1. www.socitm.net Learning from BC2014 The reviewer’s perspective on the mobile experience James Coltham Better connected reviewer @prettysimple

2. www.socitm.net What I’ll cover today Overview of mobile findings Mobile tasks – the good and the bad Other reviewer comments Comments/discussion

3. www.socitm.net What we tested ‘Quickfire’ questions followed by mobile tasks… Report fly-tipping Renew library book Find out about a football pitch Find out about roadworks

4. www.socitm.net What we found 126 sites passed the mobile standard That’s 31% (up from just 15% last year)

5. www.socitm.net What we found A clear correlation….

6. www.socitm.net What we found “Although desktop users may be able to cope with cluttered home pages and poor signposting, the bad customer experience is magnified for mobile users…” Better connected reviewer Website performance service data Visit failure is 11% higher when mobile devices are used. Visitor satisfaction is 36% lower when mobile.

7. www.socitm.net What we found “Most of the time I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I finished the mobile survey…” Website performance service data

8. www.socitm.net Mobile task 1 – report fly tipping What we liked… Simple online forms requiring the minimum of info Optional use of a map function (inc geolocation) Indication of any issues already reported The ability to add photos to the report

9. www.socitm.net Mobile task 1 – report fly tipping What we disliked…  Being forced to register first (with no reason why)  Being unable to report a fault anonymously  Forms that required a postcode for the location  Forms that assumed your current location was the location of the issue  Information buried under terms like “environment”

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13. Mobile task 2 – renew library book What we liked… “Renew” provided as a top task Clear link to log in, with password/PIN reminder Where a library app exists, promoted at the right time

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15. What we disliked…  No obvious sign of the log-in box (sometimes off screen) “I’m told to ‘see the top right hand side of the page...’ but on the mobile website as there is no top-right!” Mobile task 2 – renew library book “Really surprised at how many ‘Renew your library book’ links were just taking me to the home page of the library system rather than the login functionality.”  Need to click through several pages to complete task  Being taken to a mobile-unfriendly library site

16. www.socitm.net Mobile task 3 – find football pitches What we liked… Comprehensive information about the facilities Maps presented in a mobile-friendly way Booking process explained before starting

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18. Mobile task 3 – find football pitches What we disliked…  Task not easily found via “leisure”, “sport” etc  Information only available under pages relating to parks  Important information buried in ‘pdfs’ “Too much information is only found in ‘pdfs’. Even if the mobile device manages to download and open it, the ‘pdf’ is often far too lengthy and detailed for mobile users to easily read.”

19. www.socitm.net Mobile task 4 – find out about roadworks What we liked… Clear link from “transport / streets / roads” sections If not the council’s responsibility, clear links elsewhere A choice of options to view the roadworks

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21. Mobile task 4 – find out about roadworks What we disliked…  Information only available in a mapping system that did not work on our devices  Information only available in huge spreadsheets  Information is limited and doesn’t describe the disruption  Out of date information “One council, on their roadworks page, talks about work that is expected to commence on 29 November 2010”

22. www.socitm.net Other reviewer comments

23. www.socitm.net “When I used Google to search for something and got deep linked into the website, I wasn't offered the mobile version.” Make sure your mobile offering is available whatever the entry point. BUT: when doing this, be careful not to take people back to the mobile home page, forcing them to start again. “Another problem if you came out of the mobile app it was difficult to get it back again. I had to clear my mobile settings”

24. www.socitm.net “At the end of the review, on desktop survey, I saw there was a link in nav to a mobile site. Didn't see it when using the mobile…”

25. www.socitm.net “I tried clicking Council Services, got a fly-out menu, then could not select the waste option. The page just kept reloading and then opening a random ‘pdf’”

26. www.socitm.net “Hounslow have decided that mobile users won’t want A-Z and search - arguably two of the more useful features – and have removed them from the mobile view!”

27. www.socitm.net “Errrm, how do I do that on a mobile?” (…same with “click here”)

28. www.socitm.net "Mendip councillor contact details and bin collection pages tell you to enter your postcode… …but they’ve removed the postcode search from mobile!”

29. www.socitm.net “Middlesbrough’s desktop version has a link to report potholes online… …whereas the mobile version does not!”

30. www.socitm.net Finally… Beware of CAPTCHA! “Asking me to do online verification where I have to read a code and type it online is often too difficult to do on a mobile.”

31. www.socitm.net Discuss...