library of congress – usability presentation

SI ASB Internship atLibrary of Congress

February 28 toMarch 04, 2011

Shi ChenEvan Kerrigan

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So, who are we?

Evan Kerrigan

Shi Chen

AlternativeSpring Break

Usability Evaluation

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Usability Goals• Improve ease of learning• Increase productivity• Minimize errors• Improve user confidence

Competitive Analysis

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Goals

Process

Caveats

Dimensions• Organization of media types for preservation

• Presentation of available tools and formats for preservation

• Availability of simple, takeaway guides

“Competition”• JISC Digital Media

• National Library of New Zealand

• Canadian Heritage

• Preserving Digital History (GMU)

Finding #1• DP.gov does well using images and iconography to reinforce content

• DP.gov does well separating and identifying media types to help users find the desired information

• Other sites do well offering question-based lists or ranking by user interest

• Other sites offer stage-based information

Recommendation #1Consider how content might be organized and presented to match user interests and expectations. This may include providing information based on their current status in the preservation process

Analytics can help

Finding #2• DP.gov does well getting people to think about digital preservation, but it focuses more on “Why?” than “How?”

• Some other sites offer advice on equipment, tools, and formats to consider as solutions

Recommendation #2Consider helping to answer the “How?” questions by adding such advisory information or link to other resources—particularly JISC for audio and video

There are more such resources already in your wiki

Finding #3

DP.gov does well providing easy to locate guides that are clear, concise, and well-designed

Recommendation #3Thumbs up! digitalpreservation.gov is leading the way!

Heuristic Evaluation

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Goals

Process

Caveats

• Visibility of system status

• Match between system and the real world

• User control and freedom

• Consistency and standards

• Error prevention

• Recognition rather than recall

• Flexibility and efficiency of use

• Aesthetic and minimalist design

• Help recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

• Help and documentation

The Ten Heuristics

Finding #1Use of language that is likely unfamiliar to the user

• Metadata: Definition not provided or evident

• Open formats: Which are these? Can I turn my files into these formats?What tools are available to facilitate this process?

• “Export as linked files”: Not clear what this means or how to do this

• What are archival quality discs? What should I look for when seeking them and where are they available?

Recommendation #1

• Consider defining potentially unclear terms

• Consider linking to lists of open formats and tools to create them

• Add or link to information to describe processes

Finding #2Valuable information is not always given prominence

Recommendation #2

Consider giving this section more visibility, perhaps adding visual cues for each entry like the thumbnails in the previous section to help draw attention—the text might otherwise be passed over

Finding #3

Thumbs up!

Perfect score on 4/10 dimensions

• Error prevention

• Recognition rather than recall

• Flexibility and efficiency of use

• Help and documentation

Recommendation #3

Keep up the good work!

Nitpicks

Non-critical nitpicking is available upon request

MiscellaneousFindings

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Caveat

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Accessibility

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Accessibility FindingsFinding 01: Lack of Closed Captioning

Finding 02: Lack of podcast transcripts

AccessibilityRecommendationsRecommendation 01: Consider adding CC to videos

Recommendation 02: Consider making podcast transcripts available

Media Finding

Information about media length (i.e., time for audio and video) is not provided to use before clicking a link to start them

Media Recommendation

Consider adding information such as media length to help users decide whether to commit to viewing or listening to media on the site

Looking to the Future

Usability TestProtocols

Further Help

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Questions?

Thanks!

Shi Chen Evan Kerriganshichen@umich.edu kerrigev@umich.edu