Usability Basics for the

Information ProfessionalUta Hussong-Christian

Jane NicholsSeptember 20, 2012

SLA Oregon Chapter

we are…

Uta

Jane

overview

• Testing feedback > Uta• What > Jane• Methods > Uta/Jane• Using usability data > Uta• Reporting > Jane• Q & A

what is usability?

• Usability refers to how well your users can learn and use your web site

• And, refers to the methods used to evaluate your user’s experience of your site

U. S. D. H. H. S., “Usability Basics”

usability and user experience

Usability• “Can the user accomplish

their goal?”• Did they choose the right

form (book, article, etc.) for their request?

User experience• “Did the user have as

delightful an experience as possible?”

• Were they able to move from identifying a citation in a database to filling out a request form and go back to the database or their next task with feeling of ease?

Mifsud, “The difference between usability and user experience”

5 usability attributes

• Ease of learning• Efficiency• Memorability• Error frequency and severity• Subjective satisfaction

U.S.D.H.H.S. , “Usability Basics”

Can new users learn your site well enough to accomplish basic tasks?

Ease of learningEfficiency of useMemorabilityError frequency and severitySubjective satisfaction

Can I locate the journal I want with ease?

U.S.D.H.H.S. , “Usability Basics”

How quickly can tasks be completed after the design has been learned?

Ease of learningEfficiencyMemorabilityError frequency and severitySubjective satisfaction

Nielsen, “Usability 101”U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

Can I navigate to the journal quickly?

When your users return to your site after not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?

Ease of learningEfficiency of useMemorabilityError frequency and severitySubjective satisfaction

Can I get back to the journal when I want to next week?

Nielsen, “Usability 101”U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

How often do users make errors, how serious are they & how easily do they recover?

Ease of learningEfficiency of useMemorabilityError frequency and severitySubjective satisfaction

After I secured the article I wanted, I searched the vendors’ site for related topics.

How do I return to the libraries journal list?

U.S.D.H.H.SU.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”U.S.D.H.., “Usability Basics

Nielsen, “Usability 101”U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

How much does the user like using the system?

Ease of learningEfficiency of useMemorabilityError frequency and severitySubjective satisfaction

U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

Fun factor, or at least pleasing

more about user experience

Morville, “User Experience Design”

Q: How many usability experts does it take to change a light bulb?

A: It might well be four: • 2 to conduct a field study and task analysis to

determine whether people really need light• 1 to observe the user who actually screws in the

light bulb• 1 to control the video camera filming the event

Nielsen, “Guerrilla HCI”

getting started

Step-by-Step Usability Guide

Plan

Analyze

Design

Test & Refine

Adapted from U.S.D.H.H. S., “Visual map”

UsabilityNet.org, “Methods table”

• heuristic evaluation• task analysis• x’s/o’s

3 methods

heuristic (adj)

encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve

problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating

possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error

Dictionary.com, “Heuristic”

heuristic evaluationWhat

– systematic inspection of a user interface design for usability

When– any time! Especially useful before you start redesigning/testing with

users

Why– it’s cheap and easy, with a very high return on investment

What you’ll get from it– a (page or process) design that’s had a lot of eyes looking at it intensely

for flaws. Guaranteed improvement and therefore a good baseline from which to start testing with users

Nielsen, “Heuristic evaluation”

10 heuristics• Visibility of system status• Match between system and the real world• User control and freedom • Consistency and standards• Error prevention • Recognition rather than recall • Flexibility and efficiency of use • Aesthetic and minimalist • Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors • Help and documentation

Nielsen, “10 Usability Heuristics”

System Status ? Recognition?

System-Real World Match?

Help? System-Real World Match?

Error Prevention? Minimalist?

heuristics in action

redesign 1Improved system status and no need for recall

Use of patron-centered language

Stepwise help and patron-centered language

Robust help options

redesign 2

Further simplified language and options.

task-based usability testingWhat

– involves watching people trying to use something for its intended purpose

When – usually done at a point when you have a design/process/architecture

that has been created using good design principles and as user-centered as you can make it

Why– EVERYTHING should be useful, usable, desirable, valuable, findable,

accessible, and credible

What you’ll get from it – a very humbling experience– data that can be used to inform (re)design decisions

Rubin & Chisnell, Handbook

task-based script

“Submit a question to the Reference staff during non-business hours.”

Process:• write task that directs someone to find information or complete a task utilizing your

website.• print the task or write it out on a slip of paper• recruit users to participate in the test• tell them that they are helping you test your site; this is not a test of their abilities or

skills• present the task to them and ask them to complete it while you sit by their side• ask them to talk out loud (talk-aloud protocol) about the steps they use to complete the

task as they are doing the task• do not provide assistance while they are completing the task regardless of how they

might struggle ; stop the task if it goes on overly long (more than 3-5 minutes)• thank your participants for helping you test your site

“…tempted to just choose first option instead of going to sentence below.”

“…put them side by side.”

as the user sees it!“No online full text…”

line is loud and clear. It just says to me that it is not available at OSU.”

“Don’t use too many words. I don’t need to

read so much.”

Foster & Gibbons, Studying Students

x’s/o’sWhat

– the user is asked to cross out or circle elements in a design

When – very flexible, can be included as part of a usability test session or on

its own– can be conducted at your library or another convenient location– great when you want quick feedback

Why– it’s easier for users to respond to a discrete question, “what would

you add/remove?” than an open-ended question like “what would you change?”

What you’ll get from it– a pretty clear indication of what users say they will/won’t use and

what they’d like to see in the design

Tawatao et al., “LibGuides”Hussong-Christian, Nichols, Ward,

“But I’m Not a Usability Expert” NWILL 2011

x’s/o’s script“Now I'd like to know more about what specifically you use/don't use or like/dislike about the content on this page.” Instructions:

• circle any items on the page you like and use the most• cross out any items on the page you don't like or use• add any items not on the page you would like to have there

for your own use

Hussong-Christian, Nichols, Ward, “But I’m Not a Usability Expert

got data, now what?

decide on & implement changes

• deciding– severity vs. priority

• implementing– head slappers– cheap hits– test subjects may supply this

”

Clark, “Issue Priority and Severity”Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

your turn

“…tempted to just choose first option instead of going to sentence below.”

“…put them side by side.”

suggest 1 change“No online full text…”

line is loud and clear. It just says to me that it is not available at OSU.”

“Don’t use too many words. I don’t need to

read so much.”

document & communicate findings

Quesenbery, “Reporting Usability Results”

Quesenbery, “Reporting Usability Results”

What is most important to convey?– Participants– What was tested? Why? Methods used?– Results, prioritized by severity– Recommendations

Who is the audience of the report? – High level stakeholders? You?

Theofanos and Quesenbery, Journal of Usability Studies

NIST, “Common Industry Format”

OSUL&P Usability Team, “OSUPressSummary.doc”

Tawatao et al., “LibGuides”

retest

“The first few iterations can probably be expected to result in major gains in usability as the true "usability catastrophes" are found and fixed.”

Nielsen, “Iterative user-interface design”

free/low cost tools and methods

– Usabilla – site rating– Google Analytics - web traffic– Concept Feedback – website feedback– CrazyEgg – heatmap + more (free trial)– ChalkMark - first click testing (free trial)– BB Flashback Express – screen recording

Tomlin, “24 Usability Testing Tools”

just…

Some rights reserved by jakeandlindsay

?

references & resourcesClark, P. (n.d.). Issue priority and severity. Retrieved from

http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?Function=FEATUREDCOLUMN&ObjectId=10119&ObjectType=ARTCOL&btntopic=artcol

Foster, N.F., & Gibbons, S. (2007). Studying students: The undergraduate research project at the University of Rochester. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/booksanddigitalresources/digital/Foster-Gibbons_cmpd.pdf

Gaffney, M. (2009). Reflecting usability engineering goals in interlibrary loan user interfaces. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 19, 291-298. doi: 10.1080/10723030903278366

Hussong-Christian, U., Nichols, J., & Ward, J. (2011). “But I’m not a usability expert”: Testing tips for the resource sharing professional. Northwest Interlibrary Loan & Resource Sharing Conference. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1957/23608

Krug, S. http://www.sensible.com/ Krug, S. (2000). Don't make me think!: A common sense approach to web usability. Indianapolis, Ind.: Que Corp.Lehman, T., & Nikkel, T. (2008). Making Library Web Sites Usable: a LITA Guide. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers. Retrieved

from http://www.neal-schuman.com/uploads/pdf/0139-making-library-web-sites-usable--a-lita-guide.pdfMifsud, J. (2011). The difference (and relationship) between usability and user experience . Retrieved from

http://usabilitygeek.com/the-difference-between-usability-and-user-experience/Morville, P. http://findability.org/ or http://semanticstudios.com/Morville, P. (2004). User experience design. Retrieved from http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php Nielsen, J. http://www.useit.com/ Nielsen, J. (2005). 10 usability heuristics. Retrieved from http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html

Nielsen, J. (2005). Heuristic evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristicNielsen, J. (2004). Guerrilla HCI: Using discount usability engineering to penetrate the intimidation barrier. Retrieved from

http://www.useit.com/papers/guerrilla_hci.htmlNielsen, J. (1993). Iterative user-interface design. Computer, 26(11), 32-41. doi: 10.1109/2.241424Nielsen, J. (n.d.). Usability 101: Introduction to usability. Retrieved from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

references & resourcesNielsen Norman Group. (2011). User experience – our definition. Retrieved from

http://www.nngroup.com/about/userexperience.htmlNIST. (n.d.). Common industry format – usability reporting elements. Retrieved from

http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/iusr/formative/IUSR_Formative/index.htmlOSUL&P Usability Team. OSUPressSummary.doc. Retrieved from https://

wiki.library.oregonstate.edu/confluence/pages/worddav/preview.action?fileName=OSUPressSummary.doc&pageId=7013102

Quesenbery, W. (2005). Reporting usability results. Retrieved from http://wqusability.com/handouts/reporting_usability.pdfRibeirinho, A. (2007). The User Experience Honeycomb. Retrieved from

http://blog.delaranja.com/the-user-experience-honeycomb/Rubin, J., & Chisnell, D. (2008). Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests. Indianapolis, IN:

Wiley Pub. “start”. Flickr user jakeandlindsay. Retrieved from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeandlindsay/5524669257/sizes/m/in/photostream/Tawatao, C., Hungerford, R., Ray, L., & Ward, J. (2010). LibGuides usability testing: Customizing a product to work for your users.

Retrieved from https://digital.lib.washington.edu/dspace/handle/1773/17101 Theofanos, M., & Quesenbery, W. (2005). Towards the design of effective formative test reports. Journal of Usability Studies 1(1):

30. Retrieved from http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/jus/2005_november/formative.pdf Tomlin, W. Craig. 24 Usability Testing Tools. Useful Usability. December 2, 2009. Retrieved from

http://www.usefulusability.com/24-usability-testing-tools/. University of Washington Libraries Usability http://www.lib.washington.edu/usability/resources/howtoUsability4lib email list http://www.library.rochester.edu/usability4lib UsabilityNet. (2006). Methods table . Retrieved from http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/methods.htmU.S.D.H.H.S. (n.d.). Usability Basics. Retreived from http://www.usability.gov/basics/index.htmlU.S.D.H.H.S. (n.d.). Visual map. Retrieved from http://www.usability.gov/methods/process.html“User experience.” (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience

uta.hussong-christian@oregonstate.edujane.nichols@oregonstate.edu