Katie, Tayler, Rabee, A good start with project one overall. Make certain you consistently list your key findings and recommendations in order of importance. Are content problems more important than layout problems? I'm not sure. You have misunderstood the ce: line in the letter of transmittal — you don't cc: the primary reader. Use her correct job title, also, in the address block, and directly address her with the second person “you" in the body of the letter. You may cc: me — that is appropriate. The table of contents needs careful formatting. Use leader dots and the decimal tab to align the digits of numbers. You have some convincing findings, and your recommendations are clearly illustrated Don't rely too heavily upon percentages with such a small set of data. You can simple write “five of six" or "three of five,” etc. Your arguments could also be strengthened by showing that you had done more reading about the earlier versions of the interface than just reviewing the one student-authored report There are publications about the usability of the earlier WorldCat Local interface that you could locate and quote from.‘To: Greg Wicklift From: Kate Calabro, Tayler Green, Rabee Khan Date: 2/29/2016 Subject: Project Assessment 1) Process & Technical Goals for the Project: 2) Audience Members’ Goals for the Project ws it We waned osreen shot videos and images ona Mae system and work with Googe rive and Docs tecnolgycolboaivey. We ned io eam hoo se the video eordngfnction on OBS, since two of sha sues sing the video rcrding futon nu eso hd eae ho fo pod vidoe Tks ik vent forma, considering Macs have problems with QuickTime. Ths led to downloading an adional fe application 1a rh cr . Thema things we waned o lean about document design was keeping onsitnt yout and design throughout he projet (ith margins for image and tables, tex, pago Iavou), We alo wanted trate x the documents rom Geogle Dos, inte Mirosoh Word, and nally ito a POF. We wer amir withthe fal pr sri ing haan wt oi ond pang yo wih ex wap) proved oublesome when uploaded ftom Does to Wor, where the images appered tury { Ward toma it operon pas nbs a propely hyp teal tenes. Ths | po Be report structure definitely revealed the frustrating problems of designing within Microsoft Word. rl ‘The key things that are audience already understood about the WorldCat Discovery interface, wes that if they had ever used WorldCat Loca, they wer likely familir with most of the features that would cary aver into WorldCat Discovery. They understood the purpose of WorldCat Discovery would be to ereate a ore effetve interface forthe users, targeting some ofthe key problems found in WorldCat Loca. \We worked with undergraduate participants, and our group was composed of undergraduates as well. We were able to work alongside the 4181/5181 Writing User Documents class to discuss potential problems withthe interface and participate in peer review, and coordinate Q&.A’s between Dr. Wicklff and Racha! Wint The main focus ofthis projet was fo find areas where the beta version ofthe interface we ested could be improved, and what changes users would want. J8€ Wanted to show trends that may behave been common amongst different types of users who took the “obilty tes. 3) Key Results of Peer Review and/or User Tests We had one es ele darng class time hat elped us in ging out what infomation we sil sed teracudein cur donno axwal im rconrasndao for wef ph, By pee reviewing anaer document in clas we were blo compare outings o what another group found and hat vas highly hep just Deus me got tse the silts inet ndings. \Weended up conducting 6 ser ets but could only seve because ou fst sett was done onthe gf sagule voir ier pa an he Bh no (Ne gpd sre ‘Through ur sts ef tt te wensnd aspen wel one Ung tne ama or ati ncn swale. th deposit pas "ee 4) Your overall assessment of the final document and the Design Process‘© We think our document is readable, and visually pleasing because of the picture breaks that we provide. We ‘were careful about the use of white space to make the document easier to view and navigate through ‘without being overwhelmed, ‘© The document has been proofread and attempted to fallow the design of consistent margins and less white space. The request in the formal report guidelines that each section needed to be separated created a lot of white space, which we weren’t sure how to fix. ‘* We couldn't get the headings linked together through the table of contents, this is possibly from switching from Google Docs to Microsoft Word, which resulted in incorrect numbering of the pages. + How the group work succeeded and how it presented obstacles (a paragraph from each group member) Rabee: Overall I think the group did a good job. Although everyone in the group had a different schedule we were still able to create a google document, and everyone would work on it at their own pace, and pick up ftom where the Previous person left. As far as the actual project, the main issues we had were with technology. Two of us were tunable to get the video recording function to work for our user tests. We also had the challenge of working w ‘other people's schedules to try and get a user test scheduled, Once those intial challenges were overcome i think the rest of the project went pretty smoothly for the most part, since we had all the information we needed, Katie: | think our group work succeeded in that we all communicated very well with each other. Our group got along very well and we all came in with different skill sets that helped improve our project, Rabee is very talented at ‘getting plenty of user tests, and Tayler isa great editor and helped us figure out how to make our project better. We ‘encountered plenty of obstacles, Some problems we had were our schedules aligning and problems with computers. My personal laptop was unable to dawnload any recordable program so I was unable to get video. We've also had issues with google documents messing up our final versions through microsoft word, Overall our group came together and managed to get this project done and we are happy to see hhow far we've come, Tayler: I thought our group did a prety good job of completing the report: we split the usability tests evenly, and ‘worked collaboratively on the Google Docs. My laptop was the only one able to record tests using OBS, which was fine, because the other two members supplemented thei tests with a note-taker. When the report had been written and | began to read over it, I realized that our original outline made our report seem disorganized, repetitive, and illogical, which can always be a problem when we tried to split the sections up and weren’t quite aware of what each ‘other was writing until the final document, In order to keep the flow logical, it was definitely necessary to reorganize ‘our information, particularly in the Methodology and Test Results section, which took a lot of time, rewriting, and condensing information. Editing the other member's work was also a bit time consuming as well, as we had different tones and styles of writing, and I'm a grammar and punctuation freak. 'm happy with how the report turned out, but I'd definitely like to try another software besides Word or Docs.Tayler, Rabee, Katie A Style Sheet Guide Page Format orientation (tall, portrait) margins (one inch on both sidess) footers (page number) numbering (front matter, in test results sections) graphic placement and width (1/8th margin) colors (screens, text, graphics, none) ‘Typography document title (times new roman, 18 pt. , bold, left aligned) title heading (times new roman, face, 12 pt., case, left aligned) title subheading (times new roman, face, 10 pt., left-aligned) heading 1 (times new roman, face, 10pt., left-aligned, italics) figure headings (times new roman, face, left and right aligned, Bpt.) spacing (single, double between paragraphs kerning) lists (imes new roman, 10 pt., indented) Mechanics abbreviations to use after first reference weg acronyms to.use after first reference yal" UNCC:University of North Carolina at Charlotte capitalization (any non-standard uses must be specified) if? hyphenation (off) quotation marks (straight) spelling (U.S. English) steps: (numbers, bulleted lists) Usage active voice imperative voice commands Figures & Tables captions (numbers & titles in times new roman, some pt. sizes vary) size & placement (non-specific) textual references to figures & tables (times new roman, 10 pt,, left aligned)24 February, 2016 Rachael Winterling & Library Administration rey Atkins Library University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 Re: Usobilty testing for Atkins Library, using the beta interface of WorldCat Discovery he ee ‘We would like to thank((he library spcialist, Rachael Winterlin)for visiting our class, with information on OCLC, answering questions throughout our research and usability testing, and assisting the teams with research and tnalytics as the reports were written. Our task was assigned to us by Associate English Professor Dr. Gregory Wickliff, as part of our class ENGL 4181: Writing User Documents. Our goal was to analyze the usability of Atkin's beta search interface, WorldCat Discovery by performing usability tests on a range of students, observing the successes and difficulties related to those tasks required of them, and in turn, developing a report to outline those Findings and provide appropriate suggestions and solutions. Our report revealed thapay)ije students mostly achieved success in the tasks required of them throughout the usability testing, there were/Ageiéts preferential suggestions for the design and navigation of the site: oo * @ The process to reach articles and choose amongst multiple invalid links was unnecessarily between an article or journal), FB, tHe, Users found the interface difficult to read, in both text size and color. “f She ‘While these changes might implement long-term changes to the interface, there are certainly short-term ‘changes that could compensate the user feedback received from these intial usability tests Sincerely, Kate Calabro, Tayler Green, & Rabee Khan AuthorsSearch UNC Charlotte Libraries and beyond, Usability Testing of WorldCat Discovery kw A Usability Analysis of the WorldCat Discovery Beta Interface for J. Murrey Atkins Library Submitted by: Kate Calabro ‘Tayler Green Rabee Khan ENGL 4181, Writing User Documents 24 February, 2016 Submitted to: Dr. Gregory Wiekliff, Assoc. Professor of English Rachael Winterling, Usability CoordinatorExecutive Summary For our ENGL 4181 Writing User Documents class, we were tasked with analyzing the usability of the WorldCat Discovery beta interface. Because the library plans to implement WorldCat Discovery in place of WorldCat Loe ? ‘these usability tests were developed both in hopes of challenging problems from the old interface ang the sight : ip vee ee Rrwan they would evel additonal problems withthe Discovery interice. We chose Sisesin an atten representa diverse range of undergraduate students, with users belng both maleTemal, fe and international tens, freshman fo senior levels of study, and including varying Sn a , ee See sy eve ertomes sng urs! poe, - OY ean printed task list, and users were abserved by a group ‘member either recording or taking notes. The users had very few problems performing the tasks required of them on the interface, and all of the participants finished the tasks in under 10 minutes. Interestingly enough, since our users ranged from novice to advanced experience with the previous interface WorldCat Local, the tasks on the Discovery interface seemed to be an equal difficulty level for all participants, and both the problems encountered and comments received were similar, The most notable difficulties ‘were able to be broken down into two main groups of problems: Layout and Design inability to locate the “sort by” unction © inability to find the due date of library materials distractions fom the sidebar location of ther relevant searches muy “Much ofthe lsyut and design complains stemmed from the sizeof the texton te interfice, which therefore interfered with Wie @bility to find certain features, such as the “sort by” finetion and due date of library materials. (One user hada notable complaint thatthe sidebar that appears after clicking ona search result was very distracting, which ed our group to consider he option to havea collapsible or minimized sidebar, and therefore the possibilty of having a wer personalized site ni, Languaggand the User gona we apprhesion owe site, et eres «Tack of wer knowledge of key bay search rms &dovnloating ales tat would ead the fl conten an ot simpy an abstract fee Th vail eg unreal shot ie rece wc | Magy A Li ni Tw Ot the fv ers had experience with te ginal WorldCat Local ste, an a ose Wo ars, one saed she, + ive td is Ucn oked san) Whi tldig tak 6s vol elias verted mn users wh hd tule despherng he langage on he sit (he dfnon of «pe-reviewed wie) ores tht gre usted wk ding tad opening eric, hich aval ini wite hr navigation of th ate he fr00p fn sme form of toa wold ben amrctmy dition threw Worldcat Discov.‘Table of Contents _ De wit L157 Title Page— cone 03 " ase Lear! Executive Summary aoee ef ae ‘Fable of Contents’ ————p9 cap we —p.erc¢ iw Introduction @' Methodology B 2. ut ‘Test Results vi : 1, Layout and Design Problems 7 vi 2. Content, Language, and the User Problems vii + "Supplementat Qualitative Kesults vit * Visualizing Quantitative Results viii ings and Recommendat ix References xii of Figures Figure 1.1: User Demographics iv Figure 1.2: Usability Test Task List iv Figure 1.3: User Post-Test Questions v Figure 2.1: WorldCat Local versus WorldCat Discovery vi Figure 2.2; Distracting sidebar vi Figure 2.3: Example A-and B. Search Functions and Text Size vii Figure 2.4: Example C. Refining the Search viii Figure 3.1: User Quotes by Task viii Figure 4,1: Suggested WorldCat Discovery Search Visual x Figure 4.2: Suggested WorldCat Discovery Short-Term Changes x ? List of Tables pecantery * ‘Table 1.1: Common User Problems by Percentage ix eeA Usability Analysis of the WorldCat Discovery Beta Interface for J. Murrey Atkins Library Introduetion With WorldCat Local having been introduced tothe University of North Carolina at Charlote in 2013, various mn wh usability tests have been done since then to identify, make recommendations, and solve problems associated with the pi! 4- ferface, The J. Murrey Atkins Library will be introducing the latest interface from OCLC, WorldCat Discovery. ya” ef ‘The primary purpose of the usability tests performed onthe library discovery interface, Beta version, were to find areas of frstration and inconsistency for users within the interface, ‘The. Mare Atkins libarygoin touch with Dr. Wiki nthe Engl departoent to ep conduct usability tess, Bach group was assigned the ako resting silty tests forthe beta it alone wit ning pipet tke the es, Before stating our projec our lass met with the silty coordinate, Rachael Wier, ensure an understanding ofthe sali texting and basic irr inrface system in pace. Ou eam, which consied of te peopl, devised a tsk ist for sail testng that explored veianyppulr features ofthe nerf The group ices wena otsalopnn fxs wit tice TER ato of wipes cs NDE vi This ensured an equal representation and diverse results for the usal ‘The scope of this report will address the two main issues with the WorldCat Discovery beta interface, being the Layout and Design problems, and the Content, Language and User problems. The goal ofthe results from the usability tests willgelay the information collected to the Itbrarians at UNCC, as well as designers at OCLC to improve the new WorldCat Discovery interface = me" unk? Methodology Iman ae replicate the wie varity of target wes he cians rom dierent majors, levels of stay, gendeandxpetize withthe rectited patcipats by word of mouth. Each member of the group asked people from thei included ends, roommates, et et Before the start ofthe test, the participants were asked a series of preYuestons to ereate a demographic ofthe library interface users, in Figure 1.1 below: Atkins Library serves, our group recruited ry interface, Our group social circles. This ert neta tr Sle eee ve “ ay dame Sotoere Se Ota Yo, we ote Wet Ung oir Sete MS wa xa Sovermetda“ne Sigtmetnomens store Wes FUnl Setecoe cana ve ss oe Figue 1: User Demographics To perform the stilt tet the group Se i op eae provided the user witha task sheet eee ee oe ; After a sample user est on WorldCat + Cope Local the group constructed task list Loa at DU eit ry Sep Moe ull’ itntexploed sree tho interface nti A features, in the hope thatthe tasks would pa em reveal usability problems with WorldCat 2 epeieetean tae cet pian omega seta ems ip eS be 0105 began the recording or the notetaker vas Meets : tea, he test vas administered tothe ‘nut eh a ow ein br" Du er The took aout 10-15 minutes ¢ Searels depending on the user. The task list Fipwe ote rg 1 Femes2Uatin Tartan gf Tis grea rlon paola wien feed Tite as Soca be toe Casale fo cai yet " tc contd ng hoy ei hOB soca, ehcp baat soot Bg the webcam and screen captured the browser, The other four usability tests were ‘supplemented with a note taker to Qe és Ford sabre ty nba ib ot RAGLAT SWS ost ew gt of Facilitators and notetakers encouraged the users to think out loud tpr6ugh ther execution ofthe tasks, and reminded users that the fest was on the library interface, and not of the user {pimself. The group did not provide assistance to the users when they had questions about the site, and only spoke ifa user took an exceptionally long amount of time cor expressed great frustration with a task to move on to the next task, Keeping the user test between the average 10- 15 minutes. " oe annua utPresto to Following the test, the users were asked a series of post-test questions. These questions helpedgive a better picture ‘of what the users thought of the interface. The users were als given the opportunity to provide any other additional feedback the test and questions may not have covered, in Figure 1.3, below: you like most about the interface ‘What did you like least? ‘What problems did you encounter? ‘What do you think could be improved upon forthe site? Figwe 13 User ce hese AL: Cur user participants all completed the usability tasks and questions. Our findingsff these usability tests wate’ = consrvtedsing charts, ables, sereenshos, and oer visual ads fom the dala gathered by note-taking and reviewing the Wo user test videos.Test Results ‘While four out of five users were able to compete all ofthe tasks, the users did encounter difiulis as they attempted to complet the tasks. It was noted that the problems that he users encountered were mostly the sme Tike tong al the users. Te roup was able to divide the main problems int wo expos, whiefurter delve int, A” 445 gs thei espooive solutions. 1.) Layout and Desiga Problems ‘There could be a potential bis ofthe usability test results regarding layout and design, eonsidering-thet because two ‘out ofthe five users had never used the library interface, the remaining three ad experience with the WorldCat Local layout, and had preferences for the initial layout. During the post-test questions, when asked what changes ‘could be made to the interface, one user suggested the the WorldCat Discovery search mimic the old WorldCat Local layout, in terms of having the tabs present to sort the search. The old and new search engines are below, in Figure 2.1 ‘Figure 2.7; WorldCat Local vesus WoHdCat Discovery [eas brought to the group's attention by one user who admitted she never used the library site in apprehension of ‘having no ides how to use i, tha the layout of WorldCat to a novice user may not appear tobe use friendly. The WorldCat Discovery search offers no visible help of tutorial function on either the initial search page or the search, results page. eens 2088 nt 72 ao VW é [oT ] ash coer) Fam, sone ie a igure 2.2: Dstacting sietar7 One complaint our group received from the 2 user was that after clicking on a search result and directed onto the next page, that the sidebar with other refeant searches tothe eft side ofthe screen wes overwhelming tothe page [outlined in red in Figare 2,1 above] , or inthe user's words, “This is so distracting. Is it for what I clicked on, oF what" The use then realized that to find the information required ofthe task, she would use the drop down bars on the right instead. The interface lacks the ability to collapse that side search bar. Peshaps like the right side ofthe page, where the information isnot revealed without being clicked on, the relevant searches onthe left side of the page could be a ‘drop-own option. Otherwise, the width of the lef sidebar with relevant searches should be able to be collapsed or minimized toa degree whieh would not distract from the source thatthe user clicked on, 2.) Content, Languaze, and the User Problems ae TT veep ore] renee ge | Figure 2.3 Rsaple A and Search Functions nd Text Sie When users were asked in Task I to add the first search result to their feature “My List,” we had five out of five users complain thatthe “My List” function was difficult to find du tothe size ofthe text. In turn users did not know the function of ether ofthe two buttons in Example B.,or thatthe second button was the "Add to My List” function, Most users seemed hesitant to ee ‘onthe buttons without knowing their function. _ ? @ Quen x oe SOO Ting ? vilwe! fe $ gy Foros = smexminensinncnihim ean ar Fig 24 Elfin Sch pecan “The tasks regarding changing the formas ofthe search, like sring fran autiobook or hwingaly peer-reviewed aricls samesupzeveald mich about the library's users and the “useeFenliness ofthe itary interface, When users were asked to sort ails by peer-reviewed results only, one user expressed her fastation with Formas availabe ter 85," don’t even know what the ifference between a poe-eviwedatcle and normal ict is." With all five users complaining about the size of the text when searching forthe function, and two ofthe five ‘hinking outloud that they did not know the function ofthe “My List” button its clear to our group that the lack of «explanation on of the site's features poses a problem for users’ navigation and understanding of the site andthe Features available to them. Supplemental Qualitative Results: = Wawe Oar ers were encmnged hgh ut oul while naviaing he eta inte a We cold eta etre ofr ~ Canines iter wren nor etna Megas vices tier hati Se loking for Hr ae some of is ies use wih wit ewes nid and hw ey wet iehaae bib Fig pee revewedanle Im tsurifamlaoig th carter ale what the erence between a per revlend ate anaes" Finng APA ton or 9 OVO “abt even baw whereof ht” Wake searchapprearldest fist Canyou even otha” leokngup bok by BN Huber “What an SBN nome dba now what hat Daeg bookioyourlst "doit inew wht i Pow ols? Figure 3.1; User Quotes by Task at isaysne vad cay ei Visualising Quantitative Results: villAs mentioned above majoriy ofthe problems that he users encountered were similar throughout al the wer est iz Some ofthe most common problems included uses having touble opening antcles on exterol links, where users.) ORM” "pe ‘sere not always able to find the duc dates for materia tht could be checked ot ofthe library, the inability to fs collapse the serch bar, the inability Toate the srt feature to srt by newest o oles, and finally, the one problem that all users hain common was, the complaint that the text size wes relly sal, Below is a breakdown of the percentage of howe many users experienced each majo problem wehedk~ ee a Common Problems jo :ComenUertntiemshcemngs——— Bil Migttdome fe recteese FE Man sie 1, $0 (rapes = MELUOL TA ROW H fas, Findings and Recommendations Tie fads fun est insert al els Gu Geo RNR mentees Gao, — Fea but thre are some areas that coud stil improved: Even though the majority oF our users completed the user tests” Rn Zoreg vith only minor concems nd problems, ll ofthe users had suggestions for improvement, which eeated & a productive, collaborative dialogue for how the user experience could be improved in future updates ofthe WorldCat herp Discovery interface. 4 ‘Taking both the usability tests and the conversations from the users into consideration, the group has produced few > suggestions for change, and has a drawn a mock-interface with those suggested changes. For the shortterm changes, the group felt that the most prevalent issue withthe interface and the easost fx would be to inrease the font size of the interface. By doing so, the problems with finding the due date of library materials and the drop down bars to sort, searches would be fixed, in tum. ‘To appease user preference and thoughts on user-friendliness ofthe ste, and the suggestion of one ofthe users we tested, the group also thinks that a potential solution tothe design ofthe new interface would be to use the WorldCat Loc search layout of the inital search, The Local search interface provided tbs that would specify the search down tothe format desired (.. articles, books, ete). The Discovery search curently requires the user to do a ‘general search, hen find the appropriate check mark on the sidebar to narrow the results. The ability to narrow the searches down immediately would save the user time and that exra step of scrolling through the options on the following page of results.ibraries and beyond | | Search UNC Charlotte | (Grae Bowe [arises [Databases journate [[evideo) | Figue 1: Snegesed WorldCat Discovery Search Visual RA EE i ome ea ae Sa Asin tr angi rp wo ito sy tedrgn noe wage ate elie tater fine he sib preset in seases dating thy sol be abet alps or minimize hs o16/T width of the column. With the idea of user preference in mind, the user should also be to adjust the size of the text oi rat hveihelchede tao ae mevarndshseatsacengayrhelith niga inal. The group would also lke to see a tuorial service provided for the users. Both novice and advanced users ofthe site may not know oF be aware ofthe Functions which make their library search easier, and by providing a tutoras tery ie ot PF, he ue wot asia pine hep vgn ad tmnt ste Tis ftw play ye ren ataes Engh ang Lee, train serene senate ewe senehing on Von eds ‘tonic lnguue fe et male Ove te blest ih foes begat ‘cts pordngeapntns i opie nds con hog ithe ert enc eve be lee il come me se 2 wpnnntne ABT THE Feuvene ce Mt Seana Kesue f xiReferences Usability Test Participants © User 1, UNC Charlotte, 2/10:2016 © User 2, UNC Charlotte, 2/15/2016 ‘© User 3, UNC Charlotte, 2/06/2016 ‘© User 4, UNC Charlote, 2/06/2016 © User $, UNC Charlote, 2/12/2016 Supporting Documents ‘© Grog Wickliff, Rachael Winterling, “Questions from ENGL 4181/5181 Students: Responses from Rachael Winterling, 2/01/2016 ~ ont MeO ie Tito Dire gn Tad WMPMERCS 7? xii