Badge Central Redesign User Experience Testing Findings Discussion

1. Badge Central Redesign User Experience TestingFindings Discussion Study Dates: March 18/19 2008 Findings Discussion: March 27 2008

2. Redesign Goals and Testing Objectives Badge Central Redesign Goals • Make the system easier to use (e.g., finding and activating badges) • Facilitate the sale of Premium items (e.g., smarter merchandising, streamlined purchasing) • Make it easier for users to understand the world of badges Testing Objectives and Scope • Inform the design of the next generation Badge Central by understanding how Club Pogo players currently use Badge Central features, as well as gaining feedback on lo-fidelity concepts. • Current Badge Central Use (experienced players only): How does the current Badge Central support the needs of serious badge collecters? What’s missing? • Concepts: Do the concepts make it easier for Newbies and Mid-Level Engaged to understand Badge Central and the various badge products? Is finding, buying and activating badges easier for everyone? Is the merchandise strategy more appealing and intuitive? What works; what doesn’t resonate?

3. Approach and Participant Requirements Approach • Remote testing using UserVue • 1.5 hour interviews Participant Requirements • All participants • Club Pogo members • Sole user of account • PC with high-speed connection • North America • 2 heavily engaged CP with recent premium badge awards. These users were able to speak to how Badge Central and the prototypes support what’s important to them for growing and managing their badge collection. • 2 players with mid-level engagement.  One Newbie with numerous free badges and minimal premium badges; and one experienced with minimal premium badges. These users spoke to the value proposition of the prototypes, and how well the system helps users understand what badge products are, but were less likely to be significantly biased by the existing BC. • 2 Newbies with few free or premium badges. These users spoke to the value proposition of the new Badge Central, how well the system helps users understand what badge products are and how to buy them.

4. Our Participants Mapped

5. Ceil: Experienced CP with only a few Premium Badges • Ceil • Pogo screen name: Ceilplay • 50 year old home maker from Columbus, Ohio • Having struggled in school, badges give her a sense of accomplishment • One Mix-n’-Match album; likes to earn one badge at a time; hasn’t “worked up the courage” to ask her husband to pay for more than what she needs • Externalizing badges is important to her; prints badges out and makes a scrapbook to reflect on and share with her family as well as visitors to her home

6. Brenda: Experienced CP with many Premium Badges • Brenda • Pogo screen name: Bambi57626 • Home maker from Summit Hill, PA • First introduced to Gems by a friend who gave her a $20 pack • Although a social player with 200 Friends, she is less interested in a badge rating / popularity than its degree of difficulty

7. Donna: Experienced CP with many Premium Badges • Brenda • Pogo screen name: DNickell4 • 49 year old home maker from Oak Hill, WV • A hardcore player, she is keenly aware of the discount afforded by using Gems for premium badge purchases.

8. Alexis: Experienced CP with one Premium Badge • Alexis • Pogo screen name: p0pc0rn42 • 35 year old home maker from Anchorage, AK • Although she describes prices for premium items not cost-prohibitive, without her own income, she doesn’t purchase them • Accidentally purchased a Battle Phlinx badge with her Bonus Gems; hasn’t activated it • A planner by nature, she closely monitors her time and plays games / earns badges that maximize her time available

9. Krista: CP Newbie with no Premium Badges • Krista • Pogo screen name: Kristaispecial • 58 year old book merchandiser from Marshalltown, IA • A CP Newbie, she is intrigued by Pogo’s community, but feels left out thinking that “everyone already knows everyone.” • Expressed that she feels “lost” on the site and doesn’t know her way around

10. Judy: CP Newbie with no Premium Badges • Judy • Pogo screen name: Nightnurse811 • 53 year old nurse from Meadville, PA • A CP Newbie, she didn’t know she had earned badges • Under the impression that one can either buy badges outright, or can play a challenge to earn them

11. Key Observations

12. Badge Central Home Hits • Basic structure clear and effective (Badges I’m Working On on left and large store on right • My Collection well-received direct link to key information and full badge collection • Just For You was appealing, but unclear • Number of friends who have this badge in JFY a hit • Ad unit considered useful • Coming Soon appealing feature Concerns • Newbies were generally overwhelmed • Older players had some difficulty parsing the different modules – seemed overwhelming • Badge Store module should be renamed (or unnamed) to accurately reflect content • Minority expressed that the ad unit location was counter-intuitive relative to the Badge Store module • Gems have little/no exposure here Suggestions • Add amount of time left to earn badges in BIWO • Consider removing some non-essential modules from Newbie view of page (Just For You, Coming Soon, Opinion Poll) Generally overlooked • Badge-type color coding • Help (?) button (tho’ not tested) • Newbie definitions for badges in Badges I’m Working On • Tabs in Badge Store

13. Badge Store Alternatives Version A Version B Hits • Large, full-color badges were a hit • Starbursts were effective in Version B Concerns • Older users did not see tabs in Version A • Users generally couldn’t describe differences between Versions A and B from memory (fragment presentation would have made comparison more effective)

14. Badge Description Rollover Hits • Full color badge and thumbnail a big hit • Content was described as useful • 5 of your friends have this badge very well received Concerns • Conceptually the hearts and clocks were understood, but users had different perceptions of specific data functionality (e.g., is 2.2 the number of average hours, or a relative scale of time to completion?) • Ratings description not understood • Difficult to fully evaluate the rollover • Effect of a full page with active rollovers not known • Popup timing was off and clunky

15. Newbie and Experienced “Badges I’m Working On” Views Hits • All users liked the summary of what badges they’re working on • Upper left hand location seemed appropriate Newbie View Experienced View Concerns • Newbies did not learn to differentiate between badge types from this module Generally overlooked • Badge-type color coding

16. Find a Badge—Thumbnail View Hits • Access to Game name, degree of difficulty, rating and price most well-received data • Thumbnail badge icon appreciated nearly as much as the large image on the second view Concerns • Top search area perceived to be complex • Users want to search by game, and this is currently buried in the description • Users need to see the full challenge task in order to make a purchase decision • Nomenclature of “Show Large Badges” not clear to users • Difference between Get it Now and Add to Cart fuzzy • Difficulty rating could dissuade purchasing • Find a Badge button not necessarily correlated to the drop down menus Suggestions • Find a Badge button description could be changed to “search” Generally overlooked • Release date generally not important to users

17. Find a Badge– Large Badge View Hits • Full-sized badge images and fewer data columns preferred by older players Concerns • No consensus on whether players want to see badges they already own • Some confusion around difference between Activate and Get Badge Generally overlooked • Badge color coding

18. My Collection Hits • Stats overview a big hit • Both Newbies and Experienced players found the badge text informative Concerns • Visibility of link to badge collection on Profiles tab is low Suggestions • Album descriptions useful, but may be better served on the BC home page • Enthusiasm for page might be increased with more dramatic progress and completion indicators

19. Add an Album Hits • Well-understood • No show-stoppers • Visible expiration date Concerns • Game-centric users want to see albums oriented around the games themselves • PBA names are confusing to some users; one user thought On the Go meant they could be earned on a portable device such as a cell phone Suggestions • No wow factor observed—more dramatic graphics? • Increase visibility of expiration date Generally overlooked • Release date not important to users • Album search generally overlooked

20. Key Observations – Drivers and Connections • Game is King • Users consistently evaluate badges first by game • Experience level impacts decision criteria for badge acquisition • Newbies gravitated toward information that exposes community opinion of a badge (e.g., Top Sellers, popularity, degree of difficulty) • Badge Hounds found New Releases most appealing • All users feel a pride of completion • Game ranks • Badges • While generally not considered cost-prohibitive, players without their own income are hesitant to splurge on Premium products

21. Key Observations – Education Needs • Badges • Newbies unable to differentiate between MnMs, PBAs and Weekly badges • Newbies had difficulty correlating “challenge” to “badge” • Even experienced players (who weren’t Badge Hounds) couldn’t succinctly define the different product types (MnM badges / albums, PBAs, Weekly challenges / badges) • Newbies don’t understand that you can work on multiple badges at once • Not clear which badges are free and which require payment (one player thought you could either earn badges or buy them outright) • Newbies unclear on the fact that when you buy a MnM you are creating an album • Gems • Experienced players understand the benefits of Gems • Newbies aren’t aware of Gems, don’t understand them (e.g., think they can earn them like tokens), generally aren’t aware that they receive 20 Bonus Gems when they join CP

22. Key Observations – Design • Badge Central’s rich content is both exciting and overwhelming to both Experienced and Newbie players • Users don’t like to read, gravitating toward images, stats, and buttons instead • Learning about BC products through context only has created misperceptions and misunderstandings by all user types

23. Additional Findings • Existing site • Experienced players question the way they view their existing badge collection (“This is the only way I know how…”) • Newbies often don’t know they *can* view their collection • Externalization of badges may be an opportunity • Personal reflection • Sharing with family and visitors • Thumbnail icon of badge is very important • Seasonal correlation or coordination with Mini • As a player’s representative icon in the chat window

24. Areas for Further Exploration • Shopping cart functionality • Education • Badges • Gems • Nomenclature standardization • Badge Central Modules • Badges and products • Pros and Cons of user-driven ratings

25. Next Steps