Duolingo
Gamified platform that turns language, math, and music learning into bite-sized,
interactive lessons.
THE CHALLENGE
Evaluate the usability of Duolingo's web app (post-login) for first-time users
ROLE
UX Researcher
Graduate project
TIMELINE
10 weeks
GOAL
-
Google Workspace
-
Zoom
-
Figma
INSPECTION METHOD
Is duolingo as
intuitive
as it is
fun?
Heuristic Evaluation
50
potential usability issues
identified
9 out of 10
Nielsen's heuristics were violated
Cognitive Walkthrough
3
tasks evaluated
(Lewis & Reiman questions)
13
action steps marked as failure
Usability Testing
3
same tasks used from
Cognitive Walkthrough
5
moderated user testing
Usability Testing
GOAL
Validate usability issues identified in cognitive walkthrough
METRICS
-
First-click rate
-
Task completion rate
-
Navigation satisfaction
-
Users' overall satisfaction
PARTICIPANTS
Demographics:
-
first-time Duolingo users​
-
18-50 years olds
-
2 male, 3 female
-
Bay Area residents
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Will users choose the correct action control on their first try?
Will users complete each task with zero to minimal errors?
Will users successfully complete tasks according to the happy path?
What is the user satisfaction rate with task completion & navigation ease?
FINDINGS
TASK 1
Add a new language course to take.
FINDINGS
-
80% first click rate failure
-
20% completed the task successfully
-
3.4/5 navigation ease rating avg.
-
3/5 satisfaction rating avg.
TASK 2
Take a 1-day break from Duolingo without it counting as a missed lesson.
FINDINGS
-
100% first click rate failure
-
20% completed the task but with difficulty
-
1.6/5 navigation ease rating avg.
-
1.4/5 satisfaction rating avg.
TASK 3
Find information about completing lessons and how it affects rankings.
FINDINGS
100% first click rate failure
20% completed the task but with difficulty
1.6/5 navigation ease rating avg.
1.4/5 satisfaction rating avg.
2030
57
POST-TEST QUESTIONNAIRE
System Usability Scale (SUS) score: below-average
NAVIGATION CONFUSION
Participants consistently selected the wrong action control (Quests) to initiate all 3 tasks.
FIRST CLICK
Participants were expected to click on flag icon to initiate task 1, the Shop nav link for task 2 and More link for task 3.
RECOMMENDATION
High first-click failure rate signals that users' expectations do not align with Duolingo's information architecture.
1
Add a border around the flag and a dropdown arrow to signify an actionable element.
2
Use clear labels: need a break or take a break
2
Relocate streak freeze and related features to the Quests section, where participants initially looked.
3
Make the Help/FAQ link more prominent and easier to access from any page.