iwmw 2002: designing for usability
TRANSCRIPT
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
Mark Simpson
De Montfort University - Leicester
Managed Learning Environment - MLE
September 2000 to September 2002
Joint Information Systems Committee -
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
User Issues - Formative and Summative Assessment
Designing for Usability
•How did we specify the system?•How did we decide on content?•How did we verify content?•Develop conventions for pages?•Usability trade-offs and compromises?
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
What is a MLE?University Electronic resources linked together
•Student record system - QLS•Timetabling and Calendar system•Library databases•Module and Results database•Online learning resources - WebCT•Social databases•Email and discussion pages
Other student oriented data resources
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
MLEArchitecture
MLE (Web) Server
User Manager
Resource Manager
MLE Usage Database
Student Record System
Authentication System
Client Application(Web Browser)
BIDSEDINA
e-Journalsetc
Remote Authorised Resources
Timetabling
Finance System
Course Management
Secure, Authorised Access
e-Learning – VLE App
Course Notes,Study Guides, Exam Papers
Library
Diary
Discussion Lists,Groupware, email
Entertainment, Social
outside firewall
inside
Resources CrossingFirewall
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Usability how hard is it?
Everybody has an opinion
“I hate …… …… …”“Frames / Flash / PDF are rubbish”
Not useful comments
Anything new will not satisfy X % of users, until they have used it.
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What is this in your opinion ?
RED
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BLUE
What colour is this in your opinion?
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Development cycle
Web Site Requirements / Specification
Develop Content List
PreparingContent / Layout
Designing initial prototype
October 2000
March 2001
September2001
December2001
1st user testing
Modifying prototype
2nd user testing
4th Navigation &Logic Testing
CorrectingNavigationIssues –uportal
February 2002
3rd user testing
Modifying design
April 2002
June 2002
June 2002
August 2002
WritingTrainingMaterial
User LogTracking
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Specification
What does the system do?
•What are the users like•What do they want the system to do•What can we do from the users want list•What are the usability issues with current systems•Can the MLE solve these issues
•Project team produced a list of what they wanted as indicative student users
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
User Requirements
• Ask yourself / project team / steering committee• Ask users• Research other systems or similar sites• What is unique to your project - QLS• Produce a list of content• Refine list to remove duplication / impossible content• Record list with reasons
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Sources of Requirements1. DMU PC ownership and use survey 1997, 98, 99, & 00 2. Collaboration in Research Support by Academic Libraries in Leicestershire survey [CORSALL]
3. ANGEL user analysis results
4. DMU Nursing School, online course survey
5. DMU Library survey of student information needs
6. DMU Research papers on using the Internet for teaching.
7. DMU Keyskills survey of all first year students
8. Student Experience Unit feedback from students leaving the university
9. DMU Student focus group meeting
10. Usage reports from similar
11. User interviews with users of similar existing systems
IWMW Glasgow June 2002
Results of Specification
• Consistent trend that PC ownership is increasing and that online use is also increasing
• Users ask for more content than they need
• Academic users want the MLE to be integrated in university and not isolated
• Students are unconcerned about security and privacy of online information
• Navigation must be mouse rather than keyboard based, back arrow used in preference to all other navigation devicesContents List
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Dendrogram
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MLE Version 2
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Further login trials, testing navigation
•Login trials - user name and password
•Simple content location
•Logging out
•Interface issues
Don’t look at too much each time
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Testing login &
photographs
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Login trails with HNC, BA, MA students
12 first year students HNC Housing Part-time
7 second year students BA Accounting and Finance Full-time
26 postgraduates taking MA degrees Full-time
Between each test correct problems and develop a new feature for testing
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How many times do you test it, how many subjects do you need?•As many times as you can which will yield useful data
•Between 4 and 10 subjects at a time
•What are you testing ?•what is the question•what will you do with the results•What resources are available
•Don’t leave it hoping it will be alright
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MLE Version 3
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User tracking data
• User Logs for six months
Logon Data, route through site, User Names
Course being studied, Self assessments completed, discussion involvement
• Didn’t match interview or focus group reports
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Pathways, which way do people go.
Track routes taken by users
Particular attention to successful students
Use data to provide mentoring support to students having problems
Use data to provide a list of shortcuts
Do people do what they said they wanted in the specification
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Future Usability:
Training and Help pages
Focus groups – face to face
Online Questionnaires
Feedback from modules with teaching resources online
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Benefits of the methods
• Provide a handle on the university administration information issues
• Publicity and visibility for project
• Resolve problems as they were discovered
• Kept in touch with all types of users
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How would we do it differently
• Have an off-line non development system for testing usability
• Use external evaluation only in the second half of the project
• When carrying out usability testing freeze the design
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What should you do?
• Set-up a steering group or panel
• Think about what the site / page / system is providing
• Do testing using a prototype of content and navigation regularly
• Always have a usability issue to hand
• Use conventions and standard layouts
– what did the users tell you
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Summary
•3 Formative and 2 Summative methods of assessment
•Ask users what they want
•Test navigation regularly
•Implement changes and test again
•Don’t expect to please everybody
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Where am I now ?