[WEB4LIB] Re: (Usability testing)

[Andrew K. Pace]

Here's another one. (Blake, I'd be honored if you added it to your
bibliography...which I wish I had had 6 months ago!)
I completed a piece last Fall for Library Technology Reports for which usability
engineering (of which "usability testing" is just one part).  The issue,
"Optimizing Library Web Services: A Usability Approach," is available as online
(requires subscription) through ALA's Techsource.  It is being reprinted in the
regular March/April issue as well.  That's not really "tips and tricks," but there
are a few in there, including some templates for creating usability tests.
-Andrew

Blake Carver wrote:

> Good Timing!
> I just (literally this minute, no kidding) finished this draft of a
> bibliography of library usability studies, it should be helpful.
> The citations aren't exactly in any format, but they should get you
> there.  The quotes I pulled out to help show what the studies found
> specifically wrong with the sites they studied.
> There have been alot of studies done now, I found the ones on this list
> most useful for our upcoming redesign here at OSU.
>
> -Blake Carver
> Web Librarian
> The Ohio State University Libraries
> carver.50 at osu.edu
> see also: www.lisnews.com
>
> Please do not consider this a perfect, complete or accurate list. It's more
> of a rough draft. If you can't find a source please let me know.
>
> Discovering the user: Practical glance at usability testing
> The Electric Library Oct 1999
> "The users expect consistency"
> "They don't know what a volume is, the don't know what a monograph is.
> These are terms that mean nothing to the average person".
> "
we do a lot of things that nobody knows we do. That points up the need
> not only for usable systems but for public relations so that people know
> you have that system."
>
> Marketing Through Usability
> Computers In Libraries Sep 1999
> "people don't want to learn a new hobby, they want to complete a task."
> "We all provide information services, and many of these services nowadays
> are mediated through computers. Therefore, you need to make sure that the
> tools you choose to facilitate these services are as usable as possible. A
> usable service will reduce the time you spend teaching people how to use
> the service, and therefore will provide the patron with more time for
> analysis and synthesis. Consequently, it will reduce your costs as well as
> your patron's. In turn, this will improve the patron's perception of the
> library, and you will have more time to explore ways to improve other
> library services."
>
> Usability Testing Of World Wide Web Sites
> Michael D. Levi (bls.gov)
> "The purpose of most web sites is to attract users and distribute
> information and products. Losing users because of poor design could be
> catastrophic for a commercial venture"
>
> The Impact of Information Architecture on Academic Web Site Usability
> The electric Library October 1999
> ”
people do not come to the web for an experience they come for information."
> "roughly 2/3 of users are looking for specific information"
> "the organization of information, the labeling of concepts and the lack of
> navigational aids clearly impacts the usability of this web site"
>
> Web Redemption and The Promise of Usability
> Online Magazine Nov-Dec 1999
> "With any information-based intranet site, the homepage needs to announce
> the site, conveying its depth and breadth."
> "Above all, a usable intranet home page orients the user to the rest of the
> site and clearly shows available pockets of information contained within it."
> "Ideally a [homepage] design should provide users with a conceptual model
> with which they can figure out what's on the site and how the rest of it
> works."
>
> An overview of usability for the study of users web-based information
> retrieval behavior.
> Journal of Education for Library & Information Science Ruth Palmquist
> "For the most of the web's initial years, web sites were largely a source
> for creative self-expression, and more often the novelty of the medium kept
> users from being critical of the content encountered"
> "one can hope just as an eventual structure evolved for the printed book,
> that a standard or format for effective web design eventually will evolve"
>
> Usability Testing and Libraries: The WSU Experience
> Sharon Walnbridg
> "They did have trouble with concepts-for example, what is in the catalog,
> and what differentiates the catalog from the article index"
> "
the typical user does not understand serials terminology, and cannot
> locate information on current receipts. User do not understand how to limit
> searches. They do not understand the various call number schemes
 Another
> feature that escapes students understanding is cross-references: they don't
> understand what they mean or what to do next."
>
> Usability study of the MnLINK gateway
> OCLC Systems & Services, Joan Roca
> "novices and advanced beginners are focused on accomplishing immediate
> tasks, and; they are not as interested in learning as in doing"
> "only 1 % of the subjects indicated they would use the help button"
> "
 in those instances where the gateway interface violated standard
> conventions, subject performance decreased."
> "subjects frequently did not understand library research terminology. The
> majority of subjects could not distinguish between library catalogs and
> databases, or between basic and advanced searches"
> "subjects did not have well-developed mental models of library research."
>
> A case study of the usability testing of the U of South FL's virtual
> library interface design
> Online Information review Maryellen Allen
> ""the administrators found that dew users were familiar with the term
> "interlibrary loan" request, even though they were familiar with the
> service itself"
> "indeed 100% of test participants failed to negate successfully to the
> proper location in response to the request "locate the links you would
> click on to research journal or magazine articles". 
 12 out of 12 chose
> the link labeled e-journals rather than the proper "databases"
> "
 the link for the online catalogue was changed from "WebLUIS" to "find a
> book"
> "it became increasingly obvious that plain, straightforward language almost
> always produces better results than library jargon"
>
> Handout given to me by someone
>  From UNC Chapel Hill
> "it is clear from comments that users do not make the distinctions that we
> do between "resources", services, and library information. To them its all
> library information."
> "Participants didn't know what information they could expect to find under
> circulation, borrowing services, interlibrary borrowing and lending and
> borrowing from campus libraries were  confusing to them.
> "they are unwilling to spend time browsing pages or reading a lot of text."
> "library jargon defiantly a problem, e.g. e-journals, and library catalog
> mean little or are incorrectly interpreted.
>
> Usability testing in a library web site redesign project
> Reference services review Susan McMullen
> "users do not perceive the link "online databases and indexes" as the
> resource to make when they are seeking periodical indexes"
> "users are not interested in reading a research guide prior to doing research"
> "participants remarked that the term database was unclear to them"
> "users tend to scroll quickly through a page, to find highlighted links,
> but do not read descriptions associated with them"
>
> Usability testing at the U of AZ Library: How to let users in on the design
> Information Technology and Libraries Ruth Dickstein
> "catalog, index, resources, databases, and reference are meaningless to
> many students."
>
> Usability of the Academic Library Web Site: Implications for Design
> College & Research Libraries Louise McGillis
> "participants commented they had difficulties figuring out where to begin
> and deciding which option to select for the library catalog"
> "some participants also did not understand the concept of a journal article"
> "In particular they could not differentiate easily between internet
> resources and databases on the main page"
> "The terminology was not meaningful to participants. When asked what was
> the hardest part about completing the task, participants answered " not
> knowing what heading to look under", "I wasn’t sure where to start", and
> "Figuring out what the categories meant"
> "more than 90% of the participants found the site to be well organized"
> "the terminology used in menus was not meaningful despite the fact it is
> standard in libraries"
> "participants focused almost soly on the menu choices and not on the other
> tools for accessing information on this site"
> "
the researchers found the problems with standard library terminology
> perplexing, particularly when that terminology is well established. Likely,
> however, it has never been user tested; we make too many assumptions about
> the extent of user knowledge"
> "the significant issue that dominates the study's findings, however, is
> that people did not know where to start"
> "When people approach a web site with a specific problem, they often cannot
> fir the problem into one of the options and do not have access to a human
> being for guidance
"
> "
people have information problems and cannot extrapolate from the list
> which too / service is best suited to help with them. The web site must
> guide users in the resolution of their problems"
>
> Chauffeured by the user: Usability in the Electric Library
> Information Technology Planning Jerilyn R.Veldof
> "be consistent
"
> "grouping resources and assigning concrete descriptive labels help
> undergraduates to make more efficient navigation decisions"
> "
 it was obvious that "The Catalog" meant nothing to many out our library
> users"
>
> Usability Testing of an Academic Library Web Site: A Case Study
> Journal of Academic Librarianship Brenda Battleson
> "for the non catalog research tasks, the ideal choice was the "Online
> Resources" link, yet most students initially selected "libraries catalog".
> There was obvious confusion with terminology. As well as a clear
> misunderstanding of what the term "Online Resources" implied
"
> "
they did not readily identify "Reference Resources" as a logical link to
> begin exploration of a topic"
>
> Usability Testing a Case Story
> College and research Libraries Janet Chism
> "Many users were so supremely confident in their searching that when they
> do not find something, they immediately conclude that it is not owned by
> the library"
> "users often do not understand concepts and are unable to interpret correctly"
> "users of the webpac do not understand serials, cannot identify them in a
> browse display containing both books and serials, and cannot navigate
> through complex serial information"
> "clearly libraries need to do a better job of explaining  this, and the
> OPACS must be more helpful in aiding users to find this important information"
> "
better labeling is needed"
> "it was unclear what the link "other library catalogs" meant"
>
> At 01:20 PM 3/21/2002 -0800, you wrote:
> >This library will be conducting Usability tests on our Web site.  I know
> >most of the basics on how to conduct these tests, but I call upon the wisdom
> >of the WEB4LIB... to see if anyone has tips or tricks that they've
> >discovered in conducting their own tests.  Thanks in advance for your
> >advice!
> >
> >
> >Sincerely,
> >Thomas McCoy
> >http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/nbpl
>
> ------------------------------------------

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrew K. Pace, M.S.L.S.
Head, Systems ~ NCSU Libraries
North Carolina State University ~ Raleigh, NC
andrew_pace at ncsu.edu ~ 919-515-3087
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/pace/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~