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kcrw.orgkcrw.org
Dino Anastasia
Mellanye Lackey
Mary Morgan
Abbey Potter
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 2
Overview• Background• Methodology• Audience• Current Site• Observations & Recommendations:
– Organization, Labeling, Search, Findability, Navigation
• Summary
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 3
About KCRW…• an NPR station• a community service of Santa Monica College• more than 450,000 listeners each week • member-supported with 50,000 subscribers• boasts largest youth (25-44) audience among NPR
stations• programming reflects diversity of community• award winning programming includes music; local,
national & global news; radio drama; and arts & cultural shows
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 4
Goals of KCRW on the Web
• Provide streaming music and news
• Generate membership
• Promote KCRW programming
• Support community activities
• Provide access to program archives
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Observations are Informed By
• IA for the WWW by Rosenfeld & Morville
• Usability tests & audience analysis
• Card sort exercises
• Competitive analysis of related sites
http://musicplasma.com
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Audience: User Personas
“I listen to music and get weather and traffic reports from KCRW.org” --Steve
“As a longtime member of KCRW, I check the web site for events and benefits for subscribers” --Barry
“I use KCRW.org to listen to music at work and to find out about concerts in the area” --Cloe
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 7
Current Site
link to kcrw.org
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Current IA - a BIRD’s eye view
• Broad
• Inconsistent
• Redundant
• Deep
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Organization: “Not a clue”Observation:
Organization scheme and structure are unclear and scattered.
Recommendation: Eliminate redundancies, develop a more consistent and unified organization scheme.
“There doesn’t seem to be any unifying theme.”
KCRW Home Page - join/subscribe
There are 8 different ways to subscribe/join the KCRW family from the home page alone.
Observation: Organization scheme and structure are unclear and scattered.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 10
Organization: “Cognitive Model”
Observation: Hard to create a consistent cognitive model of the site.
Recommendation: Group similar links and content areas together and carry this layout through the entire site.
“Seems like I’ve been somewhere before where I found this information.”
KCRW Home Page - wireframe
Observation: Hard to create a consistent cognitive model of the site.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Labels: Ambiguous Labeling• “KCRW presents” is a
listing of live shows in L.A. New York, San Francisco, AND BEYOND?
• “Calendar” is a calendar of groups playing at local establishments and listings of “KCRW presents”?
• “KCRW programming” is a synopsis of the awards KCRW has received?
Observation:
Labels are hazy as to their meaning.
Recommendation:
Labels need to be more descriptive regarding the content they represent.
Observation:
Labels are hazy as to their meaning.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 12
Labels: Uncontrolled Vocabulary
Observation: Labels aren’t implemented consistently across the site.
“Do join and subscribe mean the same thing?”
Recommendation:Create a controlled vocabulary and implement it reliably within the site structure.
Observation: Labels aren’t implemented consistently across the site.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Labels: Non-Descriptive LabelsObservation:
Program names that are used as Labels do not give good “scent” as to their content.
Recommendation:Use Labels that acquaint the user to the content it represents.
Observation:Program names that are used as Labels do not give good “scent” as to their content.
Recommendation:Use Labels that acquaint the user to the content it represents.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 14
Labels: Poor Label NavigationObservation: Same
label name navigates to different locations.
Program Grid navigation from Home Page
Program Grid navigation from News Page
Recommendation:Maintain consistent label navigation.
Observation: Same label name navigates to different locations.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Search: find it! page Observation:
Format of results problematic in sorting, look, findability.
Recommendation: Move ‘search again’ to top of page; make text of results obviously different; number results; highlight sorting mechanism; clarify ‘other results’.
Observation: Format of results problematic in sorting, look, findability.
Recommendation: Move ‘search again’ to top of page; make text of results obviously different; number results; highlight sorting mechanism; clarify ‘other results’.
link to kcrw.org/find
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Search: Results differObservation:
Results vary depending on where user starts search.
Recommendation: Make home page search box and find it! page search same place.
Observation: Results vary depending on where user starts search.
Recommendation: Make home page search box and find it! page search same place.
Home Page
FIND IT Page
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Findability: Where’s KCRW?Observation:
Poor findability from Internet search engines.
Recommendation: Research and prominently feature the most popular search terms on the pages of kcrw.org, in the title and descriptor HTML tags.
Observation: Poor findability from Internet search engines.
Recommendation: Research and prominently feature the most popular search terms on the pages of kcrw.org, in the title and descriptor HTML tags.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Navigation: Too FlexibleObservation:
Too much information, illogical redundancies, inconsistencies in links.
Recommendation: Eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies in links and group content into logical hierarchical categories.
“Too complicated.”
Observation: Too much information, illogical redundancies, inconsistencies in links.
Recommendation: Eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies in links and group content into logical hierarchical categories.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 19
Navigation: “Where am I?” Observation:
Global navigation is not easily identifiable.
Recommendation: Rename and consolidate major sections, tone down graphics, enlarge font size.
“I got lost a lot.”
Observation: Global navigation is not easily identifiable.
Recommendation: Rename and consolidate major sections, tone down graphics, enlarge font size.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 20
Navigation: “What’s Here?”Observation:
Local navigation doesn’t provide clues about what’s available.
Recommendation: Move and rename local navigation links. Use contextual navigation for links outside sections.
“There doesn’t seem to be any unifying theme.”
link to “Program Grid” page
Observation: Local navigation doesn’t provide clues about what’s available.
Recommendation: Move and rename local navigation links. Use contextual navigation for links outside sections.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
SI 658 - Fall 2004 21
Navigation: “What’s This?”
“Organization appeared random.”
Arts & Culture
Program Grid
Observation: Inconsistent and irrelevant bottom links.
Recommendation: Mirror global navigation in bottom links; add useful links like “Contact us” or “Copyright Information”.
Observation: Inconsistent and irrelevant bottom links.
Recommendation: Mirror global navigation in bottom links; add useful links like “Contact us” or “Copyright Information”.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Navigation: “What the -?” Observation:
Keyword drop-down menu has poor usability, is poorly labeled, and is overused.
Recommendation: Eliminate drop-down menu, use a site index. Consolidate and organize contextual links.
“No descriptions for drop downs”
link to kcrw.org
Observation: Keyword drop-down menu has poor usability, is poorly labeled, and is overused.
Recommendation: Eliminate drop-down menu, use a site index. Consolidate and organize contextual links.
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Next Steps
• Recommend IA strategy– Clarify overall schema– Improve labeling – Enhance search and findability– Make navigation consistent
• Content Analysis, Wireframes
• Unite content – context – user needs
November 16, 2004http://kcrw.org/
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Fin.
