Usability Test Comparing Microsoft Word and Google Documents

By: Derek Neuharth

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Introduction_________________________________
_
Word processors are important programs for writing papers. They are used by students to
create projects, and in professional settings to efficiently save and transfer write-ups. This
white paper compares two popular programs, Microsoft Word and Google Documents.
Low technical ability is assumed for these tests, and I will evaluate the programs as a
college student.

Methods____________________________________
_
All tests were performed on 10/19/2014. They were done side by side on a desktop
computer (AMD fx-8120, 8 GB of RAM) running Windows 8. Microsoft Word and Google
Documents are compared on a 1-5 Likert scale, and judged primarily on ease of use and
aesthetics. The tasks were tested using only the icons and tabs. It did not include the use
of hotkeys, or the right mouse button. Microsoft Word was run on the desktop, while
Google Documents was run on Maxthon internet browser. The tasks listed below were
tested.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Inserting a table
Adding a footnote
Word count
Spell check
Adding comments
Margin changes
Text changes

Results______________________________________
Inserting a Table
Microsoft Word
To insert a table in Microsoft Word I clicked the Insert tab, and then the Table icon.
This opened a mini-window that displayed an image of squares going up to 10x8 (rows
and columns). To add more I clicked the Insert Table button. This opened a window that
allowed direct input for the number of rows and columns. The table appeared as small
rectangles.

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Google Documents
Google Documents required
clicking on the Insert tab. This
opened a drop-down window with
an option for Table. Clicking
Table opened another window
(Figure 1) which had boxes up to
20x20. The table appeared as
squares.
Comparison
In ease of use Google Documents
has the edge. Although both
programs made it simple to insert
a table, Google Documents was
less weighed down by clutter and
appeared simpler. However,
Figure 1 (Google Documents table)
Microsoft Word had more options
for its table. A power user may prefer the additional customization over the simplicity of
Google Documents.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word
Google
Documents

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

x
x
(Table for inserting tables)

Adding a Footnote
Microsoft Word
Inserting a footer required going into
the Insert tab, then clicking the
Footer option. This opened a
window with a variety of types (Figure
2). Selecting one opens a footer for
every page, and opens the Design
tab to change the margins. This tab
includes a button to end editing of the
footer.
Figure 2 (Microsoft footer options)

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Google Documents
To insert a footer in Google Documents I opened the Insert tab, and clicked on the
Footer option near the bottom. This opened the area beneath the margins for text.
Comparison
Both programs were simple in execution. Google Documents was quicker overall, but
lacked options present in Microsoft Word.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word
Google
Documents

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

x
x
(Table for footnotes)

Word Count
Microsoft Word
To do a word count in Microsoft Word I clicked the
Review tab, and chose the icon for Word
Count. This opened a window which displayed
word count, along with a multitude of other
statistics (Figure 3).

Figure 3 (Microsoft Word word count)

Google Documents
Word count on Google Documents required
opening the Tools tab and clicking the Word
Count option. This brought up a window
displaying page count, word count, and characters
with and without spaces (Figure 4).

Comparison
Both programs required two actions for finding
the word count, making the ease of use the
same. However, Microsoft word displayed
additional statistics that may be valuable to
some users. Because of this I gave it the edge.
Is it
awesom
e?

Strong
ly
Disagr
ee

Disagr
ee

Neutr
al

Agr
ee

Stron
gly
Agree
Figure 4 (Google Documents word count)

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Microso
ft Word
Google
Docume
nts

x
x
(Table for word count)

Spell Check
Microsoft Word
To do a spell check in Microsoft Word I opened the
Review tab and clicked the icon for Spelling &
Grammar. Doing so opened a side bar (Figure 5) that
jumped to the first misspelled word, and gave various
options and a description near the bottom. Microsoft
Word also underlines unidentified words in red when first
typed.
Google Documents
Spell check in Google Documents required opening the
Tools tab, then clicking the Spelling option. This
opened a window which gave suggestions and had the
options to add, change, or ignore words. Google
Documents also underlined unidentified words in red,
however I had trouble getting this to work consistently.
Comparison
Google Documents spell check is visually more appealing, Figure 5 (Microsoft Word spell check)
which makes it seem simpler. However, Microsoft Word
had more options. Most importantly Microsoft Word caught unidentified words
immediately, while Google Documents sometimes ignored them. Because of this I gave
Word the edge.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word
Google
Documents

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

x
x
(Table for spell check)

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Adding Comments
Microsoft Word
The button to add comments appears in two locations in Microsoft Word, the Insert and
Review tabs. Choosing either of these adds a side bar, and a comment that displays the
name of the user, followed by text. The comment highlights the portion of text it refers to,
and has a line that points to it. Despite the two locations, only the one in the Review tab
has the Delete, Previous, and Next options included with it.
Google Documents
To add a comment in Google Documents I
opened the Tools tab, then clicked the
Comment option. This opened a window
(Figure 6) on the side that displayed user name,
and allowed text to be entered. The comment
highlighted the text it referred to, and could be
deleted from a button on the window.

Figure 6 (comment in Google Documents)

Comparison
Comments in both programs were easy to open. Microsoft Word had the option to open a
comment in two spots, but because only one location had additional options it was
redundant. Along with this Google Documents comments were cleaner and easier to
navigate.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word
Google
Documents

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

x
x
(Table for comments)

Margin Changes
Microsoft Word
To change the margins in Microsoft Word I opened the
Page Layout tab, and clicked the Margins icon. This
opened a drop-down window with 5 options for
common margins, along with a 6th option for
customization. Selecting Custom Margins opened up
a window which consisted of various tabs and options.
Google Documents

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In Google Documents the margins are changed by dragging a set of icons at the top of the
document.
Comparison
Although Google Documents style of changing margins is more straightforward, I found
that a selection of preset borders allows for quicker adjustments. These preset options are
likely sufficient for any margin changes a user may need. For custom margins Google
Documents was easier to use. Custom Margins in Microsoft Word had plenty of options
that a power user may find helpful, but was overly complicated for someone with low
technical proficiency.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Figure 7 (Microsoft Word margin options)

Google
Documents

x
(Table for margins)

Text Changes
Microsoft Word
In Microsoft Word the Home tab
includes most text options. Two dropdown boxes sit next to each other.
These control the font style, and text
size. The program contains many style
Figure 8 (Microsoft Word text options)
options, and includes an area for
recently used styles. The text size box ranges from 8 to 72. Additional text sizes can be
entered by clicking the box in the bottom right, which opens an advanced menu. The
home tab also includes options for bold, underline, italics, and more.
Google Documents
Google Documents displays
the text options on a bar
under the tabs. The bar
consists of font style, text
size, bold, underline, italics,
and text color. Font style
drops down a box with a few

Figure 9 (Google Documents font style window)

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styles, and includes an option for more. Clicking this option brings up a separate window
that shows many fonts that can be categorized based on multiple criteria.
Comparison
Overall Microsoft Word has more options for changing text. However Google Documents
has all the options most users need, and its font style search is superior. Because of this I
gave it the edge.
Is it
awesome?
Microsoft
Word
Google
Documents

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

x
x
(Table for text changes)

Overall
Overall Tally
Microsoft Word
Google
Documents

Points (higher is
better)
29
30

Recommendations ____________________________
Overall for someone with low technical proficiency Google Documents edges out over
Microsoft Word. However, which one to use remains circumstantial. I found Google
Documents aesthetically more pleasing, which factors in it seeming simpler than Microsoft
Word. I thought this because it had much less clutter. The clutter in Microsoft Word is
caused by the amount of options it gives the user. For someone with low technical
proficiency its likely these options wont be used, and google documents will work fine.
Power users who need the extra options may find Google Documents lacking, and use
Microsoft Word instead.

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Personal Evaluation
I think I did pretty well on this project. My biggest worry is in some of the formatting. For
example in pointing out figures I used parentheses. Im not sure if thats the correct way
to do it, but its the one I prefer. Also with the text wrapping with the pictures I think
some of the titles look off, or odd. Im not sure If this is a big deal or not. Any other glaring
issues you notice I would love to hear about.

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