SUNYLA 2014: Website Usability Without Bogging Down

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Wouldn’t it be great if libraries could collaborate with our users to make our websites better? But getting user input takes exorbitant amounts of time, effort, money, or mad skills--doesn’t it? Come hear how one librarian is working with library stakeholders plus users and their data to find quick, high-quality solutions to her library website’s problems. We’ll touch on website analytics, task analysis, first-click testing, and what to do about that important page that no one is using.

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Website Usability Without

Bogging Down

Emily Mitchell

Webmaster Librarian

June 12, 2014

Old homepage:

New homepage:

Quick?

Leo Reynolds. (2006). “Clocks 2 [photos].” Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/103199569/ CC-BY-NC-SA

Huge project requiring mad skills?

Olga Diez (Caliope). (2007). “Atlas [photograph].” Retrieved from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caliope-olga/466468766/ CC-NC-SA

What questions do you want to

answer?

Web analytics:

● What’s actually getting

used?

What questions do you want to

answer?Survey to students:

● What’s the most recent thing

you’ve done on the library

website?

● What’s something we should

NOT change about the library

website?

[F]oxymoron. (2010). “A Wild Question [photo].” Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/5005673112/ CC-BY

How do you get them to answer?

kris krüg. (2010). “Speed Skating Lessons in Prince George, BC [Photo].” Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4324005152

CC-BY-SA

What questions do you want to

answer?

Survey to and meeting with librarians:

● What are some things students

MUST be able to do on our

homepage?

● What should we keep?

● What should we get rid of?

[F]oxymoron. (2010). “A Wild Question [photo].” Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/5005673112/ CC-BY

A survey AND a meeting??

Joe Shlabotnik. (2009). “Yes! [Photo].” Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/3584172834 CC-BY-NC-SA

What questions do you want to

answer?

Card sorting:

● How will we organize

what we’ve decided

to put on the page?

How do you get them to volunteer?

chichacha. (2008). “Coffee in the Morning [photo].” Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/chichacha/2471138966 CC-BY

Give yourself time to analyze!

Give yourself time to analyze!

What questions do you want to

answer?

First-click testing:

● Where would you click if I

asked you to do X?

What questions do you want to

answer?

Think-aloud usability testing

● Can students complete

these tasks?

● What process do they

use to do so? Why?

themepap. (2011). “Usability test [photo].” Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/themepap/6053434180/ CC BY-NC.

What questions do you want to

answer?

Librarian survey & meeting after 1st

draft:

● Is anything missing that would impair

your work at the desk, hamper your

teaching, etc?

● Are there any visual elements that you

think distract from the usefulness of

the site?

[F]oxymoron. (2010). “A Wild Question [photo].” Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/5005673112/ CC-BY

And before you start...

So what about that important page

that no one is using?

● What might be causing the

lack of use?

Adam Fagen. (2011). “The Scientific Method [photo].” Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/6730565215 CC-BY-NC-SA

Questions?

Erich Ferdinand. (2009). “What’s for lunch? [photo].” Retrieved

from https://www.flickr.com/photos/erix/3780828260 CC-BY

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