Validating a Better Comment Experience Through AB & Usability Testing
Comparing two comment flows through AB and usability testing to find what actually drives engagement.
Overview
kumparan's mobile app had a comment feature I believed could drive stronger engagement, but the existing flow required users to move through more steps than necessary to actually leave a comment. Rather than redesign on instinct, I ran a structured AB and usability test comparing the current flow against a simplified alternative, to get real evidence before recommending a direction.
The Problem
The existing comment flow buried the comment box behind extra steps, and there was no data confirming whether a simplified, more direct flow would actually perform better with real users. I needed evidence, not assumption, before recommending kumparan invest engineering time in a redesign.
Current Feature Flow Diagram
Current Feature Screenshot
Solution
I designed a proper test methodology before touching anything: defining what to test, building a working prototype for the improved flow, writing a clear task scenario, specifying the target participant profile, and setting up recording and success-metric tracking in advance.
- Participants: 3–8 digital users, men and women, aged 18–40
- Scenario given to participants: "You are a person who wants to comment on a story in the kumparan app."
- Prototypes tested: both the existing comment flow and a new "direct-to-comment" flow (built to route users to the comment box with minimal intermediate steps), each built as an interactive InVision prototype
- Success metrics tracked across both flows: opening the article → landing on story detail → locating the comment form → completing a comment
Sessions were recorded (smartphone + camera) and run in a controlled room to keep conditions consistent across participants.
Improved Feature Flow Diagram
Result & Conclusion:
Across the test, participants had no difficulty completing the task on the new, simplified flow, and consistently preferred it over the existing design. Based on this evidence, the improved "direct-to-comment" flow was greenlit as the direction to move forward with, validated by data rather than opinion, with usage continuing to be monitored by the feature's development team post-launch.
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