In our first lesson of testing for usability in an application, we will use the very popular Google Maps new feature called StreetView. This will be a very simple test, but often times these type of bugs / issues are the most often missed by Developers and QAs. So let’s get started…

Test Case

Google Map’s Street View “A” ( or Address) pointer

User Story (Behavior Driven Development Style)

As an average internet surfer
I would like to use the Street View
So that  I can view the building  and its location based on its Postal Code.

Expected Results or User Acceptance Criteria

The “A” icon in the image should point to the exact location of the structure.

Testing Type

Manual or Exploratory Testing

Steps in Testing

1. In your browser, enter the URL  http://maps.google.com
2. Enter the postal code T2P2T4, then click the Seach Field
3. Click on the link Alberta T2P2T4
4. Click on the “A” icon within the map
5. Click on the link “Street View”
6. The image of the location will load
7. The “A” icon should point to the exact location of the structure.

Actual Results

The “A” icon is pointing to a car ( see picture below)

Analysis

1. We have simple yet serious usability issue on this page
2. The postal code is unique to a building, a house or any architectural object that is assigned a legal postal code
3. A typical user who enters a postal code would expect to see the correct image of corresponding to the address ( not a car)

Recommendations

This is a critical and high priority usability bug which needs to be fixed.

Note : The bug was uncovered on this date. It is possible that when you tried the same steps in the future, the problem has already been corrected.