florida memory project and usability
DESCRIPTION
The Florida Memory Project furnishes online access to evidentiary documents relating to the history and culture of Florida. At the time of this overview of the usability of the website, it was undergoing redesign and reconfiguration. As an exercise in tracking the obstacles to users, a surface examination of the site and general usability tests were performed. The problems identified with the site corresponded to those already identified in the literature and brought home the fact that documents presented online require assessment of user interests and information behavior.TRANSCRIPT
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Florida Memory ProjectFlorida’s Digital Archive
Present Measures of UsabilityFuture Site and Recommendations
Vanja Anderson and Florence Paisey
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The Golden Rule
A Web Site Should Never Get in the Way of the User
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What is The Florida Memory Project?
The Florida Memory Project is Florida’s Online Digital Archive
http://www.floridamemory.com/
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Build It and They Will Come – Not Going to Happen!
Myth
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What is Usability?
“Usability is the “basic ability of users to achieve their goals within a system. Usability
should account for affective aspects of interaction.”
Blandford & Buchanan, 2002
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Usability and the Florida Memory Project
Marty, Alemanne & McClure (2010) identified a range of issues that affect the ability of the user to
achieve their goals.
As recommended, the development team at the Florida Memory Project have overhauled the site.
However, the development team would like to conduct several usability tests on the older site.
The purpose is to identify the targeted user reactions to the old site with a view to ensuring the same usability problems are not repeated.
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A Homepage is Viewed More Than Any Other Page on a
Website !
Did you Know?
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So . . .
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Homepages are Real Estate
• Home Page Architecture is your
Identity
• Central Issues:• A Logo for Identity• A Liquid Page• A Clearly Visible Search Feature• Multiple Navigation Menus• Harmonious Color – Websafe • Effective Use of All Space – Less is
More!
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The Florida Memory Project Homepage
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The Florida Memory Project Homepage
This is Valuable Space
What does empty do for you?
Site Identity?Sponsor?
Does anything indicate the Content of 575,000
Documents
Page Layout and Information
Architecture?…Imagine… other
Possibilities…
Good ConciseCore Menu!
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Screen Real Estate
UnusedContent of InterestWeb 2.0NavigationAdvocacySite IdentityAdvertisementExternal Linkage
Information Architecture Represented in Percentage…
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Florida Mangroves
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Usability Methods
• Heuristics
• Think Aloud
• Cognitive Walkthrough
• Interview
Four Approaches
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Definitions of Evaluation Measures
• Heuristics • Evaluation of an interface by IT experts. Evaluators
measure the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the interface based on 10 measures.
• Think Aloud• Participants are asked to share their thoughts
while completing specific goals.
• Cognitive Walkthrough• A set of appropriate or characteristic tasks to be
completed. Evaluators walk through specific tasks, noting problems.
• Interview• Interviews provide details that users have
experienced on the site.
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Usability Evaluation Measures
MethodsMethod
TypeDescriptio
n Pros Cons
HeuristicAnalysis of User Ease
Ten Performance Standards
Quick Overview
of the system
No feedbac
k on fixes
Cognitive Walkthroug
h
Investigation
Ease of Task Achievemen
t
Conducted at any
stage
Problem detectio
n not reliable
Think Aloud Testing
Evaluators Express
ExperienceFew
Subjects
Sometimes hard
to express
problems
Interview Inquiry
Infrastructure,
Design,Metadata
Detailed informati
on on topic
Often difficult to sync appt.
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• Visibility
• Match Between the System and the Real World
• User Control and Freedom
• Consistency and Standards
• Error Prevention
• Recognition rather than Recall
• Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
• Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
• Help Users Recognize and Recover from Errors
• Help and Documentation
Heuristics
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Visibilit
y
Real W
orld
User C
ontrol
Consistency
Error P
revention
Recogn
ition
Flexib
ility
Design
Recove
ryHelp
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Nothing AvailableFailureSuccess Rate
Heuristic Findings
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Four Basic Questions For Each Task
1. Will the users try to complete the task? 2. Will users notice the correct action?
3. If users find the correct action, is it
clear? 4 After the user takes an action, will they
understand any feedback?
Purpose: A cognitive walkthrough identifies salient problems in the interface and navigation – the learnability of the interface, its ease in navigation, and its functionality – Does it do what it says it will do?
Cognitive Walkthroug
h
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Findings: Cognitive Walkthrough
CW Assessment Questions
Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3
Will users try to achieve the right effect? Yes Yes Yes
Will user notice that the correct action is available? No Yes Yes
Will the user associate with the effect to be achieved? No No No
If the correct action is conducted, will the user see
that progress is being made?
No No No
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Cognitive Walkthrough – Time Per Task
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Task 5
Task 6
Task 7
Task 8
Task 9
Task 10
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Failure1 minute11-30 seconds1-10 seconds
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• 3 Students tested• Average time: 12 minutes
• Prompt• To locate historic tourist destinations
• Errors frequently occurred• Error Recovery/ Back button failed• Lack of information/content• Search tool – Search for current hotels
resulted in Historic hotels and Historic Maps
Think Aloud
Prompt, Verbatim:Please search the Florida Memory Project website for historic tourist destinations that you and your family would be interested in visiting. Please say everything that goes through your mind. You may stop when you have come to a satisfying result or whenever you want to quit.
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Interview
New, completely overhauled Florida Memory Project site is scheduled to be launched on July 1st.
Direction for overhauling the site is based on the recommendations of Dr. Charles McClure, Nicole Alemanne, and Dr. Paul Marty.
Discussed many issues…
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Some Questions PosedI understand that you have more than 550,000 documents that are difficult to access due to their storage in 9 different databases – have you had a chance to address this?
Yes. We hired an IT expert. He has integrated all databases into 1 platform, Omeka – as recommended. All records have been migrated.
How are you handing backup?
The Raid or Buffalo system is under consideration now.
How do you envision your target audience—your main users?
Years of data collected through log analysis, user requests—email, phone, records. They are: historians, genealogists, teachers, archivists, publishers, students.
The Homepage points out that “selected” materials are placed online. What criteria do you use?
The materials most requested by these groups – our new main navigation bar targets the 6 main collections. In order – Photography, Video, Audio, Collections, Exhibits, Class.
We also have a new search feature that works across collections.
What is your greatest challenge right now as you reconfigure the system and site?
Borne digital materials are difficult. We need to establish guidelines and standards.
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Improved!Core Issues:
• Data has been migrated to a unified database – Omeka
• Backup data – Raid or Buffalo systems
• Collections can be cross searched
• Option to select for photographs in color or B&W
• Metadata has been standardized using MARC AMC
• Subject access through LOC subject headings & folksonomy
• Strategies for the preservation of borne digital
• Quiet, Minimalist Interface Design
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Recommendations
To make site more Florida Friendly include:
• Spanish Language Option
• Create Personal Archive and Storybook
• Embedded Video Tutorial for Using Archives and Site
• Hurricane Digital Memory Bank
• Online Archive Shop
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ReferencesUnited States. State Library and Archives of Florida. Florida Memory Project. Retrieved from http://www.floridamemory.org
Fuhr, N., Giannis, T. Aalberg, T. et al. (2007). Evaluation of digital libraries. International Journal of Digital Libraries, 8, 21-38.
Hoppmann, T. K. (2007). Examining the “point of frustration”: The think aloud method applied to online search tasks. Quality and Quantity, 43, 211-224.
Marty, P., Alemanne, N., & McClure, C. (2010). Florida Memory Project—long range plan: Final report. Information Institute, Florida State University. FL: Tallahassee.
United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Usability: Your guide for developing usable and useful websites. The Homepage. Retrieved from
http:www.usability.gov
Zaphiris, P. Kurniawan, S. (2007). Human computer interaction research in web design and evaluation. London: Idea Group.