Report on Usability Process and
Assessment of Yufind
Nelinet
May 27, 2009
Usability and Assessment at Yale University Library
http://www.library.yale.edu/usability

2 Assess current behavior
Collecting evidence from Orbis log files.

Log file line
3
12/2/07 20:06 20071202200646
Title Index
TALL JOHN DOGGET JNR
0

Log file sample descriptive data
4
Most common search: title (41.8%) followed by
keyword (31.4%)
Average search phrase is 2.5 words long
Most common phrase searched is united states
Most common number of hits: 0 (21.4% )

Examples of title searches
5
BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY?
ALABAMA 2004?
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY CHILDREN? Topic
JOHNSON, JAMES? Name
INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES:
A READER? Close

Classification of Reasons for 0 Hits
6
N=506

Declining search types
7

Some conclusions from log analysis
8

Next Gen OPAC -- Yufind
9

Search for Geriatrics
10

11 Conduct usability tests
After deciding to implement Yufind, use data
from log files to help design usability tests

Creating usability tests for Yufind
12
Objective: Would the participant see and choose
facets? (more than 26% of the time)
Priority = High
Success = See and try to use the facets
Objective: Would the participant use facets
successfully?
Priority = High
Click on the appropriate facet and reach desired outcome
within two clicks

E-books only service
13

Alternative interface for catalog
14

Questions
15
Find books within a set by a particular author
(John Adams).
In a set of books about healthcare, find some
that are about healthcare reform.
Within a subject-based display of ebooks
find a topic-based subset.

16

Facets: key findings
17
Were seen and sometimes used but
Subsets didn’t always make sense
Hard to navigate (not alphabetical)
Little use of call number facet
Some preferred search refinement to facets
Participants noted potential usefulness: format,
language
Some users are a target market, others are not

Did facets increase metadata use? YES
18
Search Refinement
Opportunities for Facet with 2nd search
facet use Use|Success Use|Success
5 (question 2a
undergraduate) 3|1 3|1
5 (question 5a
undergraduate) 2|2 1|0
8 (question 5
medical) 4|4 4|1
9|7 8|1
All opportunities=18 50.0% | 38.9% 44.4% | 16.7%

Relevance ranking and facets
19

Best practices for facets
20
Implement a more narrowly focused search
Present a limited number of facets based on user
behavior
Good facets require good data
Well defined, mutually exclusive and have clear
labels
Facets work best when they are tied to the level of
the search of selection process

21

22

Limit facets based on user behavior
23
First Level Second Level
Author Availability
Journal/book/video Location
Language Fulltext
Classification

24 Implement changes and re-assess

Survey (83 respondents)
25
79.3% found the results they expected and 75.6%
found what they needed
41 respondents or 50% tried facets. Of these,
85.0% were positive about the results.
57.8% of respondents preferred Yufind to Orbis
System Usability Score = 66

First place you would look to find a
26
book?
Answer Options Response Count Percent
Orbis 33 40.2%
Yufind 29 35.4%
Google 14 17.1%
Amazon 4 4.9%
Worldcat 2 2.4%

27 Standards & priority functionality

Patron empowerment
28

Error handling
29

Effective and efficient search and
30
delivery
Provide alternative navigation through facets
Visual shelf list
Integration with circulation/ordering/ILL

Usability process
31
Assess current behavior
Conduct usability protocol testing
Implement changes and re-assess
Determine standards & priority functionality
Need more cooperative efforts

32 Results available
Send questions to kathleen.bauer@yale.edu
http://www.library.yale.edu/libepub/usability/yulstudies.html
Usability and Assessment at Yale University Library
http://www.library.yale.edu/usability