The User Experience: Online and IRL Designing for Digital April 6, 2016

The Website Redesign: Before

Personas Methods Applications for website redesign Applications for other projects

Data Analysis Methods Applications for website redesign Applications for other projects

1. Fill in the blank! I go to UCF Libraries website to _______________. Access databases for research Find articles. Find research articles for papers and projects Renew library materials (because I'm too lazy to bring them back) Study Find books Library hours Use the databases Data Analysis surveys

Card Sorting Open Sort 42 cards 56 participants Used online tool - Optimal Sort option to download cards still able to recruit in person reach online & regional students analysis $150 per survey, plus 50% discount for educational institutions

Card Sorting

Usability Testing

The Website Redesign: After

LSU Libraries Before While somewhat dated, and with some design inconsistencies, the basic layout was reasonable, e.g. Prominent search box Help Blog Slideshow Rather than launch a formal “redesign” process, our approach was to adopt a gradual, iterative redesign. My initial response to the home page was that the basic layout was fine, and a radical change to the home page was not top priority.

LSU Libraries Iterative Redesign However, our internal landing pages were in desperate need of attention. This page, for example, was one of our most used pages.

Analytics One of my first steps was to analyze our usage stats. I started with the most common metrics, such as: Most visited pages (top 10, top 100) Desktop/Mobile In-site navigation vs. search

Analytics Our most visited pages included some surprises. Home page, databases page Mobile site (auto detect script) Special Collections Hours Music Page (earlier screenshot) Two orphaned subject guides Learning that the Music page was one of our busiest pages moved it up my priority list. Several other high-use landing pages were in similar condition. So my first goal was to develop a standardized design for landing pages.

Analytics High mobile usage 11.4% of visits were from mobile devices This raised the priority of rebuilding the site to be responsive and “sunset” the mobile version. The mobile version had numerous issues and had to be manually updated I also noted the substantial usage of the mobile site. This was even more reason to ensure the site was responsive.

Survey I also launched a survey. The goal were to: get baseline satisfaction date Assess ease or difficulty of finding information Invite open-ended comments that would suggest further avenues for study

Survey I also launched a survey. The goal were to: get baseline satisfaction date Rate overall satisfaction Very Satisfied 48% Somewhat satisfied 35% Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 7% Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied 3%

Survey How easy or difficult is it to find library materials (books, articles, etc) Easy or Very Easy Difficult or Very Difficult Books 80.65% 9.68% Articles 75.41% 9.84% Specific Databases (e.g., JSTOR) 67.74% 6.45% Specific Journals (e.g. Nature) 66.13% 8.06% Newspapers 60.00% 14.55% Archival Material 47.27% 16.36% Digital Images 45.28% 18.87%

Survey Easy or Very Easy Difficult or Very Difficult Research Help 77.05% 4.92% Contact Information 83.61% 6.56% Library News & Events 85.00% 1.67% Reserve a Group Study Room 66.10% 6.78% What Items I Can Borrow 61.02% 10.17% How Long I Can Borrow Items 60.00% 15.00% Interlibrary Loan 59.32% 15.25% Fines and/or Fee policies 54.24% How easy or difficult is it to find library information?

Survey Rate the importance of the following information. Very Important Not Important Library Hours 88.89% Library News & Events 38.10% 14.29% Tutorials 55.56% 9.52% How to Reserve a Study Room 77.78% 1.59% Borrowing Policies 73.02% 3.17% How to Contact a Service Desk (e.g.Circulation, Government Documents) 66.67% How to Contact a Subject Specialist for Research Help 61.90% Rate the importance of the following information.

User Testing - Ebooks Initiative I’m going to discuss the iterative testing of a specific feature set. But first, I’ll walk through some of the basics of conducting user testing.

Usability Testing •Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users. •Participants will try to complete typical tasks while observers watch, listen and takes notes. •The goal is to identify any usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data and determine the participant's satisfaction with the product.

Usability Testing Laptop with webcam and microphone Recording Software Not essential, but VERY helpful Captures everything, including facial expressions, every word spoken, and mouse movements Enables you to share highlights with stakeholders in a way that is far more convincing than words alone)

Usability Testing Recording Software Examples Usability Studio ($40) Silverback ($40) (Mac only) Camtasia $$ Captivate $$ Morae $$$$

Usability Testing Patience Empathy Listening Observation Facilitation I.e, the skills required for helping a patron at a service point, or teaching an instruction session

Usability Testing - Common Pitfalls Creating leading questions One example is using leading jargon, such as a term like Interlibrary Loan, or the name of your catalog, unless it is in proper context (i.e. a professor assigns students to search in a particular database) Interrupting too often Not creating an effective report or summary of results

Usability Testing - Overview of Steps Identify Goals Create test plan Recruit participants Refine scenarios and/or tasks Pre-test Execute Tests Discuss testing results and changes to make

Usability Testing - Overview of Steps Identify Goals Create test plan Recruit participants Refine scenarios and/or tasks Pre-test Execute Tests Discuss testing results and changes to make

The Website Redesign: After

Questions? Carrie Moran carrie.moran@ucf.edu Dave Comeaux davidcomeaux@lsu.edu