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Autotrader offers filters to reduce your results set. However, through usability testing, we learned people had trouble with discoverability of those filters and felt overwhelmed.
Autotrader allows car shoppers to search and peruse car classifieds from anywhere in the continental USA. As a part of that search process, there are a diverse set of filters that allow people to get to the car they would like to purchase. However, through usability testing, we learned there were a few pain points...
To start things off, I worked with the Analytics Lead and UX Research Manager to uncover the following insights:
Coming out of the research phase we had identified the problem to solve - sidebar filter discoverability. There were several ideas to solve this problem, such as opening certain filters, creating a horizontal filter pattern, and reordering our current set. I used a decision matrix to determine the best choice moving forward- suggested filters.
I conducted a competitive analysis to see how others were offering filtering solutions, how they worked, and what the surrounding context was.
From the analysis we were able to derive some UX goals:
After the problem was well defined, it was time to think through functionality. Through collaboration with the rest of the my team and the UX group as a whole, this was my final proposal:
Through usertesting.com, I set up usability tests for three concepts. Here two alternative concepts that did not end up winning. One employed simple brand logos and the other leveraged a cognitive bias where shapes that differ from others get noticed (Von Restorff effect).
I built prototypes in Sketch/Invision and tested the final design at mobile and desktop break points. The test script had people search for a specific vehicle from the home page and see if they engaged naturally with the suggested filters. Much to our surprise, 8/10 people used the filters without provocation! Moreover, all of them naturally understood the prototype functionality on both mobile and desktop break points. Here is an example test :
Leading up to the end of the design phase, I started involving our UX Architecture team (who owned our design system) to insure our solution had a clear plan regarding the design system.
Working with the development team and UX Architecture I owned the creation of the following:
The business saw a strong 10% engagement rate and an 8% lift on conversion rate to “Vehicle Details” pages. This was certainly a success story for our business and the UX group as well.
I definitely learned a lot about conducting research in this endeavor. With my Lead UX Researcher in support, I was in charge of creating the test script, launching the test, analyzing videos from usertesting.com, follow up studies, and creating a final report. I found that I very much enjoy being in the learn-build-measure mode as a UX designer.
I hope you enjoyed this quick tour. Please let me know if you would like to discuss my skills and experience a bit more.