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Can’t find anyone to buy your books?

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BookMarketTextbook Exchange for SIMS Students

mary trombley

susanne eklund

shirley chan

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BookMarket is a web site where SIMS students can find other students who are buying and selling used textbooks.

BookMarket is meant to make use of existing social networks in the SIMS community.

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Heuristic evaluators said our site had…

Unclear terminology

Wordy and unhelpful text

Confusing “buying” and “selling” concepts

Insufficient feedback to the user

Confusing “Account” and “Login” concepts

Unnecessary link clutter

A search box that could be improved

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Links that distracted users out of current task flow and pushed them into another task flow

A confusing mixture of GUI buttons and links

A Non-existent privacy policy and vague site ownership

A Help page that didn’t

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Lessons from the Heuristic Evaluation

We learned that we had to step back and look at our design with a more critical eye

It confirmed our suspicions about problem areas in our interface

It helped us decide to change the branding of our web site

It reminded us that design is a humbling process

Thank you, SFNight!

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Results of the pilot usability study

Overall, subjects were able to complete the tasks quickly and successfully

3 out of 3 subjects expressed that they would actually use BookMarket if it were run by SIMS

Actual subject comments:

“I think it's a very useful tool that also helps build a community in SIMS.”

“New and used books are so expensive! This would undoubtedly save me money.”

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Does BookMarket's revised language sufficiently explain the purpose and functionality of the system? Yes.

Does the user understand the meaning of the navigation tabs and use them appropriately to complete tasks? Yes.

Does the user try to use Help? If so, does she find the information she needs to complete the task? Undetermined.

Overall, are test subjects satisfied enough with BookMarket that they would use it in the real world? Yes.

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Strongly Agree

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

1. I thought BookMarket was easy to use. 2. I was able to find the books I wanted. 3. The book-buying process was intuitive to me. 4. The book-selling process was intuitive to me. 5. The sell form is easy to understand and complete. 6. I am pleased with the time it took to sell a book today. 7. I am pleased with the time it took to buy a book today. 8. It was easy to update the condition of the book that I posted for sale.

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Positive Notes:

Subjects used (and liked!) the search box on the sidebar.

Subjects navigated quickly and easily through BookMarket.

Subjects used all possible ways to find books (title browsing, course browsing, and search).

Negative Notes….

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“Information on the price of the book new would be helpful.”

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2 out of 3 users did not notice how many other buyers had responded to a particular seller.

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All users were annoyed at having to input their information several times.

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One user got derailed on the edit postings page.

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Create search engine back-end for Quick Search.

Allow user to sell multiple books at once.

Allow user to input books that aren't in the book list.

Implement administrative functions.

Add pop-up help.

Implement Account and Login functionality.

Implement functionality that pre-fills forms.

Allow users to edit and delete postings.

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Help for buying books:

Highlight "Responses" column by moving its location in the table, changing the color, or adding an explanation in the table heading.

Clarify what is sent to sellers when a buyer fills out the Buy Form.

Introduce a "preview" screen and/or use textual clues to help buyer submit appropriate comments.

Improve confirmation page after user buys a book.

Help for selling books:

Include comparative prices on Sell Form.

Remove "Quick Search" box from all pages except those in the “Buy” category.

Revise Help page for organization and clarity.

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Question 1: Which method of filling out forms is the least error-prone and frustrating?

Fill out a form for each book bought or sold. No login.

Login or create a new account before first buy or sell is attempted. Login is required. After login, no further form fill-out is required.

Fill out form the first time. During the rest of the session, the system will remember the information and automatically fill out subsequent forms.

Question 2: Which method of selling multiple books is the most efficient (i.e., produces the smallest error rate, most satisfaction, and the fastest completion time)?

Select one book at a time. Fill out a form for each book.

Select multiple books and be presented a form for each book sequentially.

Select multiple books and be presented with a form for all books at once.

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Hypothesis A: Users will be most satisfied and commit the fewest errors with the auto-remember system.

Justification: During our pilot usability test, users remarked that they did not like filling in the same information several times. However, they did not express the desire to log in nor did they go to the Account button to find a login feature.

Hypothesis B: Users will be most efficient at selecting multiple books and filling out one form to sell them all.

Justification: A single form will reduce the number of steps a user must complete to post multiple books.

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Between Groups:

Factor 1: Login Type

Level i: No login (NL)

Level ii: Mandatory login (ML)

Level iii: Auto-remember (AR)

Within Groups:

Factor 2: Method of Selling Multiple Books

Level i: One book at a time (OBAT)

Level ii: Multiple selection, multiple forms (MSMF)

Level iii: Multiple selection and single form (MSSF)

NL ML AR

OBAT MSSF MSMF

MSMF OBAT MSSF

MSSF MSMF OBAT

12 subjects 12 subjects 12 subjects

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We hope to finish the site in time for Fall 2001 semester.

Actual use relies on sponsorship by a SIMS organization.

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