Selected application
The chosen application is Facebook (website is www.facebook.com), which has services, products, and tools essential in enabling users to collect with each other in a social network. The third parties have also been able to provide their applications using the platform
Purpose of the application
The website, www.facebook.com, was established in 2004. Since then, it has developed and become the most popular social media platform in the world. As such, it has more than seven hundred and fifty users; seventy percent of this number of people are outside the U.S. The development of the website by Mark Zuckerberg was to act as a social networking site for university students (Chang et al., 2015). However, throughout the last decade, the mission statement of the company has changed. As such, it provides individuals the opportunity to share personal information, ensuring that the universe is not only open but well connected. There has been an increased connection between individuals, as the site enables people to understand others better. The founder ensured that users could control the information they share on the platform and individuals who can obtain it. Besides, personal engagement is one of the website’s vital components, enabling users to connect, sharing news, thoughts, and videos. The website has allowed users to connect as long as the posted information can be seen in friends’ feeds. An individual can keep up with the happenings around friends’ lives. They cannot also connect through messages and Facebook calls. Besides, the platform has enabled individuals to communicate with business and public figures like politicians and celebrities. It has also become a platform for marketing business, as there is sharing of advertisements through the platform (Nastišin & Mudrík, n.d.). Hence, the main purpose/goal is for social networking.
Four usability issues
Pagination is used for the wrong purpose, which involves providing various content pages when you google Facebook. The platform has a long list of items and products, which may confuse users. However, it is essential to display too many things, which can be attractive to visitors. In some cases, the page may be slower to process for new users. It is medium, as a user can easily see the main website is at the top of the page and sign in.
Too much functionality that needs registration- users must first sign up before using the site. Users cannot see news feeds and posts from friends unless they sign in with their emails and passwords. It is a moderate severity issue facing the users.
The site has long registration forms, which may be a barrier for users. It requires a user to make efforts to fill personal information. The task is not enjoyable, as there are many details needed to sign in to the platform. It requires time and effort for the account opening. The users will also have to create memorable passwords/usernames to prevent future issues with forgotten passwords/usernames. It is a medium issue, as users can use email/phone numbers when the password is forgotten (Korhan & Ersoy, 2016).
There is a reduced touch with the company. User engagement is an essential way of ensuring customer loyalty. Besides, it requires prompt response when asked questions. A quick response is also provided when a user is in need to reset his or her password. However, messages directed to the inbox takes time to get replied. It is a high severity issue, as the users cannot get a prompt response to their queries.
Recommendation to address usability Issue
For long pagination, users need to click the first Facebook results they find while googling Facebook. Besides, the website www.facebook.com will lead a user directly to the sign in and sign up section. The app can also be useful in preventing the issue. Users need to sign in for functionality issues before seeing news feeds, as every social media platform works this way. For long registration forms, a user can skip some sections that are mandatory to be filled. Lastly, the organization should increase artificial intelligence involvement in responding to customers’ messages or employing more customer care agents.
Reflection
There was no issue in providing information about the platform since I am well-accustomed to Facebook. The challenge that new users can experience in doing usability studies involves finding information about usability issues affecting the specific forum. In this regard, various problems may be affecting users of multiple platforms. However, getting the ones particular to the selected media may be challenging for students doing usability studies. As such, users need to choose the issues that are specific to the platform. Besides, it will be challenging to rate the problems, as this is based on an individual’s opinion.
References
Chang, C. C., Hung, S. W., Cheng, M. J., & Wu, C. Y. (2015). Exploring the intention to continue using social networking sites: The case of Facebook. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 95, 48-56.
Korhan, O., & Ersoy, M. (2016). Usability and functionality factors of the social network site application users from the perspective of uses and gratification theory. Quality & quantity, 50(4), 1799-1816.
Nastišin, Ľ., & Mudrík, P. M. Social network Facebook analysis and its potential use in the marketing mix.