Youtube's Usability Test

Heuristic Evaluation

Usability Problem Heuristic(s) Violated Severity Level
When the user scrolls to the comment section while the video is playing, the video disappears from user’s screen. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use- Users are not able to watch their video and scroll to the comments at the same time 3- It is quite annoying and disappointing not being able to watch the video and read people’s comments at the same time
Inside a channel’s page, there is a search field with the main function of finding a specifically video inside such channel. When the user interacts with it and searches for a specific video, the search icon which looks like it behaves like a button does not actually start the search. The user must press enter from their device. Consistency and Standards- The user expects the search icon to start the search. For example, the play icon should start the video, the next icon should play the next video, etc. 2-The problem is not quite serious, the user is still able to search for a particular video if they press the enter button
The website gives users the option to open search filters to allow the user to find what they are looking for quicker and in an efficient way instead of scroll through videos until they find what they are looking for. When the user clicks on When the user searches for a topic and clicks on filters, there is an option to sort by ‘Location’. However, once the users clicks on this option, no results are shown no matter what they search for. Match between System and the Real World- It is not specified what location means. Creating confusion and misunderstanding. 1-The problem needs further explanation on what location means. The user is still able to use the other options within filters even if it requires further steps.
When the user is watching a video, it is common to click on another video by accident due to all the options available while watching videos in full screen mode. Flexibility and efficiency of use- Unnecessary actions are not avoidable. The user is not given the option to pick a method that works for them 2- The problem happens rarely so it is not something that prevents the user from watching videos
When the user is watching a video and the auto play option is on, the user does not have control on the videos that would play after the video they are currently watching comes to an end. User control and freedom- The automatic play of videos should be under control of the user. Even though the videos are presented in a specific order, they might not want to watch such videos in that order. This problem is only present in non-playlist videos. 2- The problem is not stopping the user from watching videos and the auto play button does its job, however, it is annoying to fall asleep and wake up in a totally random video that had nothing to do with the video you were watching when you fell asleep
The desktop and tablet versions of YouTube offer horizonal scrolling, however such option it is not available in the mobile version Consistency and standards- The consistency of horizontal scrolling is not kept in all platforms 1-The desktop and tablet version offer something different than the mobile version and the user might be forced to learn something new, however, it is not necessarily something that is urgent to be fixed and people can still navigate the platforms without an issue
Deleted videos and their links still appear on playlists. The user’s experience would be a lot better if deleted videos are removed from user visibility and playlists 1-Since YouTube is content driven, it would be a good idea to keep its databased updated and clean.