UBS Redesign - USA Usability Test Findings and Analysis

1. Project document For internal use UBS.com Redesign - USA Usability TestFindings and Analysis May 9, 2011

2. Table of Contents • Introduction and Background About this document Methodology and User Segmentation Goals • Findings Executive Summary Detailed Findings by Navigational Section Page Content and General Appearance • Challenges and Next Steps

3. Introduction and Background

4. About This Document What is a usability test and why do we do it: What is it: • Usability tests place actual users in front of a functioning online prototype of the redesign. Users are then asked to complete tasks and answer questions regarding their opinion of the site design, functionality and content. Why we do it: • We tested the UBS.com redesign to verify if the redesign solves obstacles that not only keep your users from getting what they need, but also your business from realizing it’s goals.

5. Usability Testing Methodology • 8 Users (4 private investors and 4 institutional/corporate investors) recruited by 3rd party agency, matching criteria for demographics, internet experience and financial goals • Users presented with a working online prototype of UBS.com redesign in a professional usability lab with moderator • Moderator asked users to complete a series of tasks, probing the functionality, visual design and content of the redesign • User actions recorded and tabulated through video, audio and mouseclick capture • Tasks included searching for deep content across navigation areas as well as recognition of navigational functionality • We then analyzed the results to create overarching themes on the redesign‘s effectiveness • This evaluation includes: • Discussion of key issues by functionality area • Detailed capture of user actions and comments (as Excel file Appendices)

6. Usability Testing Goals This test will help to identify the effectiveness of information architecture, visual design and content solutions for the UBS.com redesign. This process will also: • Contribute to a complete understanding of the redesigned site architecture • Identify what major problems continue to need to be addressed in redesign • Inform final recommendations

7. User Segmentation • 4 Private Investors • 2 male, 2 female; ages mid-40s to mid-60s • Investable assets > $1 million (one user between $500K and $1 million) • Use internet frequently to access financial services but have only some comfort using financial services websites • Mix of full-time employment and retirees • 4 Corporate/Institutional Investors • 3 male, 1 female; ages mid-30s to mid-50s • VP, SVP or Director level in finance across several industry sectors • Either the final decision maker or active participant in process to determine their company’s financial services activities • Frequent internet users at home and work • Assets under management $1-20 Billion

8. Findings

9. Executive Summary Key positive findings • Users found visual design attractive and appropriate to brand • Site content matched user expectations Key negative findings • Users could not complete most tasks without prompting • Users felt navigational structure is too spread across page to effectively discover and navigate to content • Navigational elements are neither structurally nor visually parallel, which caused users to misunderstand or not recognize functionality • Breadcrumb and ‘select area’ 2nd level navigation failed in particular Key Recommendations • Combine key Global Navigation functions with Main Navigation • Restrict navigation hierarchy to one area of the page • Visually redesign all navigation elements to more closely match each other • Rearchitect 2nd level ‘select area’ navigation look and behavior

10. Meta navigation – Country and Language Findings • Users could not find these functionalities at first glance because fonts were too small and were not visually prominent • Users expected these functionalities in a header location • Double-level dropdown for Country was understandable but awkward • Many users could not select dropdown target properly with mouse because bounding boxes were too small • Many users wondered why Switzerland was listed separately and thought it should be part of Europe Recommendations • Increase visual prominence of links by enlarging font or adding color • If a second level dropdown is implemented, move the sub-choices under the first level choice • i.e. European countries should appear directly under Europe link rather than at the bottom of the dropdown

11. Global navigation Findings • Users could not find these links as they did not expect them in a traditional header location • Links were too small, not visually prominent enough and inconsistent with the remainder of the site’s navigation • Users were confused by links’ relationship to Main Nav since these items were very far removed from each other • Users were confused by categories’ labels, wondering why ‘Our Businesses’ was not part of ‘About UBS’ Recommendations • Combine Global Nav into Main Nav and move links out of header into more prominent area • Make navigation more visually prominent and more consistent with remainder of Main and Sub-Navigation • Make all navigation elements appear as part of a coherent whole • Change ‘About UBS’ label to something more indicative of internal functions

12. Meta functions – Search / Contact Us / Login Findings • Users could locate this functionality and expected it to appear where it did • Dropdown functionality behaved as expected and provided choices as expected • However, users were evenly divided as to whether they should be presented with login fields first and then have the system prompt for which account to go to, or vice versa • Corporate users wanted the site to be smarter about identifying users through country, language and login choices • Users felt that Contact dropdown should be the way to access all contacts, while page content right-column Contact Us functionality should be content page-specific • Most users expected a search query to take them directly to the page in question, rather than a series of links, if there was a direct match to the query term (i.e. ‘Investment Bank’) • If the search function didn’t return what they wanted immediately, they were more likely to return to Google to find it Recommendations • Visually separate meta-functions more from remaining header functions • Implement search function only if it returns accurate, specific results

13. Meta- and Global Navigation − User Comments • “Global header categories are too important to be so small” • “’Our Businesses’ should be in Main Navigation” • “I didn’t see the header” • “Let me log in first and then let me choose among my accounts” • “Isn’t Switzerland part of Europe?” • “[The Global Navigation] is kind of hidden” • “North America and US are not the same thing. It’s misleading.”

14. Main Navigation Findings • Users believed ‘Change Area’ navigation was inactive • When shown it is navigation, they thought it sub-modified the breadcrumb term to its immediate left rather than first term in the list • Most users believed Main Navigation labels are titles and not clickable links • Some users did not understand metaphor of using breadcrumbs as navigation • Users did not like having to go up to header area from Main Navigation to go to top levels of navigation • Users felt Main Navigation was not visually prominent enough compared to Sub-Navigation Recommendations • Combine Global, Main and Sub-Navigation elements elements into single, more prominent, visually coherent navigational area • Stick to unified visual metaphor of all-horizontal, or all-vertical navigation • Second-level navigation must clearly visually modify its first-level parent, either by dropping down/flying out directly from it or using color to clearly demarcate content buckets

15. Main Navigation – User Comments • “[The breadcrumbs] look like a title – not navigation” • “I didn’t realize [main navigation] was a link. I thought it was a title.” • “There’s nothing here that’s showing me the primary functions” • “[I need to] get used to the breadcrumbs.”

16. Sub-Navigation – Tab and Left Navigation Findings • Many users believed horizontal Sub-Navigation was Main Navigation • Users wanted more gradient contrast between each button, and between buttons and white background • Lightest gray button often seen as title rather than clickable object • Cluster Titles of sub-navigation buttons sometimes seen as a clickable object • Users wanted more contrast between rollover, selected and unselected button states • Users did not like mix of horizontal and vertical buttons Recommendations • Increase contrast and add color to increase distinction between unselected, rollover and selected button states • Remove cluster titles as users believe they should link to currently non-existent category main pages • If possible, set standards across business owners on maximum number of sub-navigation leaves per main navigational section

17. Sub-Navigation – User Comments • “I didn’t even know [the sub-navigation] existed. I thought it was telling me to select from below on the page. The grey arrow is pointing downwards” • “[Sub-Navigation] appeared greyed-out so I didn’t think it was active” • “I would think [Sub-Navigation flyouts] would be sitting underneath or waterfalling” • “’Select Area’ is very vague [label].”

18. Contact Us Areas Findings • Contact Us functionality locations matched user expectations • Users wanted page content right column Contact Us box to contain information that was page content specific • i.e. Investment Bank content pages need Investment Bank contact information targeted to user’s location and language • Some users wanted additional modes of contact in right column area besides phone number, particularly email address or live chat Recommendations • Add functionality in right column box for users to refine location identification, such as zip code entry • Refine display of contact information in right column box based on system’s knowledge of user through language and country selection, login identification and IP address

19. Contact Us Areas – User Comments • “I prefer having an email address [to contact UBS]. Then I can tell them what I’m looking for and wait for an email back.“ • “Dropdowns disappear too quickly. It’s really annoying.”

20. Page Content Findings • Users found page titling and content legible, easily scannable and layed out well • Users found content informative and matched expectations • Users believed tone was brand appropriate • Users felt some pages were too long and did not want to scroll more than 1 ½ page lengths • Users thought it took too many clicks to get to content • Some users felt that content hyperlinks were of too low contrast to regular type and needed bolder color Recommendations • Modify color palette for hyperlinks • Add color for visited link state • Reduce page content so users need to scroll less

21. Page Content – User Comments • “A page and a half is too much scrolling” • “Too many links” • “Links should be in another color” • “It’s interesting that Fixed Income is within Institutions. When I think Corporates I think ‘how you’re helping me do it’. Institutions is ‘how to go at it’.” • “It’s too many clicks to get to the ‘Daily Roundup’.” • “I don’t know as a normal human being that I’ll have to look for [The Daily Roundup] under Investment Bank.” • “Menu bars are totally subdued by the coloring … so it doesn’t attract your eye to it.” • “It took a lot of reading to figure out where things could be.”

22. General Appearance Findings • Users generally felt content was difficult to find and buried into too many levels • Most users found visual design attractive and appropriate to brand • Some users felt colors were bland or dry and palette was too narrow • Users believed site was organized by UBS’s internal perception of its businesses, rather than how users need to interact with the business • Often navigation labeling was considered confusing or gave no informative value • Most users were not familiar with current UBS site, but when they were, felt redesign was a visual improvement Recommendations • Rearchitect content into a flatter navigational tree structure which more resembles users’ task flow interactions with the business • Change labeling to more accurately describe page content • Add new colors to site from UBS secondary color palette to direct focus and increase contrast

23. General Appearance – User Comments • “Too boring. Too dry. This could be a medical website. It’s not giving me intimacy with the Bank.” • “Things were not simple for me to find” • “There’s too much navigation” • “[Design] is clean and crisp but could have more design to it” • “I have too many places to look that are important” • “Different sections should have different colors”

24. Best and worst Three things that users thought worked very well • Individual content pages • Overall content is task and brand appropriate • Text legibility and scannability Three things users thought were the biggest problems • Confusing navigation • Too many clicks to get to desired content • Site does not remember context of who user is when user crosses navigational sections

25. Challenges and Next Steps

26. Challenges Moving forward and thinking about recommendations for the UBS.com redesign, the following specific challenges need to be taken into consideration: • There is a very broad range of users with very specific needs • The amount of content is significant • Many pages contain very specific content – most of which will only apply to specific users • The site needs to support both power users and occasional users

27. Next Steps • Merge United States findings with findings from other regions to ascertain global trends • Identify what major problems need to be addressed in further redesign • Develop final recommendations