Project 3Cookie Cutters

Kevin Huynh Sean Tsusaki Jordaniel Wolk

What are Subject Guides? Method of help for researching and find

resources Separated by subjects

Further separated by courses in some cases Created by librarians,

and used by librarians and students

General Usability Problems

Largest concern = consistency Some guides only have a small resemblance to

one another. Although there is a template in place, it is not

actively enforced. A few interface issues. Examples…

No communication on what the guides are on the main page

No “Help” function on the main page.

Other Problems Some consistency issues include…

High probability of confusion in navigation when using multiple guides

Some course guides are integrated into subject guides, while others are separated.

Certain guides have separated their search functions for multiple databases.

No uniform naming convention. A few customer concerns…

Is it apparent that the tabs are clickable? Are the Web 2.0 functionalities being used?

Are the comments, voting, polling, etc. systems being used?

Is the tag system viable? What do students think of subject guides? Are they

using them? Do they even know about them?

Overview of Methods

Interviews Semi-structured Gather user domain knowledge and familiarity with the library

website For interviews accompanying usability studies, ask about general

impressions, difficulties, suggested improvements Separate note taker and interviewer. Audio recorded and later

transcribed. Usability Studies

Guided studies – user performs specific tasks as they navigate the guides

The user verbalizes their thoughts as they navigate, giving a more thorough understanding of their rationale.

Separate note taker and interviewer. Sessions recorded with screen recording software.

Users

Librarians Interview → Usability Study Focus: understand how they use others' subject guides in their

work and make it easier to navigate Focus: find out rationale for how and why they built their

guides and see if there is a better, more uniform alternative 3 sessions to be conducted.

Students Usability Study → Interview Focus: assess how easy it is to navigate and find information

in the study guides, and find out how they are being used. 9 studies to be conducted.

Tasks Librarians

Interview to uncover general issues beforehand Navigate someone else's study guide

Given a set of links to go to that are decided upon beforehand Rationale: gauge ability to find information

Have them give a walkthrough of elements in some of their guides

Rationale: uncover their reasoning and methods for displaying information as is

Students Gather background information

Determine which study should be conducted Give a set of tasks depending on the study

Rationale: determine how simple it is for them to navigate Follow-up interview to gather suggestions and get feedback

Scheduling and ManagementOverview

Scheduling and Management We have broken down the tasks that we

expect to be accomplished Interdependencies of tasks are addressed (as

well as concurrency) Processes chosen based upon the time we are

given to conduct research, analysis, and solution creation

Week by Week 2 scheduled meetings a week We have shared our schedules already to learn

how our project schedule fits into the larger context of each team member’s personal schedule

Times outside of the general meetings have been proposed for interview and usability testing

Work broken down into tasks for an individual to do, and work requiring the presence of the whole team is completed during general meetings.

Scheduling for outside obligations

Resources for Management and Scheduling Google Sites, Docs, and Calendar Communication Protocol Gantt Chart (for scheduling and tracking

progress) Website centralizes announcements, artifacts

produced, project management and schedule overview

Questions and Answers