HUB Website Usability Report

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    TABLEOFCONTENTSExecutiveSummary.........................2

    Background........... .............................2

    Purpose...............................................2

    ResearchQuestions.......................2 ParticipantRecruitment..............3Method.................................................3

    Technique..........................................3

    RolesoftheResearchTeam.......3

    ProjectTimeline..............................3

    Pilot.......................................................4

    TestProcedures..............................4DataCollection.................................4

    Results.................................................5Recommendations...........................5

    FindingsandDiscussion..............5DesignSuggestions........................6

    LimitationsandStrengths...........7

    Conclusion..........................................7

    Appendix.............................................8

    F1:WebsiteInterface....................8

    F2:ParticipantDemographics..9

    F3:ParticipantFeedback.............10

    F4:Dendrogram..............................11

    GOPURPLE.BEGOLD.

    BryanDosono&EvanAbdalla

    HCDE417:UsabilityResearch

    RedesigningThe

    UWHUBWebsite

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    EXECUTIVESUMMARYCardsortingisamethodthatshedsinsighttohowusersthinktheinformationand

    navigationshouldbepresentedwithintheproduct.Apilotuserrequirementsstudythattooktheformofanopengroupcardsortevaluatedthesitestructureand

    navigationoftheUWHUBwebsite.Manystudentswhousethesiteregularlyhave

    expressedtheirfrustrationinaccessingcriticalsiteinformationandfunctionality

    (e.g.makingfacilityreservations).

    Resultsshowthatamong24recruitedparticipants,16disagreedand4strongly

    disagreedwiththecurrentorganizationofthesite.Adendrogramofalleight

    testingsessionswasgeneratedinWebSorttopresentthehierarchicalsimilarities

    betweenthevariouscardsused.Anaverageof15cardswereusedthroughoutthe

    eightsessions,andthefourmostcommonclustersofpageswere:about,

    services,entertainment,andcontact.

    Theresearchteamrecommends(1)removingredundantmenuitemsandspecifythosepagesfurther,(2)includingnewpagesforcommonlyexpectedfeatures,and

    (3)movingexistingmenuitemsintoadifferentclusterofpages.Thedevelopment

    teamhopestoseeitsresearch-basedrecommendationsinfluencefutureiterative

    designchangesthroughoutthelifecycleoftheUWHUBwebsite.

    BACKGROUND

    PurposeTheUniversityofWashingtonHuskyUnionBuildingisaquintessentialspaceon

    campusthatbringstogetherstudentsfromvariousgroupstopartakeinactivitiesthatenhancestudentlifeoncampus.Utilizedbyapopulationofover40,000

    students,staff,andfaculty,theUWHUBcompleteditsrenovationandreopenedto

    thepublicin2012.However,arenovatedHUBdidnotcomewitharenovated

    website.WeastheresearchteamvisittheUWHUBwebsitefrequentlyforavariety

    ofreasons,butitscurrentnavigationlayoutmakesitdifficulttoaccessthe

    informationweneed.Wecannotquicklyfindcommonlyusedfeatureslikemaking

    roomreservations,andotherinformationpertainingtocriticalUWHUBservices

    remainhiddeninmultilevelmenus.

    ResearchQuestionsWeareinterestedininvestigatinghowcanthesitemapoftheUWHUBwebsitebe

    redesignedtoallowforuserstoquicklyfindtheinformationtheyneed.Wewantto

    knowwhatpagesareidentifiedasthehighestpriorityforregularusers,andwhich

    pagesshouldbeorganizedandgroupedtogethertoprovideamorestreamlined

    experienceforregularusers.WehopetoapplytheusabilitytechniqueswelearnedfromourHCDE417UsabilityResearchcoursetosolvethesequestionsandeven

    addressotheruserrequirementsactivitiesinthefuture.

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    ParticipantRecruitmentWerecruitedparticipantsthroughanonlinedirectoryofRegisteredStudent

    Organization(RSO)studentleadersfromvariousacademicdepartments,multiculturalclubs,andotherspecialinterestgroups.Receivinginputfromactive

    studentusersthatrepresentdiversecampuscommunitiesprovidedamoreholistic

    perspectiveastohowthegeneralstudentbodyusedtheUWHUBwebsite.Theuser

    profilethatwetargetedcomposedofregularuserswhohavevisitedthesiteatleast

    onceperquarter.Feedbackfromactiveuserswasassumedtobemorerelevantand

    richincontentthanstudentswhonevervisitedthesiteanddonotfullyunderstanditsfunctionality.

    METHOD

    TechniqueAcardsortactivitygaveinsightintohowusersthinktheinformationandnavigationshouldbewithinthesite.Bywayofanopengroupcardsort,participantswere

    giveninstructionstofree-listallitemsrelevanttotheproductbynamingeverypage

    itemtheycanthinkofthatshouldbeassociatedwiththeHUBwebsite.Userswere

    thentaskedtosortcardsintogroupsthattheyfeltwereappropriateandaskedto

    describeeachgroup.Unlikeothergenericusabilityteststhattypicallyinvolveoneuserevaluatingaproduct,groupsofthreestudentsinthisexerciseallowedfor

    collaborationanddiscoursebetweenparticipants.Eightopencardsortactivities

    wereconductedwithgroupsofthreestudentsthatfitthedesireduserprofileof

    enrolledUWstudentsthathavevisitedtheHUBwebsiteatleasttwicewithinthe

    pastmonth.Uponthecompletionofallcardsorts,wecollectedfeedbackfrom24participants.

    RolesoftheResearchTeam

    Themoderatorguidedtheexerciseanddiscussionofthecardsortingactivity,

    addressedanydifficultiestheusershadwhilenotinfluencingtheirdecisions,and

    kepttrackoftimetoensureeverythingwentaccordingtoplan.Therecordertook

    notesonuserinputandfeedback,photographedparticipantscardsortingclusters,

    andusedanaudiodevicetocaptureinterestingquotesthatparticipantsmayhave.

    ProjectTimeline

    Identifiedresearchquestion:October24,2012

    Conductedpilottest:November1,2012

    Createdtestplanandkit:November15,2012

    Recruitedandconfirmedparticipants:November16,2012

    Conducteduserrequirementsactivities:November21,2012Transcribedandanalyzeddata:November28,2012

    Presentedfindingsandrecommendations:December6,2012

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    Pilot

    Priortoconductingourfirstcardsortactivity,weranapilottoensuretheviability

    ofthetestdesign.WecontactedthreestudentslistedonthepublicRSOdirectoryfromvariouscampusorganizationsviaemailtoparticipateinourpilot.Although

    twooftherecruitedparticipantshavecompletedonlinecardsortingactivitiesinthe

    past,theybothexpressedthattheypreferredourpenandpapercardsortactivity

    becauseofitshands-oninteractivity.Wediscoveredthatalthougheachparticipant

    hadtheirownmentalmappingofhowtheUWHUBwebsiteshouldbestructured,

    thefinalorganizationrepresentsacollaborativecompromiseofthebestdesign

    elementsfromeachparticipantsideas.Theparticipantsunderstoodour

    instructionsandtheirroleinourusabilitystudy,andasexpected,theirfinalgroup

    cardsortdesigndidnotmatchthecurrentlayoutofthesite.

    TestProcedures

    Priortoeachcardsortactivity,wehadeachparticipantfilloutaconsentformandpre-testquestionnaire.Thestartingstateforeachcardsortingactivitybeganwith

    anemptytableandunwrittenstickynotes.Aftertheorientationscriptwasreadaloudbythemoderator,participantspopulatedthestickynoteswithnamesof

    relevantpagesoftheUWHUBwebsite.Theparticipantsthengroupedpages

    togetherbyrelevance.Participantswereallowedtousealaptopweprovidedtoreferencethecurrentlayoutofthesite.Afterthecardsortwascompleted,the

    recorderphotographedthefinalclusterofstickynotesthatrepresentedthe

    participantssuggestedsitemapoftheUWHUBwebsite,notedthelengthofthe

    activity,andtrackedtheamountofcardsusedasperformancemeasuresforsuccessfultaskcompletion.Weconcludedtheactivitybydistributingapost-test

    questionnairetotheparticipantsandcompensatedthemaccordinglyfortheirtime.

    DataCollectionandEvaluation

    Oncealleighttestingsessionshavebeencompleted,wetranscribedaudiofromthe

    cardsortingactivitiesandnotedinterestingfeedback.Wemanuallyenteredthecard

    sortingclustersfromeachsessiononWebSort(http://websort.net),anonlinecard

    sorttoolthatiswidelyusedbyinformationarchitects,webdesigners,andcontentstrategists.ThroughWebSort,wecreateddendrogramvisualizationsthatevaluated

    howpagesweremostcommonlygroupedthroughoutallsessions.Thisdata,cross-referencedwithparticipantfeedback,wasusedtomakeinformeddesign

    improvementstotheUWHUBwebsitesfinalinformationarchitecture.Thepost-

    testquestionnairecollectedparticipantpreferencesbywayofLikertscales,whichindicatedtheirdegreeofagreementordisagreementwithvariousclaimsaboutthe

    UWHUBwebsiteandthecardsortingexerciseitself.Therangeoftheratingscalein

    thepost-testquestionnairewas1-5.Becausewefocusedoncollectingdatafromthe

    cardsortingactivityandnotevaluatingthemannerismsofactualuserparticipants,

    observationsofnon-performanceandnon-preferencedata(e.g.bodylanguage,eye

    tracking,etc.)werenotrelevanttothecardsortingactivityandwerenotincludedin

    thetranscri tionoftheusabilit tests. Pa e4

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    Results

    Accordingtodatageneratedfrompre-testquestionnairesinFigures2,oureffortsin

    recruitingstudentsfromvariousethnicity,gender,ability,andclassstandinghave

    resultedinadiverseparticipantpool.Thepost-testquestionnairesrevealedthe

    generaldissentofthenavigationarchitectureoftheUWHUBwebsite.Accordingto

    Figure3,16disagreedand4stronglydisagreedwiththecurrentorganizationof

    thesite.AdendrogramofalleighttestingsessionsgeneratedinFigure4viaWebSortpresentsthehierarchicalsimilaritiesbetweenthevariouscardsused.An

    averageof15cardswereusedthroughouttheeightsessions,andthefourmostcommonclustersofpageswere:about,services,entertainment,andcontact.

    RECOMMENDATIONS

    FindingsandDiscussion

    Thepagedefinitionsofthecurrentsiteorganizationcausedmuchconfusionamongourusers.Oneoftheparticipantsstated,Asainternationalstudent,oneofthemost

    importantaspectsoftheHUBwebsiteformeisclarityinitslanguage.Itshardfor

    studentswithmybackgroundofEnglishasasecondlanguagetofindtheinformationweneedwhenitsmislabeled.Sixoutofeightgroupsreported

    inconsistencieswithhowmenuitemswerenamed.Anotheruserstated,Theseredundantmenuitemsareconfusing.Iwishthissitewasmoredescriptivewithits

    pagetitles.PagessuchasEntertainmenthadredundantsubmenuitemsnamed

    Entertainment,whichpromptedustochangethenamingconventionusedforthat

    submenuitemfromEntertainmenttoafurtherspecifiedpage(e.g.GamesArea).

    ThecurrentorganizationoftheUWHUBwebsitewasalsolackingcriticalfeatures

    thatstudentsexpectedtoseeonitshomepage.Integrationwithsocialmediawas

    alsoareoccurringcommentinfourdifferentcardsortsessions.Oneofthe

    participantsasserted,IwouldliketoseesocialmediapagesincludedsothatIcan

    connecttotheHUBbeyonditswebsite.Moreover,therewasatleastone

    participantinalleightsessionsthatmentionedtheneedforaneasilyidentifiablefacilitiesreservationpage.ImakefacilityreservationsonbehalfofmyRSOevery

    weekanditsfrustratingthatIcantdothatonthehomepage,boastedafrequent

    studentuserofthesite.

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    Severalpagesweremovedoutoftheircurrentclusterandplacedintoanewone

    altogether.Forinstance,sevenoutoftheeighttestingsessionsdemandedthe

    ContactpagetobeamainmenuinsteadofasubmenuunderDiscovertheHUB.

    ParticipantstookthissuggestionfurtherandaddedaMappageunderthisnewContactpagebecausethecontentofdirectionsprovidedtogettotheHUBwas

    perceivedasrelevantcontactinformation.SeeingavisualmapofwheretheHUBis

    locatedoncampusiswaymorehelpfultomethanalongtextofdirections,saidauser.Infact,fivegroupspreferredtoseeanactualmapofwheretheHUBwas

    locatedoncampusthanreadingturn-by-turntextdirections.AcouplegroupsremovedtheDirectorypageasamainmenuitemandplaceditunderthe

    Contactpage,sayingthatadirectoryofHUBstaffedpersonnelwasnotas

    importantofaprioritythantheactualcontactinformationoftheHUB.

    DesignSuggestions1. (Boxed)Removeredundantmenuitemsandspecifythosepagesfurther.2. (Starred)Includenewpagesforcommonlyexpectedfeatures.3. (Arrowed)Moveexistingmenuitemsintoadifferentclusterofpages.

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    LimitationsandStrengthsTheprimaryweaknessofthecardsortthatwediscovered,primarilyaftertheusability

    testingandduringthetranscriptionphaseoftheproject,wasthenatureofthesubjectivedatawehadtointerpret.Thesubjectiveissueswehadwithunderstanding

    definitionsofsynonymouspagescouldhavebeencombattedbyaskingthemtowritea

    shortdescriptionofanycardsthatwerenotexplicit.Overall,thecardsorthelpedusto

    moreeasilyidentifywhattypeofpagesusersthoughtwererelated,whichpageswere

    prioritizedoverothers,andwhatcontentneededtobechangedaltogether.Additionally

    cardsortscanbeoverlaidandcombinedintoonelargersitemap,whichhelpedto

    combinethecollectiveopinionsofmanypeople.Usinganopencardsortwasuseful

    becauseitprovidedourparticipantstheabilitytocreatetheirowncontentandsitearchitecture.Theresultofthisopencardsortmethodwasthecreationofnewcontent,

    suchassocialmediabuttons,whichwehadneverevenconsideredtoadd.Considering

    theoveralldiscontentofthecurrentsiteorganization,anopencardsortwasclearlythebestoptiontosolveourresearchproblem.

    CONCLUSIONWeconductedeightroundsofcardsorting,whichtotal24participantswhofitthe

    targeteduserprofileofactiveUWHUBwebsitevisitors.Theresearchteamperformeda

    correlationanalysisbyinputtingpenandpapercardsortdataintocomputersoftware

    (WebSort)togenerateadendrogramofcommonlyclusteredpagesacrosstheeight

    sessionsofcardsorting.Theinterpretationofthepre-testandpost-testquestionnaires

    distributedonthetestingsiteillustratedboththediversityoftheparticipantsample

    andnoticeabletrendsintheirpreferences.Wecommunicatedhighlevelfindingsfrom

    thecardsortingactivityandsummarizedkeyresultsbasedoffofinterestingfeedbackfromUWHUBwebsiteuserstorecommendanimprovednavigationlayoutintendedfortheactualdesigneroftheUWHUBwebsite.Thedevelopmentteamhopestoseeits

    research-basedrecommendationsinfluencefutureiterativedesignchangesthroughout

    thelifecycleoftheUWHUBwebsite.

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    Appendix

    Figure1:UWHUBWebsiteInterfaceScreencapturetakenonOctober24,2012.

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    Figure2:ParticipantDemographics

    ParticipantresponsestothePre-TestQuestionnaireinFigure5havebeen

    distributedinapiecharttoillustratediversitywithintheparticipantpool.

    Ethnicity Gender

    Disability Class

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    Figure3:ParticipantFeedback

    ParticipantresponsestothePost-TestQuestionnaireinFigure7havebeen

    visualizedinabargraphtoillustratetrendsinuserpreferences.

    ThecontentofthecurrentUWHUBwebsiteiswellorganized.

    IprefermyproposedsitestructuretothecurrentsitestructureoftheUWHUB

    website.

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    Figure4:Dendrogram

    Generatedahierarchicaltreeofcommonlygroupedpages.

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