MINERVA EC for the quality of cultural web applications: the Handbook

Jerusalem, 11 November 2008 1

MINERVA EC for the quality of cultural web applications:

the Handbook on cultural web user interaction

Maria Teresa Natale

MINERVA eC Project


The Working Group was coordinated by Germany

Participants are from:Finland, Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Belgium, Slovenja, and Israel.

2007-2008: MINERVA EC WG on quality accessibility and usability

WP5


In shortOur European Working Group works on quality of cultural web applications. We continue the work done in MINERVA, and complements the results with new publications. We monitor relevant guidelines and promote best practices related to websites. The main target are the small institutions.



Our objectives are• to support small cultural heritage institutions in increasing the accessibility to their digital cultural heritage by sharing practises and techniques within the wider community and interested public; • to motivate cultural heritage institutions which are still reluctant to make their already existing digital content available within the European digital library; • to contribute to the mutual alignment of metadata sets and metadata use in the cultural heritage sector in order to improve quality, accessibility and usability;



Our objectives are• to realise guidelines and measurement tools that assist in the maintenance and raising the quality of cultural heritage applications; • to contribute to the organisation of tutorials to make users aware of open source software tools that assist in improving the quality, accessibility and usability of digital cultural heritage offers.



2002 Beginning of Minerva2003 First Deliverable on quality2003 Handbook for quality in cultural Web sites.

Improving quality for citizens (and 10 quality principles)2004 Museo&Web planning kit 2005 Quality Principles for Cultural Websites:

a Handbook 2006-08 Dissemination of MINERVA products on

quality of cultural websites2008 Handbook on cultural web user

interaction (draft - Ljubljana, 1st edition - Leipzig)

Handbook on cultural web user interaction WG Roadmap


MINERVA – MINERVA Plus – MINERVA EC Web quality tools

downloadable fromwww.minervaeurope.org

WP5


Handbook on cultural web user interaction - 2008

edited by MINERVA EC Working Group“Quality, Accessibility and Usability”

Monika Hagedorn-Saupe (Working Group coordinator)European Editorial Committee

Monika Hagedorn Saupe (coordinator), Germany Hanna Arpiainen, Finland - Pierre-Yves Desaive, Belgium

Nathanael Dupré Latour, Czech Republic Axel Ermert, Germany - Pierluigi Feliciati, Italy

Gabriele Froeschl, Austria - Susan Hazan, IsraelKarine Lasaracina, Belgium - Maria Teresa Natale , Italy

Tzanetos Pomonis, Greece - Maria Sliwinska, PolandHans Van der Linden, Belgium - Franc Zakrajsek, Slovenja

Texts byRossella Caffo, Pierluigi Feliciati, Chiara Faggiolani, Monika Hagedorn Saupe,

Susan Hazan, Maria Teresa Natale, Carol Peters, Giovanni Solimineediting

Pierluigi Feliciati, Maria Teresa Natalecover by

Susan Hazan, Francesco Bocci


The users: who are they?


The users: who are they?(in 2003)

MINERVA 1st Handbook for quality:A user is a professional or not, specialist or not who casually or with specific aims, occasionally or systematically uses the Cultural Web Application. User identity is extremely variable depending on cultural profile, aspirations for cultural growth, professional aims and even momentary curiosity.


The users: who are they? (in 2003)

MINERVA 5th quality principle:“USER-CENTERED”A good quality cultural website must be user-centred, taking into account the needs of users, ensuring relevance and ease of use through responding to evaluation and feedback.


The users: who are they? (in 2008)

After 4 years, other definitions for Internet users:

• hybrid individual• transceiver (transmitter + receiver)• prosumer (producer + consumer) = information recipient and provider of its own contents

Different terms characterize the various user’s activities and behaviours on the web: consumer / client / audienceuser / surfer / viewerplayer / clicker / downloader / streamer


Another type of user...

Non human users/agents: robots, spiders, crawlers, harvesters…

This variety of definitions reflects an articulated offer of contents and applications in the new media environment, which at the same time is:

• vehicle of information and communication• encyclopedic archive and tool of cultural training• entertainment and community interaction area• technological platform


Available also in PDF and XHTMLhttp://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/handbookwebusers.htm


Handbookgoals and target

To answer to some questions still unsolvedin the previous MINERVA web quality tools: What do users want? How do users behave? How can we understand their use of our web applications? Do effective methods to ask users about their expectations (before) and their degree of satisfaction (after) exist?

The target readers of the handbook are all the cultural subjects and projects concerned with tangible and intangible cultural heritage, planning to develop new web applications or to update and improve their existing applications, taking into serious account the users point of view.


Quality must be planned from the start The user is critical – involve him at every stage Relationships with other resources must be considered: online (interoperability) and future (long term preservation)

With proper planning, and building on the information, examples, standards and guidelines available, creating a high-quality website need not be much more difficult, expensive or slow than creating a lower-quality one

Handbook on cultural web user interaction Key messages


Table of contents

1. Users and cultural contents on the web: state of the art

2. Finding one’s way

3. Practical tools

4. The importance of using metadata

Annexes


1. Users and cultural contents on the web: state of the art

1.1. Users and services in cultural web applications: websites and portals A synthetic and up-to-date panorama of users and cultural content providers on the web

1.2. Current trends in web services: Web 2.0-3.0 The role of cultural institutions in the current and future information society and the changing face of the institutions as they present, and represent the institution online

with 24 good practices commented!


2. Finding one’s way: first question

2.1 Cultural entity types

A cultural entity can be a person, an organisation, an institution or a group of different entities combined to deliver a cultural product, which may also deploy web technologies in achieving its aims.


2. Finding one’s way: second question

2.2 Web application types

A schematic, up-to-date, presentation of the main types of web applications that cultural subjects can promote as tools for achieving their mission in whole or in part.

Some types has been already more deeply analysed in chapter 1


2. Finding one’s way third question

2.3 Web applications life cycle

The relation between the life phases of a web site and the issues connected with interaction with its users. Some phases are particularly critical both because they can be used to gather information about user expectations or because they can focus on meeting these expectations.


2. Finding one’s wayfourth question

2.4 Users and usesA survey on what it means to talk about users and usage of the cultural web and some tools of reflection for designing applications that satisfy citizens’ expectations.

•The web user: state of the art and tendencies •The web user: who is he? •The in-home user and the simulated user•Simulated uses•Systems adapting their behaviour to users


2. Finding one’s way fifth question

2.5 Interactive and user side servicesThe ICT applications that can be adapted for the end user, providing interfaces and selections of contents and of personalized services.•Interactive communication services with the intermediation of the information provider •Interactive learning services •Virtual interactive tours•Commercial interactive services•Interactive forms•User-side services•MUVE’s


2. Finding one’s way sixth question

2.6 Audience measurement in the InternetA review of the techniques and metrics used for user evaluation on the Web•Census data measurements: web analytics•Sample or user centred measurements

• meter• standardized interview• static textual questionnaire

•Audience metrics•Log file analysis•Protection of privacy


2. Finding one’s way seventh question

2. Users in the globalised world: multilingualism issuesLanguage is one of the most significant barriers to website access and, because of this barrier, great parts of the European digital cultural heritage cannot be found on the Internet.Research on Multilingual Information Access thus focuses on the storage, access, retrieval and presentation of information in any of the world’s languages.With a case study: the MultiMatch project


3. Practical tools

4.1 A self-evaluation questionnaire for planning a user-centred web applications Addressed to those cultural subjects that are about to develop a new web application (or want to update one already on-line) and whose objective is to seriously evaluate user’s expectations, their satisfaction and the possibility of foreseeing advanced forms of interaction.•general information•application quality and users•helping the user find his way: profiling and customization•interactive services•audience measurement


3. Practical tools

4.2. Websites and portals feedback form Standardized interview model to be distributed to users of web sites and cultural portals. It can be used as a reference for the construction of a personalized questionnaire, that responds to the requirements of one’s own web application.The questionnaire model is divided into 7 sections: 1. data protection; 2. personal details; 3. visit; 4. reasons for the visit; 5. technical and graphic aspects; 6. identification of the web application; 7. quality of the content and search functionality.


5. The importance of using metadata

The importance of using tagging and metadata, to grant visibility and findability to our contents. A quick guide to:

Benefits of using metadata The Dublin Core metadata element setSyndication techniques and languages The next step: towards semantic integration


Annexes

1. Study on users and usages of Michael-fr website 2. Digital Library Users: Results of a Survey on Needs, Expectations and Skills

Some documents and studies produced by important institutions and other European projects are included at the end of the handbook.


Thank you for your attention.

Any question?

the user is

Pierluigi [email protected]

Maria Teresa [email protected]

Documents

MINERVA EC for the quality of cultural web applications: the Handbook