This project was done during the UXE course directed by Prof. Stanley. Along with five other members, I worked with the Yahoo team. Our goal in this project was to optimize the user experience of the news function on Yahoo App through user research.

The first time my team and I used Yahoo App, we found out the news function took a lot of work to navigate. Therefore, we decided to focus on the news function in this research. On the other hand, the Yahoo App team aimed to acquire more Gen Z users. (Gen Z = Youth aged 16~25) Therefore, the goal of the optimization was to get more Gen Z users to use the news feature.

We began by conducting user interviews. The goal of the interviews was to understand the behaviors, needs, and pain points of Gen Z users when receiving news. We ended up conducting three pilot interviews and eleven formal interviews. The age of interviewees ranged from 21 to 25 years old. Down below are some questions that we asked in interviews.

We analyzed the feedback using affinity diagrams and summarized six key findings. We categorized these findings into three scenario stages, which were "news opportunity", "news assessment" and "further investigation".

In order for us to empathize with our users, we categorized our key findings into several behavioral variables. We then classified these findings into four personas. These personas have different motivations for accessing news and different needs for news platforms:

Then, we made a comparative analysis. The goal of the comparative analysis was to analyze the features of existing competing products to gain insights into how the Yahoo App team can adjust the Yahoo App to be more attractive to Gen Z users. Based on the findings obtained in the user interview, we designed scoring criteria. We then selected ten products from the App Store's high score list. Below is a summary table of the analysis results.

Next, we conducted a survey. The purpose of this survey was to understand the optimization directions that need to be improved first from the user's point of view. Based on the results of the user interviews and comparative analysis described above, we designed a survey questionnaire. Then, we used Kano modeling in the survey. Finally, we found three attractive features that Generation Z users liked. Therefore, we translated these features into the following design suggestions.

Because the team wanted to explore the problems with the Yahoo application interface, we conducted an heuristic evaluation. This evaluation was based on Jakob Nielsen's ten design principles. We listed two common scenarios when using the Yahoo app news feature. We then walked through the interface based on these two common scenarios and found 35 problems. Finally, we compiled a list of 8 interface issues that need to be improved first.

Next, we conducted a usability test. We wanted to know what pain points and needs are reauired by Gen Z users. Five participants were recruited through forms. They were between the ages of 17 and 25, and were regular users of the news apps, but had not used the Yahoo app before. We asked them to test the Yahoo app and the apps they regularly used through scenarios we designed. Afterwards, we asked participants to compare the Yahoo app with the news apps they had used. In addition, we used the SUS scale and satisfaction ratings to understand the quantitative performance of the Yahoo app.