Many Eyes Usability Study
IBM’s Many Eyes website allows people to upload and visualize data, and facilitates social interaction and analysis by allowing people to openly share these visualizations.
In order to test the ease of learning of the Many Eyes website, we conducted a series of formal usability evaluations with three graduate students at Indiana University. Based on our analysis of the usability data, we concluded that the Many Eyes website is somewhat difficult to learn; however, once the users have made it through the registration process and explored the features of the site, they find it fairly easy to use.
We recommend improving the Many Eyes registration and login process, so that field requirements are clear and error messages are more specific and helpful. We also recommend modifying the layout of some page elements so that relevant options are more logically grouped and visible.
Download our Complete Usability Report
(900KB PDF)
Download our Usability Testing Documents
(400KB ZIP)
User Time Per Task - This graph clearly shows the disproportionate amount of time spent on Task 2.1, which involved creating a user account and registering with the Many Eyes website. Download our testing documents for a detailed look at our tasks and scenarios.
Cumulative Time Per User - This graph shows the amount of time it took each user to complete each task, in contrast to the performance of our "experienced" user. Task 2.1 is clearly visible in orange. Also notable is Task 1.2, which involved locating existing data visualizations.
Based on our analysis of Task 1.2, we propose moving the existing visualizations from their awkward location next to the comments box, and grouping them alongside similar options. Download our usability report for a complete overview of our observations and conclusions.