Sunday, March 7, 2021

Usability Evaluation of MakeMyTrip Website

By Heli A. Patel

Introduction 

Usability evaluation identifies if the product is usable and learnable enough using which users can achieve their goals. This blogpost presents an evaluation of MakeMyTrip website which is an Indian online travel agency they provide booking for hotels, flights, train, cab, visa, and the evaluation is based on the usability of the system.

MakeMyTrip is one the best online travel service firms in India. They have 14 company-owned travel stores in 14 cities, over 30 franchisee-owned travel stores in 28 cities, and counters in four major airports in India. MakeMyTrip has offices in New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Bangkok, and Dubai. In the figure 1 we can see the Home Page of MakeMyTrip.        

   Figure1. MakeMyTrip Home Page 

The evaluation was performed using heuristic evaluation and think aloud user testing. For directing the heuristic evaluation, 10 usability heuristic by Jakob Nielsen were used. User testing was done by 4 users with no experience of using this website. Recommendations to resolve issues have also been suggested.

 

Usability Issues and Recommendations

1.   Vertical filter bar is inefficient to use.

Every time users select any filters; website immediately updates listing, and user will be again shown top of the page, in other words users brought back to top of the page. When users scroll down to the filters and select something from the bottom part then they will have to begin from top as website’s listing update will force them and have to go through unwanted filter listing to reach back to where they were. Also, when users are accessing these filters, they have to remember lot of things as they scroll down, because they cannot see in one go what type of filter are available as shown in Figure 2. It is inefficient to use and I also believe that, it increases the cognitive load. 

Heuristics violated are as follows:

  •  Heuristic #7 – Flexibility and efficiency of use                

Figure 2. MakeMyTrip Flight Listing Page

Recommendation:

  • According to me, filters can be added horizontally exactly below search bar and above flight listing. That way users will be able to access filters efficiently. There will not be any issue regarding scrolling up and down whenever webpage gets updated as per filter selection.
  • Filters can be categorized, grouped, and can be presented as drop-down menu. Users will be able to see and use whatever the filters are provided in one go.
  • If we do not want to make changes to existing design then we can keep “Apply” button at the end of filters as well as at top part of page so after selecting filters users can click on “Apply” button, then only listing will be updated.

 

2.    System fails to show the amount to pay status.

If users select “Yes”, to the insurance(Figure 4), to see how much they’d have to pay, users have to scroll up all the way back to the top to see the final amount(Figure 3). Even, when they remove default opt-in the “good cause” amount, they have to scroll up to see it in their invoice breakdown. The interface fails to show the user, how the changes made affected the overall amount they will have to pay. 

Heuristics violated are as follows:

  • Heuristic #1 – Visibility of system status
  • Heuristic #7 – Flexibility and efficiency of use    

Figure 3. Review Flight Booking Page(Top portion)


Figure 4. Review Flight Booking Page(Bottom portion)

Recommendation:

  • This issue can be solved by giving instant feedback to users that can keep users updated on their current amount to pay. I suggest keeping the invoice part of the web page stable and the rest of the part movable so that users can stay updated of the status of their total amount to pay whenever they make any purchase or anything else. This will decrease the work of constantly scrolling up and down and increase the flexibility as well as the efficiency of the current system.

 

3.    Ambiguous error.

There was an issue loading the review booking page for the flight I already choose to book, but system gave an error something like this “No flights found on this route for the requested date” as highlighted in Figure 5. That made me think, did not I already choose the flight? and I was expecting to review my chosen flight, its rules for cancellation, timing, etc. This given error is so unacceptable, it can confuse the user by giving such system status and the user might not be able to get correct information.

Users can start using another websites as well because no proper guidance is available. So, a confused person might just leave the website and look for another source.

Heuristics violated are as follows:

  • Heuristic #1 – Visibility of system status
  • Heuristic #9 – Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
  • Heuristic #10 – Help and documentation
     

Figure 5. Review Flight Booking Page

Recommendation:

  • I think the proper error is required suggesting the reason for not able to show the review of booking. Also, solution should be given along with the error. The solution can be some documentation, help , or something that can guide users to complete their goal.

4.   Incompetent listing of rooms.

The way rooms of any selected hotels are presented is very incompetent. Basically, it is forcing users to remember a lot of things. Suppose users need to select a room that offers free Wi-Fi, so users have to scroll down and analyze these things by themselves only.

Given list of rooms can make users frustrated as it is not helpful to choose the room as per the user’s requirements and it seems to increase cognitive load because users have to scroll through all the unwanted information even if they are exploring options they need. In Figure 6, the room listing is shown.

Heuristics violated are as follows:

  • Heuristic #7 – Flexibility and efficiency of use  
  • Heuristic #8 – Aesthetic and minimalist design

Figure 6.  Room Listing during Hotel Booking 

Recommendation:

  • There can be listed as per the facilities, the number of people, price, size of the room, etc. For that, we can arrange drop-down menus, filters which can help users with sorting and list out rooms as per their requirements.
  • Also, minimize option can be added for each room information block that is listed so that users can minimize options they did not like.

 

5.   Inconsistent system status.

Hotel booking does not show proper system status whereas during flight booking proper status was given. The page has the heading “Review Hotel Booking” as shown in Figure 7, but it also takes user details as well as it contains a payment option too. Users might feel overwhelmed and they cannot know from the start what information can be found on this page, they have to scroll down till the end of the web page to get proper knowledge of information available because too much information is given on a single page and heading of the webpage is not entirely correct.

Another problem is that for the same website it is inconsistent to have different designs for flight booking and hotel booking because it feels like we are using different website. Flight booking does every task(review of booking, user details, payment, etc.) separately unlike hotel booking. 

Heuristics violated are as follows:

  • Heuristic #1 – Visibility of system status
  • Heuristic #4 – Consistency and standards
  • Heuristic #7 – Flexibility and efficiency of use  
  • Heuristic #8 – Aesthetic and minimalist design

Figure 7. Review Hotel Booking Page(Top portion)

   Figure 8. Review Hotel Booking Page(Bottom portion)

Recommendation:

  • I suggest that tasks like review booking, user details, and payment can be given in a separate webpage with status scale is given on top that shows the status of completed tasks and upcoming tasks as per available tasks on each web page. That way status issue will be solved as well as users will not feel overwhelmed. It can help users to know what process is completed and what they will have to complete in further process. 

 

Conclusion 

MakeMytrip has sophisticated features, but those features should not compromise the efficiency, learnability, and easiness of the system. It will not make sense to have features that cannot be utilized by the users due to its complexity. In addition, implementing a proper feedback mechanism can guide users, prevent errors, and give them a sense of the system's status. Basically, as per the issues we discovered, it is essential to create something that has a good design, solid efficiency, robust feedback mechanism, straightforward instructions, and that all should lead to enhanced usability and learnability of the system. The recommended changes will be helpful to make the system more efficient, learnable, and adaptive.


 

 






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