The City of Saint Paul tasked our design team to do a usability study on the current Saint Paul Public Works (SPPW) website. This is the first step in the overall project of redoing the website. Currently, the trash and recycling are siloed and look like two separate sites.

I conducted a heuristic evaluation, five user evaluations were done by the team, and I drafted a report with Findings and Recommendations outlining the first steps towards a redesign.

Saint Paul Public Works

Background

Taking a quick look at the current Saint Paul Public Works website, it is very visible that the website is in need of UX research and design. The UI is great. The look and feel of it is good. But it is clear that something needs to be done. Saint Paul is the state capital of Minnesota, and is home to 300 000 inhabitants. A website redesign is on its way, and our team’s work is the first step in this process. These are the processes that we used in order to evaluate the website and help with some quick fixes in order to gain cohesion and direction.

Upon reception of this task I conducted a heuristic analysis focussing on five of the main tasks for which the site is used. For this specific evaluation I utilized the Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, while also keeping in mind various basic design principles.

My findings indicated that the SPPW website violated the following design principles:

  • Navigability

  • Prioritization

  • Findability

  • General information hierarchy

  • Match between the system and the real world

  • Visibility of system status

  • Consistency and standards

After completing this initial evaluation, I led the team to draft research goals and a script for user testing.

It was established that the primary users of this website are house and apartment occupants figuring out what to do with their waste. However, SPPW also desires input from users who may be less represented numerically but are still very important. Therefore, it is essential to include uncommon waste-generating hobbyists and community event organizers who have needs for large waste disposal.

Research Goals

  • Understand the degree to which SPPW website trash and recycling sections enables the user to find what they are looking for.

  • Gain insights as to where users expect to find information related to waste reduction.

  • Identify key pain points and opportunities for improving the primary flow.

Methodologies

  • Heuristic evaluation using Nielsen’s 10

  • Establishment of research goals

  • Scripted user testing with think-aloud protocol

  • Drafting of a findings and recommendations report

Solutions

The key areas for improvement are the integration of waste and recycling sections, inclusivity of all users, and enhancements in navigability, findability, and prioritization of information.

Testing was very fruitful and brought great insights to our team. It was also fascinating to speak with community event organizers and hobbyists about their user needs.

My recommendations are the following:

  • Revamped information architecture

  • Home page redesign

  • Combining of garbage and recycling

  • Items search bar

Outcome

This UX study was the first step in a redesign of the Saint Paul Public Works’ website. The insights uncovered will guide what is to come. SPPW’s website will be able to guide their users in a more efficient way towards their needs.