This piece of user research was part of a larger UX project on Yukon.ca. The vendor used established UX heuristics to evaluate the user experience on Yukon.ca. Again, our goal was to understand what we are doing well and what we're not doing well. We want to build on the things we've got dialed in and address any UX issues that create barriers for people who use Yukon.ca.

Members of the vendor team who conducted this analysis were their developer, a marketer/strategist, service designwe and UX researcher.  

They used the following heuristics:

• Visibility of system status
• Match between system and the real world
• User control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Recognition rather than recall
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) considerations

For each heuristic we'll look at the vendor's assessement of what we're doing well and what we can do to improve the overall UX on Yukon.ca. 

Visibility of system status

What the vendor was looking for

The design keeps users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback, within a reasonable amount of time.

What we’re doing well

• Updates at the top of the home page
• Footer information
• User feedback form on each page
• Privacy statement

What we can do to improve

• Remove outdated information
• Indicate when pages were last updated
• Give users confirmation messages after they have submitted feedback
• Make sure feedback buttons work with keyboard navigation
• Make sure the link colours change depending on their state

Match between the system and the real world

What the vendor was looking for

The design should speak the users' language. We should use words, phrases, and concepts  familiar to the user, rather than internal jargon. And we should follow  real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

What we’re doing well

• Writing is generally clear, straightforward, and easy to understand
• Core areas are clearly grouped
• Menu orders services alphabetically
• Pages have steps that let users know what happens next
• Pages are well organized
• Use of icons on the home page make sections easy to scan
• Clearly defined page titles at the top of pages
• Menu headings are clear about what information is on corresponding pages

What we can do to improve

• Address the walls of text on the category and sub-category pages
• Find ways to add meaningful imagery that enhances an understanding of page content.
• Format or standardize contact information to make it stand out on task pages.
• Add overview content to menus and pages for context
• Find ways to build on the brand to give people a feel for Yukon people, cultures and landscape.

User control and freedom

What the vendor was looking for

Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.

What we are doing well

• Main menu is alphabetical
• Breadcrumbs on pages
• Consistent search bar at the top
• French language selector
• Toggle to switch to a “Basic HTML” view

What we can do to improve

• Test and make sure the main menu is viewable and clickable regardless of screen size
• Sub-navigation is long in some sections of the site
• Some pages require the user to use arrows or links to get to another page but it's not always clear
• Search form should have a proper label that's more descriptive, the placeholder text could then be an example query to aid the user
• Improve relationship between Yukon.ca and campaign sites
• Add content to the website that explains accessibility options and support the government offers.
• Improve filters for events
• Make sure contact information on a page is relevant to the task on the page.
• Find ways to represent First Nations languages and other languages Yukon citizens use.

Consistency and standards

What the vendor was looking for

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. And we should follow platform and industry conventions.

What we are doing well

• Consistent header and footer
• Site is visually consistent
• Consistent branding
• Site displays well on smaller devices
• Page titles are action-oriented and use words like “apply” and “find” consistently
• Forms and applications are in a searchable library
• PDF fillable forms are consistently branded
• Layouts have keyboard navigation in mind

What we can do to improve

• Continue to apply the brand in a consistent manner.

Recognition rather than recall

What the vendor was looking for

• Minimize the user's memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible.
• The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another.
• Information required to use the design (e.g. field labels or menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when needed.

What we are doing well

• Site relies on clear text links.
• Icons  are relevant for categories.
• Site organized by topics with breadcrumbs and internal navigation.

What we can do to improve

• Ensure buttons have text labels.
• Look at using icons or other visual elements to help users identify related content.
• Look for ways to link people from Yukon.ca to other platforms and back.
• Use of tool tips where possible.

Aesthetic and minimalist design

What we are looking for

• Interfaces should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed.
• Every extra unit of information in an interface competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

What we are doing well

• Site is clean and focused solely on information.
• Colours feel consistent with the brand.
• Text is concise and to the point as related to the topic.
• Good use of bullets to make page content very digestible.

What we can do to improve

• Work on improving the design and reducing text on parts of the website that are text-heavy.
• Look for places to strike a balance between white space and content.
• Improve the contrast of some elements like the search bar and some of the buttons.
• Find solutions to make sure the sub-category pages are not as link heavy.

GBA+

What we are looking for

• Information for users that are not digitally savvy should be easy to find.
• Information for specific user groups (for example First Nations, seniors, victims of gender-based violence) is designed with context.

What we are doing well

• How we present groupings of information. For example – services for seniors.
• The general presentation of information is easy to read and digestible.
• When zoomed in sidebar menu disappears so users can focus on page content.
• We provide related links at the bottom of the page with access to more supports for senior users.

What we can do to improve

• Ensure supports pages are not as overwhelming with links.
• Only include the top task of "Contact the Government" if it is relevant to the page content.
• Consider adding a quick escape button to allow users to leave the page quickly on gender-based violence related pages.
• Create direct links from the home page and the hamburger menu to content about Yukon First Nations (land claims, agreements, languages, Traditional Territories, etc.).
• Conduct more in-depth accessibility testing on Yukon.ca features to ensure continured compliance. For example, test navigability and screen reader function on multi-step pages..
• Look for ways to enhance content and break up text to make content more accessible for people who are more visual.

What does this mean and what are we going to do with these findings?

This analysis was incredibly helpful and allowed us to further dial in areas of Yukon.ca we can improve. We’ll look at these findings as well as the others from this assessment and use them to prioritize the work we do, and this will be added to the Yukon.ca product roadmap so we can tackle them over the coming months and years.