ELLIE DWORAKWEB SERVICES LIBRARIANBOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

Library Website Usability(for everybody!)

NAMEWHERE YOU WORK AND JOB TITLE

WHY YOU CHOSE THIS SESSION WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO WITH IT

SOMETHING YOU HOPE TO LEARN

Quick Introductions

What is Website Usability???

Usability is “the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve a specified set of tasks in a particular environment.”- International Standards Organization

Hunh?Usability is whether somebody can:

Do what they need to do Quickly Without frustration On your website

That’s all!

What is Usability Testing?

Methods used to gather feedback on your website’s usability

In other words: Can people do what they came to do? Quickly? And leave happy?

Usability Testing Methods

Danger, big words ahead!

Method 1: Heuristic Evaluation

Definition from wordnet.princeton.eduNoun

(n) heuristic(a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem)

Adjective(adj) heuristic (of or relating to or using a general formulation that serves to guide investigation)

Or An evaluation checklist

Heuristic Evaluation

Guideline Grade Explanation

Do you answer your users questions?

Is your navigation clear and simple?

Do you provide anchor text?

Does your design guide the eye?

Do you start link names with important keywords?

Is your wording straightforward?

DEPENDS ON THE QUESTION!•HOW DO I F IND A B OOK?

•HOW DO I CHECK OUT A B OOK?•HOW DO I F IND AN ARTICLE ON MY TOPIC?

•WHEN IS THE L IBRARY OPEN?

Does this page answer the user’s questions?

Heuristic Evaluation

Guideline Grade Explanation

Do you answer your users questions?

B+ Answers many questions on the front page, and leads people to second pages for other answers.

Consider including hours link on front page.

Easier (less subjective) questions

Do you have white space?Have you offered contact information?Do you have a site map?Does your site require unnecessary plug-ins?Does your logo link home?Do you date your content?Is your name and logo on every page?Does your content have spelling errors?

ABOUT HEURISTIC EVALUATION?

LET’S GIVE IT A TRY!

Questions

Method 2: Cognitive Walkthrough

Reviewers complete tasks How many clicks does it take? How easy is it to find the right links?

Considerations What tasks will be analyzed? What is the “right” answer for each task?

How long can you check a book out for?

Ideas!

Set up a group of libraries and test each other’s pages Everything is easier and more fun with a group It’s easier to see problems with somebody else’s

websiteJust test one little thing at a time

It’s not as overwhelming Small improvements are way better than unfinished

big projectsThink about who your users are while you

write tasks Write little scenarios Look at web site statistics to get an idea of what users

value

ABOUT COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGH?

LET’S GIVE IT A TRY!

Questions

Method 3: Think Aloud Protocol

This is “traditional” usability testingObserve people doing things on your websiteAsk them to talk about what they’re doingAsk them questions about what they’re doing

Fancy/expensive/slow Simple/cheap/fast

Morae or other screen capturing software

Video subjectsEye tracking

software/hardwareFormal reports and

recommendations

Note taker captures pertinent information

Changes made after each test

More Work!

1. Train testers2. Write clear tasks3. Recruit volunteers4. Block out times5. Reward volunteers6. Fix problems7. Do it again8. Pshew, tired!

Why Bother?

Information from actual users is the most reliable kind

Principles to remember: Watch what people actually do Do not believe what people say they will do

The good part!

You only have to test 1-4 times to get good information Test early in a design process if possible Fix problems before testing again Always keep your objectives in the forefront

ABOUT THINK ALOUD PROTOCOL?

LET’S GIVE IT A TRY!

Questions

Comments on a Few Other Types of Testing

Card sortingPaper-based testsStatistical analysis

Not really testing methods but sometimes useful:

Focus groupsQuestionnaires and surveysInterviews

Card Sorting Example

Card Sorting Results

You have a research paper topic.Circle where you would go to find articles.

ABOUT OTHER TYPES OF USABILITY TESTING?

Questions

Some Notes on Process

Decision makingBuilding web teamsHiring outsidersCh-ch-ch-change

We’ll never be perfect

Because perfect is a moving target(image from indexed.com)

And that’s OK!

ABOUT THE HANDOUTS

QUESTIONS?