using ux research to improve our discovery interface
TRANSCRIPT
Using UX research to improveour discovery interface
Tim Graves, Systems LibrarianSuzanne Tatham, Academic Services Manager
What we did and how
•UX research – collaborative project between the University of Sussex Library and Semantico, digital publishing company •Set up working group – representation from across the Library•Implementation of new interface – Primo upgrade
http://www.slideshare.net/UKSG/uksg-conference-2016-breakout-session-search-and-discovery-defining-user-behaviour-suzanne-tatham-and-andrea-fallas
User testing
•1st round – exploratory interviews• understanding of search behaviours• task-based approach
•2nd round - Paper usability testing• lean approach• forces participants to break down their interactions
https://youtu.be/adyli4xnPMk
Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com
Cluttered interface
“I don’t know why I don’t use Library Search for articles ... I think it stresses me out”
(Maria, 3rd year Psychology student)
Rick Poynor, 2012 Used bookstore, Nice, France. http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=35748
Underused functionality
• Search scopes• Header links
Signing-in“You’re usually signed in because you have to be signed in to
perform a search – don’t you? I don’t know, maybe you don’t.”(Lenart, 3rd yr UG)
“I can’t remember what I do to sign in”(Hannah, 2nd yr UG)
“I always forget to sign in”(Tom, 1st yr UG)
Items level tabs
Icons
• Star icon – connotations of rating not saving• Book jackets identified as very important• Item type icons - greyed out so not noticed• Icons fairly indistinguishable – not aiding
item type recognition
Can you identify these icons?
?
? ??
??
Answers:
Book
Legal doc Conference proceedingJournal
ReviewArticle
Facets/filters
• Left-hand filters – minimal use – some filtering by book item type and by author
• Creation date not used but when prompted, thought to be useful
• Confusion around selection/deselection process in ‘More options’
Prototype design
Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com
Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com
Conclusions drawn from UX results
Keep it simpleImagery mattersMost used functionality → prime positionUnderused functionality → hidden or removedFocus on purpose of a discovery tool → avoid duplication/replication
Get it right for the novice = get it right for the researcher
August 2016 - from first contact to launch
• Advance planning of other Library Systems projects
• Gathering priorities from the UX project
• Small, cross-library working group
• Basecamp site with Ex Libris for the implementation
How far did Ex Libris coincide with the Sussex UX findings?
Rendering on mobile devices
Integrated item level information
Improved sign-in
Less cluttered results page
(Some) Improvement with iconography
• Pin better than the star• Item level icons bring useful functionality to the fore
Further changes based on UX findings
Facets moved from right to left
Facets reordered based on user testing
Item type gets top billing
Removed underused functionality
Icons• Give a visual identity without giving too much prominence
ar
rticle ook
ournal
Resist the temptation to fill up space just because it is there
Feedback so far
• Soothing lack of complaint• Mobile rendering great for teaching
Conclusion
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/search