[Web4lib] Re: Task completion success rates

[Lars Aronsson]

John Kupersmith wrote:

> In 18 usability tests done at 13 different libraries, the 
> overall average success rate for finding journal articles or 
> article databases is 52%.

Who defined these tasks?  Is there an ALA standard?  I guess the 
entire success rate would depend on what kind of tasks you define.

Task 1: Find "Moby Dick", the novel.  Any edition will do.

Success rate: 100% in any U.S. library.

Task 2: Find out when (which year) the word "program" in broadcast 
radio changed its meaning from "the list of items" (e.g. "today's 
programme on the BBC") to the "individual item on that list" (a 
single show, e.g. "in this program, we'll discuss Library 2.0").

Task 2 would begin with checking the major dictionaries (OED). If 
that doesn't answer the question, sample the OPAC for books and 
articles using "program" (or "programme") in the title.  Then 
start to read books, magazines, and newspapers pertaining to 
broadcast radio from various decades.  This certainly is solvable 
in any medium sized or larger univerity library.  But how fast?

Library user training includes telling people what kinds of 
services they can expect from the library (task 1, not task 2). 
This increases the task success rate, not because of increased 
skill, but because people will stop to burden their library with 
the impossible tasks.  Customers can have the Model T Ford in any 
color they want, as long as they want it in black.

By the way, does anybody know the year?


-- 
  Lars Aronsson (lars at aronsson.se)
  Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se