Dublin Core
Title
Usability Proposal Sample
Subject
usability
Description
This document is an example of a usability proposal for LIS 5472.
Creator
Marcia Mardis
Source
LIS 5472
Date
Spring 2018
Contributor
Marcia Mardis
Rights
CCBY
Relation
usability report sample
week 12 slides
week 13 slides
Format
Word document
Type
text
Coverage
Spring 2018
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Spring 2018
LIS 5472 Digital Libraries Usability Test Proposal (Marked Up Version)
Group 9: Class Example Digital Library
Members: Dr. M and Others
Background
The purpose of this proposal is to outline the usability testing that will be undertaken for the Class Example Digital Library. The Class Example Digital Library is a soon to be launched digital library that aims to provide a collection of high quality digital examples of digital library artifacts in order to meet the information needs of students. Before the digital library can go live, we want to make sure that we have taken steps to ensure a pleasant user experience. Therefore, we will examine the digital library’s interface for usability issues that could interfere with the user’s ability to browse the collections. Without the ability to access a digital library’s interface and collections, the digital library serves little purpose (Arms, 2000). For the purposes of the Historic American Lighthouses Digital Library, it is important that the evaluation focus on how researchers are likely to browse and search the digital library’s collections.
User Personas
The Class Examples Digital Library aims to meet the needs of our target audience: the researcher. For this reason, we created two profiles of fictional users that might access our digital library for research purposes were created. These personas will be used to help the development team understand what our users will expect from the digital library.
User Persona 1 (Novice User)
Name: Olivia Overachiever
Age: 23 years old
Personal life/Home Life: Olivia is a first year Master’s student. She lives with her parents and works at a local insurance office. Olivia is actively involved in Girl Scouts which consume most of her time outside of class. Because of her busy schedule, she spends less time at home and prefers to have a very predictable schedule.
Computer proficiency & comfort level: Olivia has good technology skills. Being raised in the technical generation, using computers comes naturally to her. However, she does not know where to begin when it comes to completing some of the class assignments. Olivia is also unfamiliar with digital libraries and finds the language technical and confusing.
Pet Peeves: Olivia is very impatient and expects instant results from her efforts. Nothing ever seems to work fast enough for him. She would rather be working on Girl Scout leader activities.
Attitude: She is less than enthusiastic about having to invest time in figuring out how to do an assignment, especially with a group.
Motivation: Olivia is only motivated to use the Class Examples Digital Library because she expects it will help her complete her assignments quickly and accurately. She wants a good grade so he can keep a good GPA to get a job outside of the insurance agency and move away from her parents’ house.
Info-seeking habits & favorite resources: Olivia will usually ask the students she knows who have had the class in prior semesters for suggestions first, but she has been known to ask the instructor for help. The instructor is the one who recommended the Class Examples Digital Library to Olivia.
Personal goal: Olivia just wants to get the assignment done with minimal frustration and get back to making sand candles.
User Persona 2 (Advanced User)
Name: Martin Maven
Age: 34 years old
Personal life/Home life: Martin has worked in the academic library for about 8 years and would like to move from the reference desk into digital services. His supervisor told him that he needs to get an accredited ALA Master’s degree with a technical emphasis to be considered for the type of position he wants.
Computer proficiency & comfort level: Martin knows several programming languages and considers himself very technically fluent. He also has a personal interest in digital library technologies and has participated in several professional development workshops on the topics.
Pet Peeves: Martin gets very annoyed at the instructor for pushing due dates back and very annoyed with his classmates who have few technical skills. He believes anyone interested in the information professions should have taken the initiative he did to gain skills.
Attitude: Martin is only interested is figuring out what the instructor wants so that he can produce that artifact and move on. He has also become the “go-to” person in his group for tech problems and he’s tired of it.
Motivation: Martin wants to get through this course so that he can apply for the position opening he knows will be posted in a few months.
Info-seeking habits & favorite resources: Martin uses Lynda.com and YouTube to find examples. He will Google a topic before asking a person.
Personal goal/Professional goal: Martin’s goal is to lead a digital services group some day. While he enjoys technical work, he wants to manage a group of people more. He wants to get through the courses and graduate in the next academic year.
Heuristic Overview
For the purposes of this proposal, the Class Examples Digital Library will be evaluated based on the 10 heuristic principles outlined by Jakob Nielsen. A heuristic usability evaluation focuses on pinpointing the issues present in a user interface so they can be addressed and corrected (Nielsen, n.d.). The 10 heuristic principles cover numerous issues pertaining to areas including navigation, memorability, error management, and design. The digital library should be easy to navigate and search, the appearance should not be overwhelming and the textual content should be easily readable. To avoid testing the patience of users, there should be built-in functions to offer solutions or staff help. This evaluation will yield an understanding of the user experience interacting with the digital library interface.
The first heuristic principle is the “visibility of system status” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library interface must keep the user informed of what is happening. For the Class Examples Digital Library this means that the user should be able to identify the current page she is viewing on the digital library website at any given time.
The second heuristic principle is a “match between system and the real world” (Nielsen, 2005). In order for researchers to successfully utilize the digital library, they must be able to retrieve search results based on the search terms they enter. The language and terms used in the Class Examples Digital Library interface should mirror terms that users are likely to use themselves. To accomplish this, the digital library should utilize a vocabulary of words that are easily recognizable and instinctive for users to enter as search terms. In this case, the class examples need to be linked to particular assignments with tags for particular class concepts.
The third heuristic principle is “user control and freedom” (Nielsen, 2005). The user must have a way to quickly escape from a confusing situation. In order to avoid such scenarios, the navigation options provided in the interface should be clearly labeled and allow the user to easily return to the homepage.
The fourth heuristic principle is “consistency and standards” (Nielsen, 2005). The user must not be left on her own to decipher a confusing element of the interface design. The formatting of web pages across the digital library must be consistent. Terminology across metadata fields must be standardized.
The fifth heuristic principle is “error prevention” (Nielsen, 2005). The design of the interface should head off any possible errors that may be encountered by the user. If no results are found for a search term, then the user should be presented with alternative methods of browsing the site.
The sixth heuristic principle is “recognition rather than recall” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library should be designed to be functional without requiring users to memorize the options available. The layout and options should be familiar to the user.
The seventh heuristic principle is “flexibility and efficiency of use” (Nielsen, 2005). The functions available within the digital library interface should allow the user to easily search the collection. The digital library should allow the user to browse the collections and to search with a number of options. For this digital library, it will be important for users to know of other items in the collection linked to a particular assignment as well as how the example links to previous and future assignments.
The eighth heuristic principle is “aesthetic and minimalist design” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library should have a clean and functional interface. Text components should be concise and relevant to the topic. The overall look should not be overwhelming. Text should be in readable fonts and colors.
The ninth heuristic principle is to “help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors” (Nielsen, 2005). When an error is encountered, the interface should present the user with a clear message and when possible with an alternative solution. When no content is available for a given search term or for a collection that is empty, this must be displayed clearly.
The tenth heuristic principle is “help and documentation” (Nielsen, 2005). Users of the digital library should have easy access to help resources. The interface should provide users with help where possible and contact information so larger problems can be reported to the digital library staff.
References
Arms, W. Y. (2000) Digital libraries. M.I.T. Press. Retrieved November 19, 2011 from http://www.cs.cornell.edu/wya/DigLib/MS1999/Chapter8.html
Nielsen, J. (n.d.). How to conduct a heuristic evaluation. Retrieved March 30, 2018 from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-to-conduct-a-heuristic-evaluation
Nielsen, J. (1995). 10 heuristics for user interface design. Retrieved March 31, 2018 from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
The Class Examples Digital Library
Evaluation Questionnaire
A. Visibility of System Status Choose one:
1. It is easy for the user to know the current location within the site. Yes No
2. It is clear to users where they can navigate to from the current page. Yes No
3. A search box is displayed at the top of each page. Yes No
Rationale: Knowing the status includes knowing the location. Users
should know the current page they are viewing as well as how they can navigate away from it.
B. Match Between System and Real World
1. The library uses a vocabulary that is easily recognizable and instinctive for users to enter as search terms. Yes No
2. A search for common terms on the subject returns multiple and accurate results.
Yes No
3. Users can find examples in the collection without using the complete formal name. (Ex: “Digitization” instead of “Digitization Guidelines Proposal.”) Yes No
Rationale: Utilizing common terms allows easier accessibility to the
images in the digital library collection. The use of identifiable terms or a set vocabulary increases the odds that the user will locate relevant images.
C. User Control and Freedom
1. A link to the homepage is consistently displayed on every web page. Yes No
2. Basic browsing options are displayed on all pages. (Ex: Browse
Items, Browse Collections). Yes No
3. The homepage link is easy to find. Yes No
Rationale: Users have the ability to browse the collection freely. In case of confusion, the homepage link allows the user to start over with a new
search.
D. Consistency and Standards
1. The digital library pages maintain the same format/layout. Yes No
2. Labels of links are consistent with naming conventions. (Ex: Homepage instead of Main Page or Index) Yes No
3. Each image has relevant copyright information displayed. Yes No
Rationale: A familiar format on all pages allows users to locate images previously viewed. Consistency demonstrates the dedication to users for
locating all images.
E. Error Prevention
1. When no search results are found, the interface presents the user with different browsing options. Yes No
2. The search engine automatically searches across all metadata fields for results without the user needing to specify a field. Yes No
Rationale: Providing users with additional browsing techniques ensures
successful searching. Automatically searching all metadata fields and tags makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
F. Recognition Rather than Recall
1. The digital library title is displayed at the top of every page within the collection. Yes No
2. A menu or list is provided on each page highlighting the possible options available to users. Yes No
Rationale: The navigation and search options open to the user are clearly
listed to lessen what the user has to remember in order to successfully browse the digital library.
G. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
1. The digital library allows a number of advanced search options. Yes No
2. Users can easily browse the collections Yes No
3. Images can be enlarged for viewing. Yes No
4. Search and browse results also display related items for the same, previous, and/or future assignents.
Yes No
Rationale: Advanced search options allow users to search specific fields for the results they need. Ease of searching and browsing methods
ensures users will visit more than once. Users will be able to see related items and get a sense of where the item they are viewing fits in a sequence.
H. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
1. The digital library has a simple and clean design. Yes No
2. The digital library uses readable fonts in colors that are easy read for all users. Yes No
Rationale: The user interface design is one of the most important aspects
of a digital library. Users should be able to view readable text and relevant information so that their research experience is faster and easier.
I. Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors
1. The search results indicate when no results are found. Yes No
2. A message is displayed when a collection contains no items. Yes No
Rationale: It is important to keep the user informed when no items can be
located so that they can take advantage of other search options.
J. Help and Documentation
1. A contact email address is displayed in the footer of each page for users to send feedback to staff. Yes No
2. The digital library provides some search suggestions for users. Yes No
Rationale: Providing users contact information allows opportunities for feedback from viewers. This feedback can provide excellent suggestions for increasing viewer numbers. Asking users for feedback is an important
way to update our digital library and to repair or fix any errors that are reported.
LIS 5472 Digital Libraries Usability Test Proposal (Marked Up Version)
Group 9: Class Example Digital Library
Members: Dr. M and Others
Background
The purpose of this proposal is to outline the usability testing that will be undertaken for the Class Example Digital Library. The Class Example Digital Library is a soon to be launched digital library that aims to provide a collection of high quality digital examples of digital library artifacts in order to meet the information needs of students. Before the digital library can go live, we want to make sure that we have taken steps to ensure a pleasant user experience. Therefore, we will examine the digital library’s interface for usability issues that could interfere with the user’s ability to browse the collections. Without the ability to access a digital library’s interface and collections, the digital library serves little purpose (Arms, 2000). For the purposes of the Historic American Lighthouses Digital Library, it is important that the evaluation focus on how researchers are likely to browse and search the digital library’s collections.
User Personas
The Class Examples Digital Library aims to meet the needs of our target audience: the researcher. For this reason, we created two profiles of fictional users that might access our digital library for research purposes were created. These personas will be used to help the development team understand what our users will expect from the digital library.
User Persona 1 (Novice User)
Name: Olivia Overachiever
Age: 23 years old
Personal life/Home Life: Olivia is a first year Master’s student. She lives with her parents and works at a local insurance office. Olivia is actively involved in Girl Scouts which consume most of her time outside of class. Because of her busy schedule, she spends less time at home and prefers to have a very predictable schedule.
Computer proficiency & comfort level: Olivia has good technology skills. Being raised in the technical generation, using computers comes naturally to her. However, she does not know where to begin when it comes to completing some of the class assignments. Olivia is also unfamiliar with digital libraries and finds the language technical and confusing.
Pet Peeves: Olivia is very impatient and expects instant results from her efforts. Nothing ever seems to work fast enough for him. She would rather be working on Girl Scout leader activities.
Attitude: She is less than enthusiastic about having to invest time in figuring out how to do an assignment, especially with a group.
Motivation: Olivia is only motivated to use the Class Examples Digital Library because she expects it will help her complete her assignments quickly and accurately. She wants a good grade so he can keep a good GPA to get a job outside of the insurance agency and move away from her parents’ house.
Info-seeking habits & favorite resources: Olivia will usually ask the students she knows who have had the class in prior semesters for suggestions first, but she has been known to ask the instructor for help. The instructor is the one who recommended the Class Examples Digital Library to Olivia.
Personal goal: Olivia just wants to get the assignment done with minimal frustration and get back to making sand candles.
User Persona 2 (Advanced User)
Name: Martin Maven
Age: 34 years old
Personal life/Home life: Martin has worked in the academic library for about 8 years and would like to move from the reference desk into digital services. His supervisor told him that he needs to get an accredited ALA Master’s degree with a technical emphasis to be considered for the type of position he wants.
Computer proficiency & comfort level: Martin knows several programming languages and considers himself very technically fluent. He also has a personal interest in digital library technologies and has participated in several professional development workshops on the topics.
Pet Peeves: Martin gets very annoyed at the instructor for pushing due dates back and very annoyed with his classmates who have few technical skills. He believes anyone interested in the information professions should have taken the initiative he did to gain skills.
Attitude: Martin is only interested is figuring out what the instructor wants so that he can produce that artifact and move on. He has also become the “go-to” person in his group for tech problems and he’s tired of it.
Motivation: Martin wants to get through this course so that he can apply for the position opening he knows will be posted in a few months.
Info-seeking habits & favorite resources: Martin uses Lynda.com and YouTube to find examples. He will Google a topic before asking a person.
Personal goal/Professional goal: Martin’s goal is to lead a digital services group some day. While he enjoys technical work, he wants to manage a group of people more. He wants to get through the courses and graduate in the next academic year.
Heuristic Overview
For the purposes of this proposal, the Class Examples Digital Library will be evaluated based on the 10 heuristic principles outlined by Jakob Nielsen. A heuristic usability evaluation focuses on pinpointing the issues present in a user interface so they can be addressed and corrected (Nielsen, n.d.). The 10 heuristic principles cover numerous issues pertaining to areas including navigation, memorability, error management, and design. The digital library should be easy to navigate and search, the appearance should not be overwhelming and the textual content should be easily readable. To avoid testing the patience of users, there should be built-in functions to offer solutions or staff help. This evaluation will yield an understanding of the user experience interacting with the digital library interface.
The first heuristic principle is the “visibility of system status” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library interface must keep the user informed of what is happening. For the Class Examples Digital Library this means that the user should be able to identify the current page she is viewing on the digital library website at any given time.
The second heuristic principle is a “match between system and the real world” (Nielsen, 2005). In order for researchers to successfully utilize the digital library, they must be able to retrieve search results based on the search terms they enter. The language and terms used in the Class Examples Digital Library interface should mirror terms that users are likely to use themselves. To accomplish this, the digital library should utilize a vocabulary of words that are easily recognizable and instinctive for users to enter as search terms. In this case, the class examples need to be linked to particular assignments with tags for particular class concepts.
The third heuristic principle is “user control and freedom” (Nielsen, 2005). The user must have a way to quickly escape from a confusing situation. In order to avoid such scenarios, the navigation options provided in the interface should be clearly labeled and allow the user to easily return to the homepage.
The fourth heuristic principle is “consistency and standards” (Nielsen, 2005). The user must not be left on her own to decipher a confusing element of the interface design. The formatting of web pages across the digital library must be consistent. Terminology across metadata fields must be standardized.
The fifth heuristic principle is “error prevention” (Nielsen, 2005). The design of the interface should head off any possible errors that may be encountered by the user. If no results are found for a search term, then the user should be presented with alternative methods of browsing the site.
The sixth heuristic principle is “recognition rather than recall” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library should be designed to be functional without requiring users to memorize the options available. The layout and options should be familiar to the user.
The seventh heuristic principle is “flexibility and efficiency of use” (Nielsen, 2005). The functions available within the digital library interface should allow the user to easily search the collection. The digital library should allow the user to browse the collections and to search with a number of options. For this digital library, it will be important for users to know of other items in the collection linked to a particular assignment as well as how the example links to previous and future assignments.
The eighth heuristic principle is “aesthetic and minimalist design” (Nielsen, 2005). The digital library should have a clean and functional interface. Text components should be concise and relevant to the topic. The overall look should not be overwhelming. Text should be in readable fonts and colors.
The ninth heuristic principle is to “help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors” (Nielsen, 2005). When an error is encountered, the interface should present the user with a clear message and when possible with an alternative solution. When no content is available for a given search term or for a collection that is empty, this must be displayed clearly.
The tenth heuristic principle is “help and documentation” (Nielsen, 2005). Users of the digital library should have easy access to help resources. The interface should provide users with help where possible and contact information so larger problems can be reported to the digital library staff.
References
Arms, W. Y. (2000) Digital libraries. M.I.T. Press. Retrieved November 19, 2011 from http://www.cs.cornell.edu/wya/DigLib/MS1999/Chapter8.html
Nielsen, J. (n.d.). How to conduct a heuristic evaluation. Retrieved March 30, 2018 from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-to-conduct-a-heuristic-evaluation
Nielsen, J. (1995). 10 heuristics for user interface design. Retrieved March 31, 2018 from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
The Class Examples Digital Library
Evaluation Questionnaire
A. Visibility of System Status Choose one:
1. It is easy for the user to know the current location within the site. Yes No
2. It is clear to users where they can navigate to from the current page. Yes No
3. A search box is displayed at the top of each page. Yes No
Rationale: Knowing the status includes knowing the location. Users
should know the current page they are viewing as well as how they can navigate away from it.
B. Match Between System and Real World
1. The library uses a vocabulary that is easily recognizable and instinctive for users to enter as search terms. Yes No
2. A search for common terms on the subject returns multiple and accurate results.
Yes No
3. Users can find examples in the collection without using the complete formal name. (Ex: “Digitization” instead of “Digitization Guidelines Proposal.”) Yes No
Rationale: Utilizing common terms allows easier accessibility to the
images in the digital library collection. The use of identifiable terms or a set vocabulary increases the odds that the user will locate relevant images.
C. User Control and Freedom
1. A link to the homepage is consistently displayed on every web page. Yes No
2. Basic browsing options are displayed on all pages. (Ex: Browse
Items, Browse Collections). Yes No
3. The homepage link is easy to find. Yes No
Rationale: Users have the ability to browse the collection freely. In case of confusion, the homepage link allows the user to start over with a new
search.
D. Consistency and Standards
1. The digital library pages maintain the same format/layout. Yes No
2. Labels of links are consistent with naming conventions. (Ex: Homepage instead of Main Page or Index) Yes No
3. Each image has relevant copyright information displayed. Yes No
Rationale: A familiar format on all pages allows users to locate images previously viewed. Consistency demonstrates the dedication to users for
locating all images.
E. Error Prevention
1. When no search results are found, the interface presents the user with different browsing options. Yes No
2. The search engine automatically searches across all metadata fields for results without the user needing to specify a field. Yes No
Rationale: Providing users with additional browsing techniques ensures
successful searching. Automatically searching all metadata fields and tags makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
F. Recognition Rather than Recall
1. The digital library title is displayed at the top of every page within the collection. Yes No
2. A menu or list is provided on each page highlighting the possible options available to users. Yes No
Rationale: The navigation and search options open to the user are clearly
listed to lessen what the user has to remember in order to successfully browse the digital library.
G. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
1. The digital library allows a number of advanced search options. Yes No
2. Users can easily browse the collections Yes No
3. Images can be enlarged for viewing. Yes No
4. Search and browse results also display related items for the same, previous, and/or future assignents.
Yes No
Rationale: Advanced search options allow users to search specific fields for the results they need. Ease of searching and browsing methods
ensures users will visit more than once. Users will be able to see related items and get a sense of where the item they are viewing fits in a sequence.
H. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
1. The digital library has a simple and clean design. Yes No
2. The digital library uses readable fonts in colors that are easy read for all users. Yes No
Rationale: The user interface design is one of the most important aspects
of a digital library. Users should be able to view readable text and relevant information so that their research experience is faster and easier.
I. Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors
1. The search results indicate when no results are found. Yes No
2. A message is displayed when a collection contains no items. Yes No
Rationale: It is important to keep the user informed when no items can be
located so that they can take advantage of other search options.
J. Help and Documentation
1. A contact email address is displayed in the footer of each page for users to send feedback to staff. Yes No
2. The digital library provides some search suggestions for users. Yes No
Rationale: Providing users contact information allows opportunities for feedback from viewers. This feedback can provide excellent suggestions for increasing viewer numbers. Asking users for feedback is an important
way to update our digital library and to repair or fix any errors that are reported.
Original Format
Word document