their
landing page. The participant also commented on how this information may
be more difficult for other users to find. Task 2, Find purchasing locations/
distributors for M&M brand products, took 45 seconds to find. The participant
stated that this was easier to find compared to task 1.

Time on Task
P1 Avg. TOT*

Task 1 60 60

Task 2 45 45

Overall Metrics
Overall Ratings
After completing the task session, the participant rated the website using the
following six overall measures:
- How easy was it to find nutritional information from the home page?
- How clear was the nutritional information given to you on the product?
- How easy was it to find the purchasing locations/distributors of M&Ms?
- How clear was the location information found?
- How satisfied are you with the nutritional information provided?
- How satisfied are location information provided?

Post-Task Overall Questionnaire

Strongly Strongly Mean Percent

Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree Rating Agree
How easy was it to
find Nutritional
1 1 100%
information from the
home page?
How clear was the
nutritional information
1 1 100%
given to you on the
product?
How easy was it to
find the purchasing
1 1 100%
locations/ distributors
of M&Ms?
How clear was the
location information 1 1 100%
provided?
How satisfied are you
with the nutritional 1 1 100%
information provided?

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 5
 Strongly Strongly Mean Percent
Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree Rating Agree
How satisfied are you
with the location 1 1 100%
information provided?
*Percent Agree (%) = Agree & Strongly Agree Responses combined

4.6.2 Likes, Dislikes, Participant Recommendations

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

Liked Most
The participant described what they liked most:
“I liked being able to know just how many locations there are in my area that
sell M&Ms. I love their products and want it to be easy for me to purchase
them locally.”

Liked Least
The participant described what they liked the least:
“I thought that the site was a little confusing to navigate at times. I wish that
I could find information quicker.”

Recommendations for Improvement

“I wish they would lighten up on the landing page content. It is a bit of a
mess. It would be easier to navigate if they separated the landing page
content into tabs and made more clear option choices available per tab.”

Recommendations
The recommendation section provides recommended changes based on the
data provided by the participant during the test. Each recommendation
includes a severity rating. The following recommendations will improve the
overall usability of the website through addressing problem areas that the
participant found.

Homepage Clarity.
Change Justification Severity

● Distribute homepage
information into tags
● Make the sub tags in each
tab clearer to understand
Throughout the testing the participant felt that High
the website’s design was difficult to navigate and
understand. They felt that the homepage was too
cluttered and should be spread about the
website’s navigation bar.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 6
 Conclusion
The usability test for MMS.com found that the website was a bit difficult and
unclear to navigate based on the sole participant’s experience. He felt that
the information provided was great but wishes that it was a bit easier to find
when needed. Actively using the aforementioned recommendations from the
test and continuing to be open to improving the site for users will greatly
improve the user-centered focus of the MMS.com website for the M&Ms
brand.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201 7