The document discusses usability testing that was conducted on the older Florida Memory Project website. It provides an overview of four usability testing methods: heuristics, cognitive walkthrough, think aloud, and interviews. For each method, it describes the type of method, what it involves, and examples of findings from testing the old Florida Memory Project site. The interviews indicate that the new site addresses many of the issues found in testing the old site, such as unifying databases and standardizing metadata. Recommendations are provided to make the site more usable and "Florida friendly."

1. Florida Memory Project
Florida’s Digital Archive
Present Measures of Usability
Future Site and Recommendations
Vanja Anderson and Florence
Paisey

2. The Golden Rule
A Web Site Should Never Get in the Way of the User

3. What is The Florida Memory Project?
The Florida Memory Project is Florida’s Online
Digital Archive
http://www.floridamemory.com/

4. Myth
Build It and They Will Come – Not Going to Happen!

5. What is Usability?
“Usability is the “basic ability of users to achieve their
goals within a system. Usability should account for
affective aspects of interaction.”
Blandford& Buchanan, 2002

6. Usability and the Florida Memory Project
Marty, Alemanne& McClure (2010) identified a range of issues
that affect the ability of the user to achieve their goals.
As recommended, the development team at the Florida Memory
Project have overhauled the site.
However, the development team would like to conduct several
usability tests on the older site.
The purpose is to identify the targeted user reactions to the old
site with a view to ensuring the same usability problems are not
repeated.

7. Did you Know?
A Homepage is Viewed
More Than Any Other Page on a Website !

8. So . . .

9. Homepages are Real Estate
•Home Page Architecture is your Identity
•Central Issues:
• A Logo for Identity
• A Liquid Page
• A Clearly Visible Search Feature
• Multiple Navigation Menus
• Harmonious Color – Websafe
• Effective Use of All Space – Less is
More!

10. The Florida Memory Project Homepage

11. Site Identity? The Florida Memory Project Homepage
Sponsor?
Good Concise
Core Menu!
This is
Valuable
Space
What does
empty do for
you?
Does anything Page Layout and
indicate the
Content of 575,000 Information Architecture?
Documents …Imagine… other
Possibilities…

12. Screen Real Estate
Unused
Content of Interest
Web 2.0
Navigation
Advocacy
Site Identity
Advertisement
External Linkage
Information Architecture
Represented in Percentage…

13. Florida Mangroves

14. Usability Methods
Four Approaches
•Heuristics
• Think Aloud
• Cognitive Walkthrough
• Interview

15. Definitions of Evaluation Measures
•Heuristics
•Evaluation of an interface by IT experts. Evaluators
measure the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the
interface based on 10 measures.
• Think Aloud
•Participants are asked to share their thoughts while
completing specific goals.
• Cognitive Walkthrough
•A set of appropriate or characteristic tasks to be
completed. Evaluators walk through specific tasks, noting
problems.
• Interview
•Interviewsprovide details that users have experienced on
the site.

16. Usability Evaluation Measures
Method
Methods Type Description Pros Cons
Quick No
Ten
Analysis of Overview feedback
Heuristic Performance
User Ease of the on fixes
Standards
system
Problem
Conducted
Cognitive Investigatio Ease of Task detection
at any
Walkthrough n Achievement not
stage
reliable
Evaluators Sometime
Express Few s hard to
Think Aloud Testing express
Experience Subjects
problems
Infrastructure, Detailed Often
Design, information difficult to
Interview Inquiry
Metadata on topic sync

17. •Visibility
• Match Between the System and the Real World
• User Control and Freedom
• Consistency and Standards
Heuristics
• Error Prevention
• Recognition rather than Recall
• Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
• Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
• Help Users Recognize and Recover from Errors
• Help and Documentation

18. Heuristic Findings
120%
100%
80%
60%
40% Nothing Available
Failure
20%
Success Rate
0%

19. Four Basic Questions For Each Task
1. Will the users try to complete the task?
2. Will users notice the correct action?
3. If users find the correct action, is it clear? Cognitive
4 After the user takes an action, will they
Walkthrough
understand any feedback?
Purpose:
A cognitive walkthrough identifies salient
problems in the interface and navigation – the
learnability of the interface, its ease in
navigation, and its functionality – Does it do what
it says it will do?

20. Findings: Cognitive Walkthrough
CW Assessment Questions Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3
Will users try to achieve the right
Yes Yes Yes
effect?
Will user notice that the correct
No Yes Yes
action is available?
Will the user associate with the
No No No
effect to be achieved?
If the correct action is
conducted, will the user see that No No No
progress is being made?

21. Cognitive Walkthrough – Time Per Task
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Failure
50%
1 minute
40%
11-30 seconds
30%
1-10 seconds
20%
10%
0%
Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

22. • 3 Students tested
• Average time: 12 minutes
• Prompt
• To locate historic tourist destinations
• Errors frequently occurred Think Aloud
• Error Recovery/ Back button failed
• Lack of information/content
• Search tool – Search for current hotels resulted in
Historic hotels and Historic Maps
Prompt, Verbatim:
Please search the Florida Memory Project website for historic tourist
destinations that you and your family would be interested in visiting. Please
say everything that goes through your mind. You may stop when you have
come to a satisfying result or whenever you want to quit.

23. Interview
New, completely overhauled Florida Memory Project site is
scheduled to be launched on July 1st.
Direction for overhauling the site is based on the recommendations
of Dr. Charles McClure, Nicole Alemanne, and Dr. Paul Marty.
Discussed many issues…

24. Some Questions Posed
I understand that you have more than 550,000 documents that are difficult to access due to their
storage in 9 different databases – have you had a chance to address this?
Yes. We hired an IT expert. He has integrated all databases into 1 platform, Omeka – as
recommended. All records have been migrated.
How are you handing backup?
The Raid or Buffalo system is under consideration now.
How do you envision your target audience—your main users?
Years of data collected through log analysis, user requests—email, phone, records.
They are: historians, genealogists, teachers, archivists, publishers, students.
The Homepage points out that ―selected‖ materials are placed online. What criteria do you use?
The materials most requested by these groups – our new main navigation bar targets
the 6 main collections. In order – Photography, Video, Audio, Collections, Exhibits, Class.
We also have a new search feature that works across collections.
What is your greatest challenge right now as you reconfigure the system and site?
Borne digital materials are difficult. We need to establish guidelines and standards.

25. Improved!
Core Issues:
•Data has been migrated to a unified database – Omeka
• Backup data – Raid or Buffalo systems
• Collections can be cross searched
• Option to select for photographs in color or B&W
• Metadata has been standardized using MARC AMC
• Subject access through LOC subject headings & folksonomy
• Strategies for the preservation of borne digital
• Quiet, Minimalist Interface Design

26. Recommendations
To make site more Florida Friendly include:
•Spanish Language Option
• Create Personal Archive and Storybook
• Embedded Video Tutorial for Using Archives and Site
• Hurricane Digital Memory Bank
• Online Archive Shop

27. References
United States. State Library and Archives of Florida. Florida Memory Project.
Retrieved from http://www.floridamemory.org
Fuhr, N., Giannis, T. Aalberg, T. et al. (2007). Evaluation of digital libraries.
International Journal of Digital Libraries, 8, 21-38.
Hoppmann, T. K. (2007). Examining the ―point of frustration‖: The think aloud
method applied to online search tasks. Quality and Quantity, 43, 211-224.
Marty, P., Alemanne, N., & McClure, C. (2010). Florida Memory Project—long
range plan: Final report. Information Institute, Florida State University. FL:
Tallahassee.
United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Usability: Your
guide for developing usable and useful websites. The Homepage. Retrieved from
http:www.usability.gov
Zaphiris, P. Kurniawan, S. (2007). Human computer interaction research in web design and
evaluation. London: Idea Group.