An interactive system is a computer system which is characterized by a significant amount of interaction between humans and the computer (Huang & Benyoucef, 2013). Better yet, an interactive system is any system that will accept input by a user and provide information feedback to the user (Sauermann & Roach, 2013). Interactive systems can be examined from two points of view namely the user perspective and the system perspective. To examine a system from a user perspective we have to consider what a system really is to a user and what the user expects from the system. From a user perspective a system is:
For the sake of this presentation, we have singled out one of the most commonly used systems in the current digital world. This is e-commerce websites. We will examine e-commerce websites from a user perspective.
E-commerce websites have mushroomed recently due to the rise of portable digital devices that can be used to access the internet anytime, anywhere. An e-commerce website is an online portal that is used in the sale and purchase of goods and services through the internet (Chiou et al., 2010). The e-commerce is also used in online shopping whereby goods and services are transferred between two or more parties. It can also be named as electronic business or as e-business. In the early days this business transactions used to be done through phone calls and emails while today it is mainly done online. Through the emergence of online shopping business life has become so easy such that people can shop online without having to travel to far places and without having to present themselves physically. So many people consider it as the most convenient way to purchase goods and services by use of smartphones with a connection to the internet (Sillence et al., 2007).
We have different e-commerce websites which include the retail selling, business to business services, auction websites, finance management websites and also the consultancy websites (Rodgers & Harris, 2003). The target population ranges from teenagers to youths and even the older generation. It should thus have attractive features to maintain its wide range of customers. The e-commerce website should at least be neat and user –friendly such that it is easy for the users to find things such as prices, carts and images of the products.
A picture is worth a thousand works and so I could not find a better way to explain the use cases or functionalities of an e-commerce website besides the below diagram which says it all.
The sole purpose of visiting an e-commerce website is to be able to shop for items. To shop in any e-commerce website, it all begins with a shopping cart. Thus the process of adding items to cart should be straightforward, preferably an icon to click.
Users should be able to update their shopping carts or even delete items from their shopping carts if need be. The icons for the functions should be easily seen.
After adding to cart all the items that a user needs, the use should be able to easily find a button to place their order.
Online shopping in e-commerce websites normally involves users from all over the globe. There is thus the need to be able to know the shipping and tax charges by the user when placing an order (Couper et al., 2001). To make their work easier, the e-commerce website should provide a calculator for shipping charges and tax imposed on the goods bought.
Different organizations accept different channels for payment. One payment option that has come up strongly to support e-commerce is Paypal. It is thus the duty those designing the e-commerce website to make sure that they provide a payment option that is well known and that favors the customers.
In this User testing of an interactive system, we do not consider the system issues as well as the technical part of web design.
An evaluation methodology is necessary in stating several user tasks that should get tested with an exact description of the scenario and the goal that the user is trying to achieve (Robbins & Stylianou, 2003). As an evaluator am supposed to collect the results and produce an evaluation. E-commerce website has an evaluation process that is based on evaluation of the web and also in web user satisfaction. I should ensure that the e-commerce website has user satisfaction which entails the users of the website who include suppliers, buyers and stakeholders (Dreze & Zufryden, 1997). It is also important that I distinguish the first time buyers from the frequent buyers. The first time buyers will require an overview in order to understand a wide range of services offered by the e-commerce website.
As an evaluator, I will focus on E-commerce website user satisfaction whereby I will have a goal towards the first time buyers by conducting transaction of e-commerce activities such as provision of information about the website, negotiation of the price, contract, volume and delivery date, settlement on the payment I should also keep the users of the e-commerce website updated on the training dates on how to use this site and on how to create online portals of the same site (Resnick & Montania, 2003). I will also look at various ways that will lead to satisfaction of the users on how the website operates. The factors that may lead to satisfaction of the user include the in formativeness and attractiveness of the website (Zhang et al., 2001). The physical web settings will be put in a way that they attract the customers. In formativeness involves the logical settings that provide customers with useful information so that they can understand how the website operates. Dissatisfaction may occur when the customers are not satisfied by the website activities such as how the transaction activities are conducted, if it is hard for the buyers to access the website and if the buyers cannot find the information they want about the website.
I will make a choice of an evaluation criteria that helps to determine whether the buyers can pass through the dissatisfaction process for them to become satisfied with the website. There are four criteria that can be used such as ease of identification, usefulness and interactivity and ease of use of the website (Braddy et al., 2003). This is based on the degree of satisfaction to the buyer. In order to be in a position to measure the degree, it is appropriate that I choose the most favorable scoring systems which will help evaluate if the four criteria are easy to use or not, if any help is needed, if they are useful or not and if they are interactive to the buyers or not. As an evaluator, I have to consider various factors that will help tell whether the buyers are satisfied or not (Petre et al., 2006). They include security issues, issues on cost of the product, if the customers are enjoying shopping or not, issues on delivery time, how easy the transaction is, ensure confidentiality, maximizing access to information, minimizing access of customers personal information ,minimizing personal travel and maximizing product use and availability.
An e-commerce website should also not take too long to load. If possible, an e-commerce website should have an inclusive of videos that market the products for the users to see and chose what they love most. An e-commerce website also entices the users by ensuring that there is no charge for the shipping (Rhisiart & Vollrath, 1994). Also some deals are conducted such as special offers to the customers which have attracted many customers. Content sliders can be used to advertise new goods and make customers spend more time on the website. A chat session should also be created to involve customers in chat so that the customers feel that help is readily available.
On the other hand, there are various cases and aspects that must be considered for the proper functioning of the e-commerce website. The use cases that must be considered include the user interface such as the header which entails the menu, if the account is logged in and also the login and the logout. User interface also displays a ‘’ thankyou’’ message which proves that the user has logged in the account successfully. Lastly, user interface entails more details about the e-commerce website and also information on how to reach the owners of the website like they can be contacted by the buyers through the email, social media or through cell. Selection of item is another case that must be considered (Lepkowska & Eifler, 2008). When selecting the item, the size, price and the brand of the item must be considered to make sure that it is favorable for many customers to consider. For delivery purposes, the e-commerce website must entail a case that displays the customer’s address, name, and description of the item and also the price of the item. There also should be secure method of payment through which customers should use to pay for their items. The administration that controls the e-commerce website should make sure that they enable staff view the orders made by the customers right away without delay.
Learnability is also a key factor that I have to consider when designing an e-commerce website. In this regard, the time it takes to learn an e-commerce website should be minimal (Sillence et al., 2007). I have also ensured that language is considered as a main factor on the website. I have to use simple and clear language. Also I have used the international language since this is an international website that should reach all people worldwide. If I use my community language then the people that are able to understand my language are the only ones that belong to my community.
It is clear that this e-commerce website is not well known to many people. I have come up with an idea that the website be advertised through social media so that more people get familiarized with the e-commerce website. For example I have created a Facebook site through which people should view our products and learn that the e-commerce website exists. I have also created a chat platform on the site of Facebook and twitter whereby people comment on our website services. I have tried to advertise it through television and radio.
Also I have considered an issue on test subject doing. These are issues that may affect the website positively or negatively. For example on the issue of clarity of the website, if the payments are confident and also navigation of the website.
Through evaluation procedure I have been able to come up with various results regarding customer satisfaction, the test subject doing, measurements of the performance of the buyers and also on the answers to debriefing questions and many others (Manfreda & Vehovar, 2002). Regarding customer evaluation, I found out that there is the need for me to propose a constructive gathering of various elements that will help the customer get satisfied since several seem dissatisfied with the characteristics of the website. However, the customers have multiple objectives as far as internet satisfaction is concerned.
To begin with, I have been able to maximize security on my website by ensuring that I have strong security features for my site such that people are not able to guess to access my personal website. I have found out people that it is possible for people to hack the account so I have kept in touch with the security management so that they can take charges against any person who tries to hack this e-commerce website. Also many buyers have complained that the prices of the items are high so I have tried to minimize cost of items to attract more customers on my website. I have found out that if I sell at a higher price many people end up running away to other websites hence I end up losing most of my customers. I have also attached links to the website for step by step shopping procedure for customers to quickly learn and enjoy their products and services. I have also tried to maximize ease of transaction whereby I have introduced the use of credit cards and money grams which are easy for many customers to access. I have also ensured that no customer’s personal information is required for him or her to purchase for goods online.
The information on the website was little so I have added more information that explains to the customers on how our website works and that explores more on the quality of the goods which gives clear price tags of each item (Yu et al., 2011). Many customers have complained that their goods are being delayed for delivery so I have ensured that there is a quick delivery of products by employment of enough suppliers such that the customers get their delivery within the set period of time. Lastly, I have tried to make sure that no buyer uses his or her means of transport all the way coming for his product. Since the e-commerce website is an online thing the customers should have a free delivery of the item (Djamasbi et al., 2010). Through implementation of all these objectives, the customers are now fully satisfied with the services offered by my site.
However, many people prefer a shopping platform that allows them to shop from their various engagements such as travelling, home or even at work. There is no better tool to provide this than a mobile application. As an evaluator I have ensured the e-commerce website is not only accessible via computers but also accessible in devices like mobile.
Regarding the social media adverts, it is clear that the e-commerce website is now well known to many people all over the world. The use of both television and radio has positively impacted those who cannot afford a television such that they are in a position to know what the e-commerce website can supply to them (Tractinsky et al., 2006). Also those who lack both television and radio and have Facebook accounts are also in a position to get a clear information of the website. Through this people have learned that they can also shop online. It’s not a must that they present themselves physically to a shop for shopping. It can also be done online.
On issues of language, I need to keep the language simple. Some buyers may not be literate to understand the complicated language. Simple words that are easy to understand are the best. The use of international language the website has helped the e-commerce website circulate worldwide.
Since on Facebook and twitter there is a chat platform where people respond on issues regarding the e-commerce website, customer care of the website are able to read and evaluate what people think about the e-commerce website. It is through these responses that I am able to understand the attitude of people towards this site which helps me improve on the negativities noted (Albuquerque & Belchior, 2002). Also the buyers are in a position to ask questions that enquire information about the e-commerce website. It is easy for customers to have a clear explanation of what they cannot understand about the e-commerce website. Instagram is also useful for them to market photos of their products.
On issues regarding test subject doing I found out that so many people are really struggling for the clarity of thee-commerce website such that the background of the website was dark therefore I had to brighten it to make it visible to the viewers. Also I found out that many people tend to forget their passwords so I made sure that there is an option for them to change their passwords. On the payment option, it was clear that many people were not so sure about credit cards as a payment option. It is good that I give them confidence that nothing will go wrong if they use their credit cards ( Hausman, A. V et al, 2009).
As an evaluator, I have been able to find various results after the evaluation methodology which has helped me to come up with solutions on how I can improve the site. Through this am able to derive various findings of the e-commerce website as follows. First, the e-commerce website is now effective for many customers to use since they are satisfied by all that it offers. Minimizing of the cost price has led to satisfaction whereby many people now consider shopping items from this website. Quick delivery where buyers get their delivery on time has helped market this website since people are sure that they will get what they want fastest possible. Many people now believe in the e-commerce website since they are now sure that the website is not a scum.
The e-commerce website is now an attractive site that everyone enjoys to use. The advanced content sliders attract the buyers to keep on viewing what is new in the market. Also with a clear background the information becomes easier to read and also the pictures of the items on the website are clear for the customers to choose what they love most.
The language used on the website is plain and simple for many customers to read and understand. Also the quality of goods are high hence the customers do not have a doubt of the products supplied by the e-commerce website (Law et al., 2020).
The website offers interaction between the buyers and the customer care on the issues that may arise on this website. Also this gives a chance for the buyers to ask questions on what they cannot understand on the website. They are therefore given a clear information and guidelines. People do not doubt this platform anymore since the customer cares are readily available to solve the problems that they may face while using the website.
The website entices the users since no shipping fee. Many people prefer using the e-commerce website to shop online rather than travelling all the way to the shops to buy goods. E -commerce website ensures that goods are easily available for those who are near and even in far places. It serves the whole world (F.Kong et al, 2005).
According to (Kim et al., 2007), the attractiveness of a website is the backbone of e-commerce website. Though the website might be designed such that it’s easy to use, if it is not attractive to customers, they will not spend much time on it. If customers are satisfied and appreciate they will be the ones to spread the word to the wider community.
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