For my midterm project, I decided to explore the usability and functionality of LinkedIn. As a college student applying to jobs and trying to navigate the workforce, it is an incredibly useful platform and I was curious what others thought about the ease of use and overall user experience.
LinkedIn is a social communication technology in which people can heavily network and rapidly develop their careers. It has truly transformed the way in which people communicate professionally and it has allowed people to understand the nuances required in each professional field. This social technology can be accessed through a web browser on any device or through the LinkedIn app on a smartphone. While seemingly complex to use at first, this platform is pretty easy to navigate and allows people to do more than just connect with each other. The platform allows people to job search, stay up to date with company updates and news, and allows people to meet potential colleagues.
To understand the usability, functionality, and overall user experience, I created a Google Form questionnaire to assess peoples’ experiences with the platform. In this questionnaire, 13 questions were asked, 10 multiple choice and 3 short answer questions. The specific questions I asked related to how much value users put in the site, if they find the platform user-friendly, and if the response rate from potential connections contributes to user experience. The three short answer questions allowed respondents to offer their opinions on the shortcomings of LinkedIn if any, and contribute to possible improvements.
Conclusively, the findings showed that the majority of respondents, specifically 92%, enjoyed LinkedIn and their experience on the platform. Though the results indicated positive functionality, usability, and user experience, the sample size was not representative of the larger population. The sample size consisted primarily of all college students at prestigious universities who have extensive experience with LinkedIn. Additionally, a few of the respondents gave suggestions on possible redesign such as making the platform more adaptable to device size, indicating the status of one’s privacy settings, and making some of the features more aesthetically easy to navigate.