5 users. 3 tasks. 15 attempts. Every task completed.
Users could complete every task. But they struggled to find the right entry point, compare options and understand key actions. The core issue wasn't task completion — it was the effort required to get there.
Number of users who hit each issue.
Search and navigation topped the list: four of five users had to hunt for where to begin. Offers and the primary call to action tied for second.
We mapped each task flow step by step and marked where users stalled, backtracked or asked a question out loud.
We scored every step by the memory it demands.
Each step was tagged with the memory it leans on — recognising a category, recalling where search lives, holding a show time in mind — and scored. The sum is the task's cognitive load.
Ten observations. Tap one to see what it told us.
Every rival does one thing well. District tries to do all three.
District's advantage is breadth. Its cost is that every screen has to serve three kinds of intent — so wayfinding and hierarchy matter more here than in any single-purpose app.
Before → after, and why.
4 of 5 users hunted for where to begin. First fix?
Users mistook the restaurant page for a bill-payment screen. Fix?
Change location without starting over.
One type of filter at a time.
Total cognitive load, before and after.
Load dropped on both ticketing tasks, where search, location and filters did the work.
T3 — reserving a table — didn't move. The CTA fix helps once you're on the page; getting to the right restaurant is still the hard part. That's the next round.
