Usability and the Evaluation of Library Web Sites Jane Foo B.Sc. M.I.St. Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology For the OLA 2003 Super Conference January 30, 2003

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 2 How did I End up in Usability? Usability Environmental Psychology “The Design of Everyday Things” Statistica l Analysis Business Process Reengineering Web Design UCD Human- Computer Interaction System s Testing UI Desig n Programming Systems Analysis & Design Teaching German Database Design

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 3 The Meaning of Usability Enabling someone To accomplish a goal in interaction with a product under the desired circumstances with the desired characteristics at a specific point in time “Usability is a confusing concept.” (John S. Rhodes)

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 4 User-Centered Design (What I got out of it) Analyze the users & theirs tasks, needs and context (listen & observe) Use existing design expertise (user-centered, not user-driven) Keep it simple Be flexible Iterate, iterate, iterate! Document decisions and reasons Look for “troublemakers”

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 5 UCD in the Context of Libraries A good environment for doing UCD: –Team work and cooperation –Long tradition of customer-centered service –Staff are detail-oriented and meticulous in their efforts –Less focus on profit making –Emphasis on information and content quality A not-so-good environment for doing UCD: –Operations-centered decision making –Technology illiteracy / technophobia –“Doing things by the book” –Consensus-seeking

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 6 UCD Activities Field Observation Card Sorting Usability Testing Heuristic evaluation Design Walkthroughs Blind Voting Usability Report Surveys For more examples, see James Hom’s The Usability Methods Toolbox at

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 7 UCD at Seneca College Focus Groups Surveys Card Sorting and Cluster Analysis Usability tests: task-oriented prototype testing Usability Maintenance Plan Web Committees and Task Groups

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 8 If I had to do it again… (Lessons Learned) Ask for time to –understand the culture and structure –Come up with clear roles, responsibilities and infrastructure Stay informed about research and standards –Don’t believe everything you read by Usability “gurus” –Sometimes you just have to make a decision Emphasize the importance of understanding Web & technology

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 9 Tips for Evaluating Library Sites Use multiple methods to evaluate your site Benchmark not just against Library sites Consider all aspects of Web site design –Staff computer literacy levels –Site specifics (location, development box etc.) –Speed –Inter- and Intra-departmental linking and integration Maintenance Cycle (usability) test redesign Identify problems review context

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 10 New Technolog y Don’t expect usability to solve all your problems Existing Service Model Policies & Procedures IT Infrastructure Hardware & Software Issues Politics Maintenance Browser Incompatibility Lack of Resources

January 30, 2003 OLA Superconference © 2003 Jane Foo 11 References “EZSort (beta release).” Retrieved 9 Jan from IBM Web site: 3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/ ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/410 Hackos, JoAnn T. and Janice C. Redish. User and Task Analysis for Interface Design. New York: Wiley & Sons,1998. Krug, Steve. Don't make me think! : a common sense approach to Web usability. Indianapolis, Ind.: Que, Norman, D. A (1988). The design of everyday things. New York: Basic Books, McEvoy, C,. Usability must die. Retrieved 20 Jan 2003 from Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing web usability. Indianapolis, Ind.: New Riders Publishing. Olson, G. (2002, July 31). Response: The backlash against Jakob Nielsen and what it teaches us. Usability News. Retrieved 20 Jan from Rhodes, J. S. (2000, Oct 19). Trouble in paradise: Problems facing the usability community. Moving WebWord. Retrieved 20 Jan from “User-Centered Design.” Retrieved 9 Jan from IBM Web site. 3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/ ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/570 “What is Card Sorting?.” Retrieved 27 Jan from Information & Design Web site: