Wireframe Prototype Results: Findings fromwikis.ala.org/webplanning/images/9/93/Wireframe... ·...
Transcript of Wireframe Prototype Results: Findings fromwikis.ala.org/webplanning/images/9/93/Wireframe... ·...
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Wireframe Prototype Results:
Findings from Walkthrough
and Online Survey
at Annual Conference
July 6, 2007
Report to
the American Library Association
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Overview - Process
• Walkthrough was performed using the wireframe prototype
developed by UserWorks.
• The walkthroughs occurred on June 25 and 26, 2007, at the
ALA Annual Conference.
• Two participants walked through the wireframes
simultaneously, with a usability specialist moderating.
• A total of 34 participants evaluated the prototype:
– Involved members (12)
– Uninvolved members (11)
– Nonmembers (11)
• An online survey was conducted simultaneously
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Overview - Findings
• Overall response was fairly positive
– Not as much as was hoped
– But encouraging — site is moving in the right direction
• Participants/respondents made some specific comments
and suggestions
• The findings led to numerous recommendations for design
improvements
The following slides present the findings and
recommendations.
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Participants liked seeing that they would be searching within ala.org
Utility Navigation
Participants thought that the items above the
search bar were appropriately located and labeled.
They made three comments:
• Dislike the term “giveALA”
• Find FAQ helpful
• Expect to find the sitemap here
Left Navigation
Participants liked having left navigation that
expanded and collapsed as they went down or up
(respectively) in the site structure. Some likened it
to a table of contents.
Participants thought that the bullets and
indentations clearly distinguished different levels of
information. They raised three issues on the
headings:
• Some participants thought Education and Jobs
should be separated.
• Some were unsure what would fall under
“Library Issues” and “Professional Resources.”
• Some observed that “Shop ALA” was a verb
while the other items were nouns.
Search
Participants liked seeing that they would be
searching within ala.org. Some wanted the search
more prominent.
They generally liked the location and content of the utility navigation items
They liked the expanding and collapsing navigation that appears along the left side of every page
On the whole, participants thought the left menu items were clear, concise, and comprehensive
Global Navigation (1 of 3)
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Quick Links Bar
Participants were unsure why these particular items
were used on the top bar, which items were
dropdowns, and why the items were at different
levels.
Participants stated that they wanted to see the
most relevant and important items (Divisions and
Member Services) on the left.
Hardly anyone recognized “I Love Libraries”.
Many found the name “Washington Office”
confusing.
Several participants did not recognize “American
Libraries,” and some wondered whether it might
refer to a list of all libraries in America.
Most participants liked “Recommended Reading”
but some were unsure whether it referred to
professional recommended reading or to book lists
for readers of different ages.
The idea of making this row customizable as part of
the login or MyALA was discussed.
Participants liked the “text size” feature; some
commented that it was especially good for the
aging librarian population.
Participants were unsure about the meanings of several items in the quick links bar.
They liked the breadcrumbs, which show where they are and how to get back
They wanted some of the items moved to the beginning of the list.
Many liked being able to change the text size.
Global Navigation (2 of 3)
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Dropdowns
Participants were unsure which items in the quick-
links bar were dropdowns and which were not.
They wanted the names of the Divisions spelled
out.
Some didn’t like having the dropdown menu cover
other page content. Participants weren’t sure what was a dropdown and what wasn’t.
Global Navigation (3 of 3)
They wanted the names of the Divisions spelled out in the dropdown.
Breadcrumbs
Participants liked having breadcrumbs to help them
know where they are within the site.
Some commented that the breadcrumbs show the
path they’ve taken to get where they are, but this is
usually not how breadcrumbs work.
They liked the breadcrumbs, which show where they are and how to get back
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Recommendations for Global Nav (1 of 2)
Utility Navigation
Add a link to the site map.
Consider changing the name of “giveALA.”
Left Navigation
Reconsider separating “Education” and “Jobs”; at
the least, change it to “Jobs & Education”.
Look into clarifying “Professional Resources”.
Consider changing the name of “Shop ALA”.
Consider adding an explicit expand/collapse
mechanism for menu items, similar to that of
Windows Explorer or of Mac OS. This would allow
people to expand a menu item without going to the
page, and to expand more than one item at once.
Consider changing “Library Issues” to “Issues and
Legislation”; put the link to the Washington Office
at the level below it.
Change “Education & Jobs” to “Jobs & Education” or separate the topics
Change the name of Shop ALA to a noun
Add a link to the site map.
Revise the title of “Library Issues”; consider changing it to “Issues and Legislation”
Clarify the name of “Professional Resources”
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Recommendations for Global Nav (2 of 2)
Quick-Links Bar
Review the content, names, order, and use of
dropdowns for the quick-links bar items.
Move “Divisions” and “Member Services” to the left
end to give them higher priority.
Make it clear that “American Libraries” is ALA’s
magazine.
Consider making dropdowns for “Member Services”
and “Recommended Reading.”
Consider making the quick-links bar customizable as
part of MyALA.
Consider changing “I Love Libraries” to
“ILoveLibraries.com” to show it’s a Web site.
Use an indicator to show which items are dropdowns.
Spell out the names of the Divisions. Put the acronyms first, to make them more distinguishable and recognizable.
Move the most important items to the beginning of the bar.
Consider adding a menu to “Recommended Reading” and changing the name to “Book Lists”.
Italicize “American Libraries” or enclose it in quotation marks to show that it’s a publication.
Dropdowns
Provide a visual distinction between items that are
dropdowns and those that aren’t.
Spell out Division names, and include acronyms at
the beginning of the items to make them visually
distinct and make scanning easier.
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Mission
Participants thought it was important to explain ALA
and offer its mission statement prominently on the
home page. Participants thought it was important to explain ALA and feature its mission statement prominently on the home page.Overall Look
Participants were split between calling it “busy” and
“clean.” A few said they would like to see more
whitespace on the home page.
Right Column
Most participants thought the content in the right column was important for the home page.
Participants expected this content to remain current (upcoming conferences, award winners).
A couple of participants did not like the phrase “Get Involved!”
Participants thought that the right column presented valuable information; some were concerned it is repetitive.
Main (Center) Content Area
Participants liked that the center area changed to display current information. Some were unsure about giving so much space to news and upcoming events.
Suggestions included adding an expandable event calendar icon to “Latest News” and adding a link to “more” or to past “News & Events”
Participants liked that the center content changed to display current info, although some were unsure whether new and upcoming events needed so much real estate.
Home Page
Several participants thought the tag line sounded too much like “Voice of America.”
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Recommendations for Home Page
Overall Look
Even though some participants thought the look
was busy, graphic design may be able to overcome
that without the need to remove anything. We
recommend deferring this issue for now and
addressing it with graphic design.
Right Column
Ensure that this content remains up to date (upcoming conferences, award winners).
Consider de-emphasizing the phrase “Get Involved!”
Main Content Area
Although some participants were unsure about giving so much space to news and upcoming events, enough of them liked it that we recommend keeping it as it is.
Consider adding an expandable event calendar icon to “Latest News” and a link to “More News” or to past “News & Events.”
Ensure that this content remains up to date.
Change tag line to sentence case: “The voice of America’s libraries”
Mission
Change tag line to sentence case, to reduce
confusion with the Voice of America.
Keep the news section as it is, and ensure that it content is salient and current.
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Common Features of Lower-Level PagesMain Content Area
Participants generally felt that when additional
information was available, the page should link to
it.
Many prefer to have links in lists rather than in line
with the text.
Some want the “Showcase” items on specific
pages rather than at the top level.
Some participants thought that “Showcase” items should appear on deeper, more specific pages.
Participants thought that this area should contain a representative item from each section.
Secondary Content Area (right
side)
Participants expect this content to be targeted to
the specific page on which it appears.
When the page is at a high level, they want the
secondary content to include items from multiple
subtopics.
They want to see links to details of items that this
area highlights.
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Recommendations for Common
Features
Provide links to items that are covered elsewhere.
Main Content Area
Ensure that all items that are covered on other
pages have links to those pages.
Where appropriate, present links in lists rather
than inside the paragraph text.
When the text mentions content that is addressed
elsewhere with more detailed information,
provide a link to that content.
Secondary Content Area
Ensure that this content is relevant to the page on
which it appears.
When the page is at a high level, include items
from multiple subtopics as appropriate.
Where these items highlight content that is
detailed elsewhere, provide links to it (even if it is
outside ala.org).
Where relevant, use lists (e.g., “Top Ten”s) in this
space.
Reserve “Showcase” items for specific pages.
Where appropriate, present links in lists.
Make sure to use a “title”attribute for accessibility of links with short or duplicate link text.
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Awards“Awards” Navigation
Participants thought that the four topics under
Awards were clear and comprehensive.
Some disliked the word “governance.”
Main Content Area
Participants wanted more links on this page (e.g.,
children’s book lists, Lippincott Award).
A few felt that a link to “scholarships” would be
appropriate on this page.
Some thought the “Showcase” items should
appear on more targeted pages.
Participants thought these categories broke up the awards section successfully.
Participants thought that “Showcase” items should appear on deeper, more specified pages.
Participants thought that this area should contain a representative item from each section.
Secondary Content Area
Participants liked that some of the “premier
awards” such as the Newbery and Caldecott
Medals were accessible from this page.
Some wondered why this area did not include
other premier awards as well.
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Participants were not sure that this was the best breakdown for these awards.
Participants expected to see the premier “Professional Recognition Awards”in this area.
Library & Professional AwardsMain Content Area
Participants expressed doubt that the breakdown
shown here is the best one for this content.
Secondary Content Area
Participants expected the special area in the upper
right to show the premier awards for its category.
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Recommendations for Library and
Professional AwardsMain Content Area
Conduct further analysis to study the
decomposition of this content.
Revisit the categorization of this content.
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Main Content Area
Participants were confident that the categories
under “book and media” cover all awards.
Some participants expressed doubt that
“reference” and “adult” belong together.
Some were unsure what would be listed under
“Articles, papers and research.”
Participants were mixed about the categories under “Book and Media”
Participants liked the content in this area, although they wanted links too.
Secondary Content Area
Participants felt that the secondary content
areas were most appropriately filled with lists,
ideally “Top Ten”s.
Participants thought that anything present in
the secondary content area should be
annotated and linked.
Book and Media Awards
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Recommendations for Book and Media
AwardsMain Content Area
Consider separating “reference” and “adult”
books, if it can be done without changing the
structure of ALA’s awards program. If not, at
least clarify the category.
Separate these two or clarify the category.
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Main Content Area
Participants expect to find a comprehensive list of
awards at this level of the site.
Participants expressed a desire to have a printable
list or brochure available from this page. (e.g., a PDF
document)
Participants wanted a link to a printable list of all awards.
Secondary Content Area
This area of this page needs to include the
Newbery and Caldecott Medals.
Children & Young Adults
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Main Content Area
Participants liked the navigation in the main content
area.
Participants expressed a preference to see links
displayed in lists rather than embedded in text.
A few participants were not convinced that
“Education” should be coupled with “Jobs.”
Others felt that “Jobs” was more important than
“Education” and should therefore be displayed more
prominently on the page.
Some participants commented that they liked the
way the navigation was arranged according to the
career life cycle.
Education & Jobs
Participants thought that categories under “Education & Jobs”worked very well.
Some participants thought that Education and Jobs should be separated; others thought that Jobs should be more prominent.
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Recommendations for Education & JobsMain Content Area
If “Education” and “Jobs” are retained in the same
category, make “Jobs” the more prominent part of
the content.
If “Jobs” is kept in the category with “Education”, make it more prominent.
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Participants liked the content on this page.
Participants were split on how best to display the schools.
Main Content Area
Participants thought that the amount of contextual
text beneath each navigation link was ideal.
Participants liked seeing the “Alphabetical List of
Institutions” but felt that the list is probably too
long to put in the secondary content area.
One participant mentioned that it would be nice to
be able to search for library schools by region (in
addition to state).
Secondary Content Area
Library Degrees & Programs
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Very
DissatisfiedDissatisfied
Slightly
DissatisfiedUndecided
Slightly
SatisfiedSatisfied
Very
Satisfied
0 0 1 0 10 23 0
Q: Based on what you have seen in the wireframes, how would you rate your overall experience or lasting impressions?
These ratings (numbered 0-6) are encouraging:• Mean = 4.6 (between slightly satisfied and satisfied)• Mode = 5 (satisfied)
However, there is room for improvement.
Overall Satisfaction Findings
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Survey
• Implementation
– Wireframes were presented at two kiosks during the national
conference
– After browsing through the wireframes, people were given the
opportunity to complete a short survey about their experience
• Responses (194 collected during the conference period)
– 94% were from ALA members
– 57% are active members within ALA
– Well over 50% visit the site at least monthly
Survey Questions
• Were any terms unclear to you?
• Did the wireframes make it apparent how to find content?
• Were there any major topics that you did not see?
• Was there anything about the wireframes that you found
confusing?
• What aspects of the wireframes did you like the most?
• What aspects did you like the least?
• Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?
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Survey Results
• Largely positive (rated good or very good)
– Organization and layout (80% good or very good)
– Ease of navigation (77%)
– Amount of content on each page (56%)
– Labels used in left navigation (72%)
– Labels across the area just under the ALA logo (62%)
• Respondent comments were consistent with walkthrough
findings
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Were any terms unclear to you?
• “I love libraries” (8)
• Acronyms for divisions (3)
• “Washington Office” (2)
• “American Libraries” (2)
• “Professional resources” (2)
• “ReadWriteConnect” (1)
• “Library Issues” vs. “Advocacy” (1)
• “giveALA” (1)
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Did wireframes make it apparent how to
find content?
• Positive
– Categorization of awards (2)
– Breadcrumbs (1)
• Negative
– Too much information on page (6)
– Should be one click for job listings (3)
– Took too many clicks (2)
– Separate education and jobs (1)
– Need clear links to state credentialing organization (1)
• Unclear whether positive or negative
– Better distinction between levels on left nav (1)
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• Committees and roundtables (14)
• Divisions (5)
• Site map (2)
• International relations (2)
• www.librarycareers.org (2)
Any major topics that you did not see?(1 of 2)
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Any major topics that you did not see?(2 of 2)
• Additional items (mentioned once each)
- ALTA
- Librarians
- Scholarships
- Book reviews
- MyALA
- How to join
- Advocacy
- Publications
- Local libraries
- Info about ALA
- ALA Midwinter 2008
- Get involved
- Trustees
- Marketing and PR tools
- Other ALA offices – e.g., IRO, OIF
- Certification for non-MLS staff
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Anything about the wireframes that you
found confusing?
• Too crowded (9)
• Split between horizontal and vertical navigation frames (4)
• Links on navbar weren't “equivalent” (2)
• Organization categories (2)
• Divisions (1)
• Too many images (1)
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What aspects of the wireframes did you
like the most? (1 of 2)
• Clean layout (31)
• Easy navigation (29)
• No scrolling necessary (9)
• Modern looking (5)
• Links to divisions (5)
• Choices on left navbar (4)
• Right side highlights (4)
• More information on each page (3)
• Breadcrumbs (3)
• Top navbar is single row (2)
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• Additional items (mentioned twice or less)
What aspects of the wireframes did you
like the most? (2 of 2)
- centered
- dropdowns
- small graphics
- unified graphics
- text size adjuster
- smaller left navbar
- detailed submenus
- interactive options
- more information at top level
- jobs listing on first level
- combined side and top navigation
- easy-to-see search box
- removed big red ALA logo
- library technician information
- better for the visually impaired
- less "newsy", more specific
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• Too cluttered (13)
• Difficult navigation (4)
• Blogs, wikis, online communities too far down (2)
• Dropdowns (3)
• Not enough pictures (2)
• Too wordy (2)
• Too much repetition of how to join ALA (2)
• Didn't notice right highlights box (1)
• Top navigation column choices (1)
• Prominence of useful items too low (1)
What aspects of the wireframes did you
like the least?
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Additional comments/suggestions
• Allow customization (4)
• Have shorter URLs than current site (4)
• Be fully accessible to disabled (2)
• More info about events (1)
• Have pictures of real librarians (1)
• Allow users to print more easily (1)
• Use more Web 2.0 features (1)
• Focus on serving current members (1)
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Summary of Survey Findings
• Survey results were largely positive
• Respondents made some specific suggestions
• Site design seems to be moving in the right direction