I was applying to a job as a UX Researcher back in January this year. The technical test was to do a heuristic evaluation on MyBluebird App—an app to book a ride. Unfortunately I didn’t hear more since submitting my result of the study. So, here is the report. It’s better I’m making it see the light rather than leaving it dry on my cloud right?

Project Details

Research Project Start	Monday, 31 January 2021
Researcher	Arman Muhamad
Prepared for	[recruiter]

Research Brief

Research Background	Blue Bird Group is an Indonesian transportation company based in Jakarta. Established in 1972, the company is known for its Blue Bird taxicab service as well as other transportation services. Blue Bird Group has an app called MyBluebird—an app to book a ride from an Android or iOS smartphone.
Research Questions	What are the pains and needs of the users?How might we improve the app to address the pains and the needs?
Desired Impact	Improve the experience of MyBluebird app.
Methods	Heuristic evaluation
Timeline	31 January – 3 February 2022 Details for timeline, see Appendix: Timeline

Appendix

Timeline

Research planning: 31 January
Conducting research: 1 February
Synthesis: 2 February
Reporting: 3 February

Research Procedure

Heuristic evaluation will be made use of to get the overall review of the MyBluebird app.

Result

The app version is 5.17.0, tested on Android platform. The device for the evaluation is Samsung Galaxy A50.

Heuristic Evaluation

Due to the nature of the project that only has one evaluator, I decided to just use 1-4 rating scale instead of 0-4. The following ratings are:

0 = I don’t agree that this is a usability problem at all

1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project

2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority

3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority

4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released

The result of evaluation:

Heuristic	Is the heuristic violated? How? (Severity)
1. Visibility of system status The design should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time.	No explanation why the app needs location service. (2) No explanation why the app needs to make and manage phone calls. (2)
2. Match between system and the real world The design should speak the users’ language. Use words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than internal jargon. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.	The taxi number meaning is confusing, it might mean the unique numbering that the taxi is given or its licence plate. (2)
3. User control and freedom Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.	Any textbox on the sign-up step can’t be edited by manually moving its cursor. (3) The cancellation button is too small and the design is a clickable text rather than a button. (2)
4. Consistency and standards Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform and industry conventions.	Style consistency for illustration on screens like Easy Ride, Payment Options and Promotions (1) The Call button on the Contact Centre has an icon on its right. (1) i.saku icon is stretched. (1) Consistency on some wording. (1)
5. Error prevention Good error messages are important, but the best designs carefully prevent problems from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions, or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.	Button on Easy Ride to check taxi number. (2) Prompt to add at least 1 non-cash payment. (2)
6. Recognition rather than recall Minimize the user’s memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another. Information required to use the design (e.g. field labels or menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when needed.	N/A
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use Shortcuts — hidden from novice users — may speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the design can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.	Even though the account is newly registered, the destinations suggested are just too far. (2) The suggested destination on the Set Destination screen is the same and / or similar to the pickup address. (2) Cursor when adding pickup manually is located on the first character and no option to clear. (2)
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design Interfaces should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in an interface competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.	Grammarly wrong or out of context words and phrases. (2)
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no error codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.	No reason shown as to why the page is not loaded. (2) Error when accessing terms and conditions from the booking screen. (4)
10. Help and documentation It’s best if the system doesn’t need any additional explanation. However, it may be necessary to provide documentation to help users understand how to complete their tasks.	No documentation on steps on booking process alongside #TetapTerjaga campaign. (2)

Improvement Suggestions and Alternatives

As the issues arise from the heuristic evaluation, here are the opportunities to improve the app.

#	Issues	Severity	Suggestions and Alternatives
1	The taxi number meaning is confusing, it might mean the unique numbering that the taxi is given or its licence plate.	2	Make the illustration on the Easy Ride to show which number to input.
2	Any textbox on the sign-up step can’t be edited by manually moving its cursor.	3	Make the textbox have a keyboard cursor.
3	The cancellation button is too small and the design is a clickable text rather than a button.	2	Make the clickable text to be a button but not necessarily a primary one.
4	Style consistency for illustration on screens like Easy Ride, Payment Options and Promotions	1	Replace the illustration to reflect the same style with other screens rather than icons.
5	The Call button on the Contact Center has an icon on its right.	1	It might be better to standardise the icon to be on the left like any other buttons.
6	i.saku icon is stretched and other icons are too small	1	Make the icon fit to the space rather than stretched and change other to the simplified icons.
7	Consistency on some wording.	1	Fix the consistency.
8	Button on Easy Ride to check taxi number.	2	Disable the button if the number is empty, the number is wrong or the non-cash payment method is not set.
9	Prompt to add at least 1 non-cash payment.	2	Make the prompt to be a non-closable dialog rather than error toast.
10	Even though the account is newly registered, the destinations suggested are just too far.	2	Suggest locations near the user or don’t suggest any destination for a newly created account.
11	The suggested destination on the Set Destination screen is the same and / or similar to the pickup address.	2	Make sure that the suggestion is based on the textbox that is being selected.
12	Cursor when adding pickup manually is located on the first character and no option to clear.	2	Make the cursor to the last character and add an icon to clear.
13	Grammarly wrong or out of context words and phrases.	2	Fix the grammar and the context.
14	No explanation why the app needs location service.	2	Though it is a ride service app, it’s good to have a brief explanation before asking location permission.
15	No explanation why the app needs to make and manage phone calls.	2	Though it is a ride service app, it’s good to have a brief explanation before asking for call permission.
16	No reason shown as to why the page is not loaded.	2	Inform the error clearly. e.g. the WiFi/Data connection is turned off.
17	Error when accessing ‘i’ icon (terms and conditions) from booking screen.	4	Most likely an error on the backend side of things. e.g. when I tried accessing bluebirdgroup.com/en/terms-and-conditions/ gave me the same error page, it should be https://www.bluebirdgroup.com/terms-and-conditions/
18	Documentation on steps of booking process is better to have rather than #TetapTerjaga campaign.	2	Add a new section explaining the booking process briefly.