Nintendo Switch Home UI Design and Interactive Prototype

User Testing

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Given access to the prototype, three different users were assigned tasks to complete. Users were observed and could ask for assistance where needed. The tasks were as follows:

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1. You want to play a game that you haven’t played in a long time. The name of the game is “Disney Dreamlight Valley”.

2. You’ve just checked into a hotel. You want to browse the eshop. What’s the first thing you want to do?

3. You’ve heard of a game called “Cat Quest” and are interested in checking it out. You want to find more info about it.

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Below are the summaries of my user tests, followed by a summary of common themes and patterns.

User #1:

Overall, the user was successful in completing these tasks. For the first task, the user immediately went to the library page to look for the game. They were able to recognize that the first 3 games represented what was on the main page because the games were sorted by most recently played. They tried to scroll down, but had trouble finding the scroll bar. Then they switched paths, able to find the search bar on the library page. This was unexpected but very exciting! While I have accounted for the fact that the user could find a game with one of 3 paths, I didn’t expect the user to start with one option and then switch to another. This was really great feedback, and the user even brought up the idea of adding the same search bar to the settings page so that a similar path could be followed there. While a search bar on the main screen is certainly helpful, it is also helpful to have the search bar present on the page with all of the options, as the user may not even know what they would be searching for before seeing a list of similar options.

For the second test, the user immediately recognized that, in order to access the eshop, they would first need to connect to the hotel wifi. This was done by clicking on the wifi icon on the main page, an icon that I made clickable from the actual Switch design, a choice that clearly paid off. The user did find it confusing that when clicking the back button from the wifi screen, they did not return to the main screen where they had come from, but rather the settings page. This was good feedback, but this logic is probably outside the scope of my prototype. Overall, even though the user went through the tasks relatively easily, they provided great feedback and brought to mind things I will change in my prototype. For this test, I kept both tasks under the same prototype flow, and I think they found it helpful to be able to navigate between all the pages at will, so I will probably keep this going forward.

User #2:

This user was largely unfamiliar with video game consoles. However, I was surprised and excited to see that they had similar success to the first, more experienced user. Similarly, on the first task, they clicked the library button and were both overwhelmed with options and unable to find the scroll bar. However, they quickly found the search bar on the library page and were able to find the game. This is further proof that giving the user the opportunity to find the search bar on all applicable pages results in as many points of success as possible.

The next two tasks presented more challenges, but the user still met eventual success. On task #2, the vague suggestion of the hotel didn’t immediately lead the user to think of connecting to the wifi. This shows that the icon on the home screen showing wifi should probably have an option to show a disconnection in some sort of noticeable alert. However, once the user understood that they needed to connect to the wifi, they quickly found it on the home screen. Similarly, on the third task, my prompt to “find more information” on the yet to be purchased game led the user to investigate the news feed, a fair assumption but not one I had implemented in my prototype. However, when all else failed, the user used the search bar to find the game on the eshop. Once again, the search bar comes in as a catch-all for any easily missable icons or functions, working as I intended.

User #3

The third user I tested with was not quite as outgoing as the other two when it came to vocalizing their thought process, but rather went through the tasks on their own and provided more feedback at the end. Once again, this user skipped the search bar on the main screen and opted to click on the library first, then utilize the search bar. The user gave the feedback that the text on the games was hard to read, and with the amount of game options being overwhelming, they opted for the search bar. As no actual game text is displayed (other than that in the game art itself) unless the user scrolls over the games, I could see this confusion. Similarly for the third task, the search bar came in handy very quickly and was used to search for the game, this time from the main screen rather than the library. I understand the thought process of being on the page associated with the intended results when performing a search, but I also think it is flexible to have all search bars work across all screens. However, this could be tested further for more proof that searching on the settings screen should pull up games as well, or if this is simply too much information.

For the third task, this user opted for a different path than the other two. Once they understood that they would need to change the wifi, the user got stuck. The user did click around on their own through the settings, but backed up and went to other screens before being prompted that the settings was the right place. Once they knew to look in the settings page, they found the internet settings and connected to the hotel wifi.

Summary:

In summary, I would say that these tests proved my design to be successful, with the search bar adding a much needed level of flexibility to the paths the user can take. It was nice to see that two out of three users used the now-clickable wifi icon on the main page, while the third was able to use the current way of going through the settings page, proving that both options are valid and should be supported. In the following section, these patterns are developed in to more concrete improvements to the prototype and overall design.

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