Usability Study of Skype 4.0 Beta 1 - Part 1

This report contains the results of a short series of user testing sessions that was carried out by Cimex on the new version of Skype: Skype 4.0 Beta 1 version.

Although it is brief, our usability study has revealed many of the difficulties users faced, due largely to weaknesses in the presentation, navigation, structure and functionality of this widely used application.

Figure 1 The first page of Skype application

1. Aims and Objectives

The aim of this study was to capture the users’ expectations, needs and preferences which can be used as a base to create a more engaging, efficient and effective Skype application.

The key objectives were to:

• explore users’ experiences and expectations based on their previous use of Skype
• assess the usability of Skype 4.0 Beta 1 version by users performing typical tasks with the application
• assess if the information presented and the functionality are appropriate for the target audience
• capture the users’ reactions and preferences for style and design ideas for the application

2. Methodology

For the purpose of this study, the qualified User Experience team at Cimex carried out six individual user testing sessions, which took place at the Cimex specialised usability labs in Central London. Each session lasted 60 minutes and consisted of four main areas:

Pre-session interview

The purpose of this first exercise was to make the user feel comfortable with the testing and to gather useful information about the user’s expectations and their previous experience with Skype, or other similar applications which based on VoIP (Voice translated into data) and IM (Instant messaging) technology.

Task performance with eye-tracking

In the next part of the session, each participant was asked to complete a set of twelve tasks on Skype, while the eye tracking device recorded their initial eye movements. These were typical tasks based on “real-life” scenarios, for example “Imagine that you want to invite a friend to join Skype. How would you do that?” The user was encouraged to think aloud and share their thoughts as they interacted with the application.

Figure 2 A user testing session at Cimex usability lab

Post-session interview

After the task performance with the eye tracking, the post-session interview was conducted to learn the user’s overall thoughts and conclusions on using the application.

Design

The final section of the session was to gather feedback on the design of the application by capturing the user’s opinion and reactions about the overall “look and feel”, style and colour of the Skype application.

3. Participants

A total of six participants took part in the current testing. The participants were representative of typical Skype users and those who were keen to learn more about Skype. In particular, two of the users had never used Skype before, two had used Skype a few times, and the other two used Skype on a regular basis. The sample included three male and three female, and they were between 25 to 40 years old.

4. Data Analysis

Qualitative analysis was used to analyse the information obtained from the user testing sessions, and gaze plot analysis was used to analyse the data collected with the eye tracker. The data analysis was based on the users’ reactions and comments during the interviews and the interaction with application, as well as on their ability to perform the given tasks.

Read Skype Usability Report - Part 2 >>