{
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    "title" : "Fueleconomy.gov – Extended Case Study |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Fueleconomy.gov – Extended Case Study",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/digitalgov-user-experience-resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Fueleconomy.gov \u0026#8211; Extended Case Study","summary" : "Like any valid business decision, User Experience work should produce results and demonstrable impact. To see a list of screenshots from websites we’ve improved, visit the rest of our Usability Case Studies. Or see a more complete case study below. Case Study: Fueleconomy.gov Mobile Site In December of 2012","date" : "2014-01-16T11:01:12-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"andreanocesigritz" : "Andrea Sigritz"},"topics" : {
        
            "usability" : "Usability",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies.md",
      
      "filepath" :"resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies.md","slug" : "digitalgov-user-experience-resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/digitalgov-user-experience-resources/digitalgov-user-experience-program-results-and-case-studies/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eLike any valid business decision, \u003ca href=\"http://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/benefits-of-ucd.html\"\u003eUser Experience\u003c/a\u003e work should produce results and demonstrable impact. To see a list of screenshots from websites we’ve improved, visit the rest of our \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/\"\u003eUsability Case Studies\u003c/a\u003e. Or see a more complete case study below.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"case-study-fueleconomygov-mobile-site\"\u003eCase Study: Fueleconomy.gov Mobile Site\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy.gov_-2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy.gov_-2.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Screenshot of Fueleconomy.gov\u0026#39;s mobile site\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003eIn December of 2012 the U.S. Department of Energy contacted us for help with their fueleconomy.gov \u003ca href=\"http://fueleconomy.gov/m/\"\u003emobile site\u003c/a\u003e. They wanted to conduct some user research to understand their customer’s needs, and then run a user test (also called a usability test) to see how people actually interacted with the site.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter reviewing metrics, business goals and \u003ca href=\"http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/task-analysis.html\"\u003etop tasks\u003c/a\u003e for fueleconomy.gov, we worked with their team to develop interview questions for their customers. We selected and called six users and potential users about the site and their habits online. Using those \u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/summary-interviews-fueleconomy-mobile-site.doc\"\u003euser interview results\u003c/a\u003e**** (Word document, 36 KB, 5 pages, November 2013), we developed a \u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/usability-testing-script-fueleconomy.doc\"\u003eusability test script\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 232 KB, 13 pages, November 2013). We spent about a month preparing for the test, and scheduled it in February of 2013.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe invited the fueleconomy.gov team to observe the test so they could learn about usability and how a test works. We also invited other agencies to the test as well. We tested three people, and focused on what people said were things they were most interested in, or were confused by. The customers gave real, unbiased feedback about things they liked and didn’t like.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fueleconomy.gov team took the \u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/usability-report-fueleconomygov-mobile-site.doc\"\u003eusability report\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 190 KB, 7 pages, November 2013) and made some small but powerful tweaks to their site. Here are three issues they fixed:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"problem-1-terms-unclear\"\u003eProblem 1: Terms Unclear\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsers were confused about the differences between “My MPG” and “Find a Car” on the homepage.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"solution-1-clarify-terms\"\u003eSolution 1: Clarify Terms\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “My MPG” was changed to “Calculate My MPG” and “Find a Car” was changed to “Find and Compare Cars.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-calculate-my-mpg-before-after-2.png\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-calculate-my-mpg-before-after-2.png\"\n    alt=\"Two pictures comparing the fueleconomy.gov site before and after a usability test, on the homepage\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"problem-2-hard-to-find-and-misleading-buttons\"\u003eProblem 2: Hard to Find and Misleading Buttons\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsers were confused by the “Add a Car” button or missed it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"solution-2-clarify-and-move-buttons\"\u003eSolution 2: Clarify and Move Buttons\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “Add a Car” button was changed to “Compare Cars” and added to the top of the page so that users could find it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-compare-cars-before-after-2.png\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-compare-cars-before-after-2.png\"\n    alt=\"Two pictures comparing the fueleconomy.gov site, on the compare cars page\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"problem-3-lack-of-help-buttons-and-explanatory-text\"\u003eProblem 3: Lack of Help Buttons and Explanatory Text\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was no “Help” button or explanatory text for users when they encountered unfamiliar words or acronyms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"solution-3-clarify-terms\"\u003eSolution 3: Clarify Terms\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA “Learn More” button was added to the bottom of several pages, including the Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Annual Petroleum Use, and EPA Smog Score pages.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-epa-smog-before-after-2.png\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-epa-smog-before-after-2.png\"\n    alt=\"Two pictures comparing fueleconomy.gov\u0026#39;s before and after a usability test, on their smog page\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fueleconomy.gov team implemented these and other changes based upon user feedback and data collected in the test. Then, they collected metrics to see how the new version was impacting customers. The results were outstanding:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-user-experience-improvements-results-2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/fueleconomy-user-experience-improvements-results-2.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Picture showing the increased traffic to fueleconomy.gov as a result of their usability test\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsers were able to find information on the site, and enjoyed it enough to come back again. Their team was happy, and so were we. See our \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/\"\u003eBefore and After Gallery\u003c/a\u003e for more screenshots of government products improved by User Experience work.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}