Post on 25-Dec-2015
Overview
Usability recapResearch methodsResearch findings
– Usability – Credibility– Library jargon– Library subject pages
Usability Research
Ever growing body of knowledgeUsed to develop design guidelines, but these
should not be construed as rulesDesign guidelines should be specific
– Measurable and testableKnow how and why the guidelines were created
– Is it the same task-design context as yours?
Ease of use
Ease of learning
Fitness for purpose
What is Usability?
Effective Product
Dorothy Kushner
Strive to Be Ordinary
UnexceptionalInvisibleDoor knob is a door
knob (exit)
On the Web, follow conventions.
Usability Research Methods
Focus groups are:a) Useful for gathering user ideas and opinions
about a web site b) An effective usability research methodc) A useful technique for finding out what people
do on a web site
Techniques and Tests
Expert review or heuristic evaluation and task based usability testing do NOT uncover the same sets of problems
Heuristic review tends to uncover usability issues related to presentation
Usability testing tends to uncover issues related to domain-specific knowledge or interaction
Usability is Becoming Institutionalized
User-centered design and development - a routine practice within an enterprise
Slowly becoming true, too, of library’sStages of “institutionalization” are defined in
Eric Schaffer’s new book, “Institutionalization of Usability: A Step-by-Step Guide”
Encouraging Reading
Smaller type encourages focused viewing behaviour
Larger type promotes scanningIf a headline was the same size as the blurb,
bold and positioned on the same line the whole enchilada was more likely read
www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=70472
Where Do People Look?
Studies have shown that people start scanning in the main area of a Web page and initially ignore the logo, tabs, and left-hand navigation [Schroeder 1998] and that people's eyes are drawn first to areas that have saturated colors (pure bright colors), darker areas, and areas of visual complexity [Najjar 1990]. Eric Schaffer. Institutionalization of Usability. 2004
Poynter Eyetrack III Study
Participants tended to focus on the dominant headline of a homepage first, not the main photograph or image
Move in a S like pattern down the page
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/viewing.htm#1.2
First Words are Critical
Participants' eyes tended to fix more often and longer on the first word or two of headline links.
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/viewing.htm#1.2
What Helps Recall?
White space directs attention and enhances recallAnimation captures attention, but does not increase
recall– Increases perceived workload and frustration of users
www.humanfactors.com/downloads/dec03.asp
Use Multimedia Graphics for Unfamiliar Concepts
People were more likely to recall facts, names, and places correctly from text format
Unfamiliar conceptual information was recalled more accurately when participants viewed in multimedia format
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/viewing.htm#1.2
Users Attend to ONLY TWO Forms of Media at the Same Time
When users had audio, still media and written captions, they only attended to two: audio and images. Captions were not read by many.
Text First, But Images are Viewed
People look at peoplePeople are more likely to look at bigger
images
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/photos.htm
Poynter study showed:*– Eyetrack III participants noticed and fixated on top nav menus more
often than other placements. And they checked right nav menus more often than left.
Sounds better. Higher clicks are do to its placement next to the scroll bar.
Is this what we want – people staring at the nav menu bar? Is this a good thing or is an effective nav menu quick to peruse?
“Having users spend more time on a task is not an indication of a better design, it's an indication of a worse design” Jakob Neilsen
Great at Gathering Data – Be Cautious in our Interpretations
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/jaysmall.htm
Web Site's Credibility
How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility? Results from a Large Study– B.J. Fogg, Cathy Soohoo, David Danielson,
Leslie Marable, Julianne Stanford and Ellen R. Tauber
www.webcredibility.org
Branding and Credibility
Users do not evaluate credibility by checking site author or credentials
Users who do not have in-depth domain knowledge evaluate credibility based on– Design look– Information design and structure– Information focus
Domain experts use domain specific criteria
Prominence-Interpretation Theory
P-I Theory posits that two things happen when people assess credibility:
1. A person first notices something: Prominence; and next,
2. Then, makes a judgment about it: Interpretation
If one or the other does not happen, then there is no credibility assessment
Fogg et all. Web Credibility
10 Categories of Web SitesE-Commerce Entertainment Finance Health News Nonprofit Opinion or Review Search Engines Sports Travel
Demographic
Who participated?– 2,684 people completed the study – Demographic information was optional, but
60.1% of the participants provided it Female: 58.1%; Male: 41.9% Average age: 39.9 Average use of Web: 19.6 hours/week
The Design
Look and perceived credibility suggests that creating Web sites with quality information alone is not enough to win credibility in users' minds
Sites must have a "a polished, professional look" But not be too slick!
“It looks like it's designed by a marketing team, and not by people who want to get you the information that you need."
Why is Design Important?
Cockburn and McKenzie, 2001 describe typical Web-navigation behavior as "rapidly interactive," meaning that Web users typically spend small amounts of time at any given page
Overall
“Are people really so influenced by design look and not by more substantial issues?” The answer appears to be yes — at least in this setting
According to Elaboration Likelihood Model ELM (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), without deep motivation, people will rely on peripheral cues, such as appearance, for making assessments
NavigationDeep sites are more challenging to navigate
– There is a tradeoff between depth and breadth in speed of finding– 3 click rule is a myth
Sites with multiple levels should concentrate on the first level and the level closest to the ultimate content
www.humanfactors.com/downloads/dec03.asp
Navigation - MenusExpandable menus are slower to navigateSequential menus help users develop a better sense
of orientationVertical menus are preferred over horizontal menusIndexed menus are preferred over vertical menus
– Users scan group labels within indexed content
Cascading versus Indexed Menu Design by Michael Bernard & Chris Hamblin. Usability News. http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/51/menu.htm
3 Click Rule is Dead
Xerox Park's work on designing for scent has clearly demonstrated that 3 click rule is not valid.
Users will happily click through several screens as long as the navigational path has strong scent and is becoming increasing specific.
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, User Interface Engineering : 2004
Scent Works When
Designs communicate "scent" via linksLinks need to have a strong scent by
containing "trigger words" that relate to the content that lies beyond
Links between 7-12 produce the best resultsUsers go to search when they don't find their
trigger words on the pageSpool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Scent Blocking Actions
Iceberg syndromeCamouflaged linksBanner blindnessMissing wordsInformation masking
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Iceberg Syndrome
You can place links beneath the fold, provided that the page doesn't look like it stops
What above the fold is interesting and relevant. Marketing fluff above the fold leads people to believe what is below is more of the same
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Camouflaged Links
Links need to look like links. If you have a secondary navigational menu, make sure it looks clickable
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Banner Blindness
Top 60 pixels of home pages - users typical ignore information in this area
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Missing Words
Scent drops off. Words that were leading you closer to your goal disappear
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Information Masking
Users have an expectation about what part of the screen will change, and look at that section of the page
If the page changes somewhere, they will usually miss relevant links in other areas
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Presentation & Organization
Jargon is alive and well on library web pages
Lists of terms library users don’t understand
http://www.jkup.net/terms.html
Wall of text
IntimidatingBoringPainful
Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002 http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20021223.html
Ohio Study – 6 High School Students“In terms of content layout, we noticed that bulleted
information, information contained in tables, and information presented in short chunks with bold sub-heads grabbed this group's attention.
When the students hit a page that had paragraphs of information not broken up or bulleted, the students would move on to another page, even if the information contained the answer they were seeking.”
http://www.ohiou.edu/mediapros/web/user_test.html
Effective Library Subject Pages
Users found a higher quality of information more frequently when using highlighted resources
Users more likely to use “Best Bets” then “Core Resources”
Experienced researchers were not distracted by highlighted resources
When outside of their field, experienced researchers found the highlighted resources to be helpful
http://www.lib.washington.edu/usability/archive/bysubjectsvideosummary
Usability Research Recap
A lot we can learn and useFocus our study on the tough problemsGives us a place to startNeed to carefully consider the context of the
research and sample of participants – Do they match yours?