Decision Matrix

From the few user testing sessions I’ve done, more problems that need fixing came up. In order to decide which ones really need our attention, and which ones are more “future improvements’, I’ve decided to build a decision matrix.

This tool, like any other used for design process, can look very different depending on who uses it. Its main goal is to rank problems by (usually) allowing you to ‘give points’ to the issues (from 1 to 5), based on 2 criteria. Those can vary; here I have chosen the feasibility and value to the user.

Once you have your points distributed, you place the problems on a chart and it becomes easy to see which needs fixing urgently, and which can be dropped, or fixed later.

I have listed 4 main problems:

A – The “fake” links on the Destination page (I have discussed this problem in a previous article. Basically, there’s a list of countries Ryanair flies to, all appear to be links, as they are turn blue and underlined when hovered on, but some aren’t links at all) which have the potential to really frustrate users. If you want to check out an example, go to the aforementioned page and try clicking on Turin, Italy.

B-  Add checkboxes to the destination dropdown on the Homepage, allowing you to pick and compare prices for selected countries. (Alessia’s suggestion). This isn’t exactly a problem, more of a general improvement.

C – Make the Fare Finder tool more prominent by putting it on the Homepage. The main problem with this feature is that people aren’t aware it exists.

D – Make Maps a more prominent feature (it allows you to see on a map where Ryanair flies to, and shows you prices when you click on the destination of your choice). Some found it amazing, others frustrating.

As you can see from the matrix, the only real problem that must be “fixed or die” is the Fare Finder tool. (That, and the fact that I spelt “Feasibility” incorrectly…)

All other problems are strongly to be considered, particularly fixing the links on the Destination page, which shouldn’t be such hard work and remove a big enough pain point from the website.

If you’d like to find out more about decision matrices:

Using Prioritization Matrices to Inform UX Decisions