11/25/2015

Usability Test
A Comparison of the Montana
Grasses App and the XID
Identification System Software

By: Justin J. Trujillo

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1
METHODS ................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
The Montana Grasses App Usability Test .............................................................................................................. 2
Tasks 1, 2, 5 & 10 ........................................................................................................................................................... 2
Tasks 3, 4 & 6 ................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Tasks 7, 8 & 9 ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
The XID Information System Software Usability Test ..................................................................................... 4
Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 10 ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Tasks 7, 8 & 9 ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
FIGURES....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

INTRODUCTION
A usability test was conducted on the Montana Grasses App and the XID Identification
System Software. The app is available on both smartphones and tablets, and represents the
common grasses of croplands, pastures, and rangelands. The software is used to identify
grasses, rushes and sedges, but is performed on a personal computer (PC). There is also an
XID Identification System App; however, it does not feature any grasses. The purpose of the
usability test is to compare the two types of technology to see which one is more useful for
identifying grasses in field situations. By evaluating the functionality of the app and
software, I will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both, as well as address
these issues to my target audience, which will be ranchers, land managers, educators, and
students.

METHODS
The usability tests were performed on November 14, 2015 and November 15, 2015, at
8:00am on both days. The tests occurred in my apartment at my office desk, which was
positioned in a well-lit environment. Testing also took place in a noise free zone at a
comfortable room temperature of about 71 degrees Fahrenheit. The test for the Montana
Grasses App was performed on an iPhone 5c, and the test for the XID Identification System
Software was conducted on a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Series laptop. The criteria for
measuring the results was determined by the number of taps/clicks it took to perform each
task.
Below is a list of the 10 tasks that were performed on the usability of both the Montana
Grasses App and the XID Information System Software:
1. Search for bermudagrass
2. Locate the distribution map for jointed goatgrass
3. Find the description for buffalograss
4. Locate information about when flowering occurs for common barley
5. Find out the scientific name for Kentucky bluegrass
6. Find information on where cheatgrass is usually found/type of habitat it occurs in
7. Search for contact information for the app/software developer
8. Locate the source used for the distribution maps
9. Find the information regarding grass anatomy/characteristics
10. Search the common name for Poa bulbosa

RESULTS
The data that was gathered from the Montana Grasses App and the XID Information System
Software was either provided by the number of taps or clicks that was performed for each
task. Below describes the step-by-step process on how each task was done. Column graphs
are also provided at the end of this report for both the app (Figure 1) and software (Figure
2). The column graphs represent data that is either variable or uniform in distribution.
Overall, the column graphs suggest that the app took less taps to search for each task
versus the software, which took more clicks to perform each job.

The Montana Grasses App Usability Test

Tasks 1, 2, 5 & 10
Search for bermudagrass
Locate the distribution map for jointed goatgrass
Find out the scientific name for Kentucky bluegrass
Search the common name for Poa bulbosa
To perform each task, it took 6 taps to retrieve this information using the app on my iPhone
5c. To get started, I tapped on the app icon to get to the main screen. After I got to the main
screen, I tapped on the Browse Plants/Favorites tab (Figure 3), which directed me to a
list of grasses, as well as a search bar (Figure 4). Pressing the search bar, which also
counted as a tap, allowed me to type in only a few letters before it automatically displayed
the name of the grass that I was searching for. Since the app had this type of auto fill
technology, searching for each of the grass names was reduced. After utilizing the search
bar, icons of each grass was displayed, which finally led me to their descriptions.
Tasks 3, 4 & 6
Find the description for buffalograss
Locate information about when flowering occurs for common barley
Find information on where cheatgrass is usually found/type of habitat it occurs in
To find tasks 3 and 6, it took 7 taps to locate this information. It also took 11 taps to locate
task 4. The first three steps that were performed for each task were similar to Tasks 1, 2, 5
and 10. Again, I used the search bar and typed in the appropriate letters to accomplish the
listed tasks. After utilizing the search bar, I performed an additional step, which included
tapping on the Description tab (Figure 5). This led me to the information that I was
seeking about each grass.

Tasks 7, 8 & 9
Search for contact information for the app/software developer
Locate the source used for the distribution maps
Find the information regarding grass anatomy/characteristics
To locate Tasks 7 and 8, it took 3 taps to find each task. To accomplish Task 7, I started by
clicking on the main icon on my smartphone, which lead me to the main screen. Once I got
to the main screen, I clicked on the About/Contact Us tab (Figure 6). This lead me to the
Contact Us: App Feedback link. After I tapped the link, it took me to a new screen with
email and webpage addresses (Figure 7). To find Task 8, all I had to do was click on the
Browse Plant/Favorites tab, and pick a random grass. This allowed me to scroll to the
map, which provided me with a source and link for the distribution maps. In addition, it
took 4 taps to locate Task 9. To do this, I tapped on the Grass Basics on the main menu
(Figure 8), which took me to another screen with more tabs. In addition, I tapped on the
Grass Identification Basics tab (Figure 9), and scrolled down to the Grass Anatomy link.
After tapping on the link, it brought me to more information regarding anatomical features
about grasses (Figure 10).

The XID Information System Software Usability Test

Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 10
Search for bermudagrass
Locate the distribution map for jointed goatgrass
Find the description for buffalograss
Locate information about when flowering occurs for common barley
Find out the scientific name for Kentucky bluegrass
Find information on where cheatgrass is usually found/type of habitat it occurs in
Search the common name for Poa bulbosa
To perform the above tasks, it took a total of 7 clicks to get the information using the
software from my Dell laptop computer. I started by clicking on the icon located on my
desktop. I was then directed to a screen where it allowed me to choose from three different
tabs (Figure 11). I clicked on the Grasslike Plants tab, which led me to a tool bar that
appeared on the left side of the computer screen. The toolbar had a list of attributes that I
could choose from (Figure 12). To save time, I clicked on the Options tab, and selected
Species list report (Figure 13). This gave me the choice to alphabetize the grass species by
scientific or common name. Since most of the tasks required using common names, I
selected the common name tab. For task 10, I switched back to scientific names so that I
could find the common name for Poa bulbosa. On the bottom left side of the screen, a list of
grasses was arranged alphabetically. In addition, I scrolled through the list of grasses that I
needed to perform each task from my list.
Tasks 7, 8 & 9
Search for contact information for the app/software developer
Locate the source used for the distribution maps
Find the information regarding grass anatomy/characteristics
To search for Task 7, it took 5 clicks to get this information. It also took 4 clicks to locate
Tasks 8 and 9. The first two steps were similar to Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10. To
accomplish Task 7, I clicked on the Help button and then the XID tab. This directed me
to a separate screen. On the separate screen, it gave me the option to click on the Contact
Info tab, which led me to another separate screen with email addresses and phone
numbers (Figure 14). For Task 8, all I had to do was select a random grass to direct me to
its description page to retrieve the source used for the distribution maps. In addition, to
perform Task 9, I had to utilize the attribute table to find information regarding grass
anatomy/characteristics. To accomplish this, I clicked on the Grass attribute drop down
button followed by selecting the General attribute drop down button (Figure 15).
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The Montana Grasses App is a great resource to have for anyone who works in the natural
resources industry. It is also a good resource to have for people who lack skills in
identifying plants. The functionality is user-friendly, especially when trying to navigate on a
small device such as a smartphone, which could come in handy in field situations. However,
it does fall short of supplying information about the grass-like plants. This would be a
benefit for field crews to have these kinds of plant species, especially if they have to do field
surveys in riparian areas.
The XID Information System Software is a great tool to work with when trying to identify
both grasses and grass-like plants. However, it is time consuming to use and gives the
impression that it is designed for people who have more experience in identifying grasses
and grass-like plants. Normally, the program is used as a dichotomous key, which allows
the user to select certain vegetative parts to narrow down the species that they are seeking.
This type of software would be great for people that are identifying plants in the lab or
classroom, but not in the field. Since this is a software program, it has to be loaded into a
computer. It may be painstaking for someone to always have to refer to their laptops every
time they want to identify a plant. It is also a bulky item to carry around and can be quite
cumbersome, especially in field situations.

CONCLUSION
Since I am fluent in using the Montana Grasses App and the XID Identification System
Software, I was able to navigate through the searching process rather quickly during the
usability test, which may have resulted in less taps/clicks. However, if you are a person
who has little background in plant identification, but interested in learning about grasses,
the app would be a great tool to download on your smartphone. And if you have strong
skills in identifying anatomical features and want to take the time to use a dichotomous
key, the software would be a great resource to download onto your computer system.

FIGURES

Number of Clicks

Usability Test for the Montana

Grasses App
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Number of Taps

Number of Tasks

Figure 1. The column chart represents the number of taps it took to perform each task for
the Montana Grasses App. Overall, the data suggests that it took less taps to search for each
task versus the software, which took more clicks to perform each job.

Number of Clicks

Usability Test for the XID

Information System Software
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number of Taps

Number of Tasks

Figure 2. The column chart represents the number of clicks it took to perform each task for
the XID Identification System Software. As the data shows, the number of clicks presents an
even distribution, as well as more clicks to carry out each task.

Figure 3. Example picture of the main screen from the Montana Grasses App. The yellow
rectangle represents the Browse Plants/Favorites tab, which was used frequently during
the usability test.

Figure 4. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow rectangle highlights the
search bar, which is capable of searching for common and scientific names.

Figure 5. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow triangle represents the
Description tab, which directs people to more information regarding the grass that they
are looking for.

Figure 6. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow rectangle represents the
About/Contact Us tab, which directs people to a new screen with tabs.

Figure 7. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow triangle represents the
Contact Us: App Feedback page, which includes email and webpage addresses.

Figure 8. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow triangle represents the
Grass Basics tab, which directs people to another screen with tabs.

Figure 9. Example picture of the Montana Grasses App. The yellow rectangle represents the
Grass Identification Basics tab, which directs people to the Grass Anatomy link.

Figure 10. Example screen shot of the Montana Grasses App. The triangle represents the
anatomical features of grasses.

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Figure 11. Example picture of the opening menu for the XID Information System Software.
The yellow rectangle represents the Grasslike Plants tab, which directs people to a
database that has 200 grasses and grass-like plant species.

Figure 12. Example picture of the XID Information System Software. The yellow triangle
represents the attribute table that can be utilized to search for grasses and grass-like plants
based off their characteristics. The blue triangle represents where a person can search for
grasses or grass-like plants if they know the common or scientific name.

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Figure 13. Example pictures from the XID Identification System Software. The picture on
the left represents the Options tab followed by the Species list report, which displays a
screen that allows people to choose plant species by their common or scientific names.

Figure 14. Example pictures from the XID Identification System Software. The picture on
the left represents the first step in locating the contact information. The picture on the right
represents the Contact Info screen with emails and phone numbers.

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Figure 15. Example picture of the XID Information System Software. The yellow triangle
represents the attribute table and the drop down buttons that need to be clicked on in
order to search for specific plant anatomy/characteristic parts.

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