ncsu libraries 2010 web site redesign: process & progress
TRANSCRIPT
NCSU LIBRARIES2010 WEB SITE REDESIGNProcess & Progress
OUR PROJECT
ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES
Create a fresh, modern, and welcoming site, with a clear personality brand for the library;
Streamline homepage access to search functionality and core user tasks;
Create a Web site that accommodates a dynamic, continually updated online presence, with a clear emphasis on innovative library initiatives and offerings;
Design a Web site infrastructure that is flexible and nimble.
USER EXPERIENCE (UX) GUIDING PRINCIPLES
OVERALL DESIGN STRATEGY
Convey credibility with design quality and consistency
Focus on core user needs
Use clear and consistent language in labeling to increase user confidence
Promote intangibles through visual design and messaging
THE USER-CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS
WHERE WE ARE
User Research Architecture & Design Development Rollout
USER RESEARCH
USER RESEARCH
Web site Usage Analysis Search Term Analysis Interviews with user groups Usability testing
Navigation Search Box
Blog posts asking for user feedback
WEB SITE USAGE ANALYSIS & SEARCH TERM ANALYSIS
INTERVIEWS & PERSONAS
Persona: n. A thumbnail summary of the characteristics, needs, motivations, and environment of targeted types of web site users.
Why Personas? You are not your user. You’re different in significant ways that change
your web experience: Priorities, interests and needs Skill levels & knowledge bases Motivations Daily experiences
WHO WE INTERVIEWED
Beginning Undergraduates Upperclass
Undergraduates Distance Students Industry Graduate
Students Academic Graduate
Students Research Staff Faculty
33 participants8 in-depth interviews25 shorter interviews
MAJOR FINDINGS
D. H. Hill Library serves as a central hub of undergraduate student life
Despite encouragement from faculty, students very rarely interacted with library staff for research needs
MAJOR FINDINGS Several library Web site services were
“invisible” to users, even though they used them on a regular basis
There is currently little interest in smart phones and apps among the on-campus population
Students’ general impressions of the library were remarkably consistent• “big” – “has everything I could ever need”• “confusing or “intimidating”• “friendly” & “laid-back”• “organized” and “convenient”
PERSONASJessica Slate 18 years old First Year Undergraduate New to library and research in general Studies in the Learning Commons Conducts research for English 101
Ansari Haidar 23 years old Fourth-Year Undergraduate Uses library web site, especially
Refworks and Academic Search Premier
Likes the chat window to ask a librarian for help, but never remembers it’s there
PERSONAS
Casey Prentiss 28 years old Fourth-Year Graduate, ABD Library is a critical professional resource Use the Web site to find citations and narrow down resources Requests interlibrary loan through catalog or database
Charles Magnus, Ph.D. 56 years old Professor Library supplements primary research resources Uses PubMed database extensively Would like more tools for customized resource management
NAVIGATION TESTING
32 undergraduates, graduates, and library staff at NCSU in navigation testing
Each task required the user to open a navigation menu and indicate which menu item they would select to look for the specified information
Facilitators recorded up to 4 of each user’s menu selections, in order of selection
A facilitator assessment of task difficulty was also recorded
NAVIGATION TESTING Major Findings
Menus were learnable and users quickly developed mental models for the global navigation. Find resonated as a broader term than Search
Services menu worked well as a catch-all
Research Help was the most ambiguous
About was generally used as expected
There was general confusion about where to locate databases. This problem existed in the search testing as well.
SEARCH BOX TESTING 28 undergraduates, graduates, and library staff at NCSU
participated in a round of testing of 2 search models
A total of 14 participants answered 46 questions about 1st model
A total of 14 participants answered 38 questions about 2nd model
SEARCH BOX TESTING Major Findings
Tabs were a common convention and one that resonated with end-users
Confusion between journals and articles is a well-known, documented issue in academic libraries.’ This confusion played out between the ‘Journals’ & ‘Articles’ tabs
In both models, users rarely switched tabs in search results once in a silo; users tended to stay in the same silo and refine searches
USER FEEDBACK
CONTENT ANALYSIS
CONTENT INVENTORY
CONTENT ANALYSIS
DRUPAL MIGRATION PLAN
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
GOALS & DESIGN DECISIONS
Goal User Behaviors Design Implications
Streamline access to core search functions
Promote ways to contact librarians throughout the user experience
Highlight core tools and provide paths to top tasks
Promote the library through news and events messaging
Promote new innovations in library spaces
Importance of searchLibrary as portal
Name recognition but trouble finding chat
search, citation builder, reserving a study room, borrowing/renewing a laptop
Artbox is seen as a way to keep up with library events
Undergraduates: library can be big and confusing, especially the stacks. All students: heavy use of library space
Employ an information hierarchy
Promote chat in a greater way by including it in mega dropdowns & global navigation as well as creating a new, more visible icon
Highlight top resources and top tasks directly on homepage
Artbox becomes more prominent than it is today, and becomes the key messaging vehicle for the site
Promote new innovations through the ‘Leading the Way’ section of the site and through ‘Collaborative Spaces’ section
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN ITERATIONS
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
NEXT STEPS
Design Comps User Testing Presentations to various stakeholders and
library user groups Feedback on Blog Drupal Migration
