Transcript Powerpoint

An introduction to usability for
library web managers
Sarah Agarwal
Consultant Project Manager
Internet Development group (ID)
1
What I’m going to cover:
•
•
•
•
what is usability?
a live usability test!
two quick case studies
about us
2
What is usability?
Definitions
What do users want to use library websites for?
MLANET example
Is this really relevant for non-commercial sites?
The government thinks so…
3
Statistics
(old) 1997: ‘Forrester Research audited 20
major sites, finding 51% compliance with
simple Web usability principles such as “is the
site organised by user goals?”’…
(new) 60% of government websites in need of
immediate attention
4
Quick usability test:
Three tasks:
1. Find the phone number for the reference
desk. Task: ‘Find contacts’
2. Find out if book ‘Easy way to stop smoking’
is in stock, and reserve. Task: ‘Find books’
3. Audience suggestion????
Test on 3 random libraries
5
Quick case studies
1.
BBC Research Central
2.
Kansas City Public Library
6
Kansas City Public Library
Techniques used:
• Log analysis
• ‘Cognitive walkthrough’
• User testing
7
More techniques:
• Focus groups, surveys and chats
• Usability evaluation
• Competitive review
More advanced techniques:
• Card-sorting
• Eye-tracking
You only need to get 5 users!
8
About us - ILRT
www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk
•
•
•
•
•
digital libraries
e-learning
digital imaging
Internet Development (ID) - consultancy
semantic web
9
About us - ID
Consultancy arm www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/id
• Web application development:
– Content Management Systems, portals,
booking systems, online survey technology
• Websites
• Graphic design
• Usability and accessibility
• E-learning applications
10
Questions?
11