The document summarizes the findings of a usability test conducted on the XXXXX.gov website. It identifies 4 main problems: (1) poor search results and lack of highlighted search terms, (2) unclear purpose and intended audience of the site, (3) accessibility issues violating Section 508, and (4) confusion about which links were internal/external. It provides recommendations for addressing each problem and improving the user experience and accessibility of the site. The document reports an overall task success rate of XX% and that X users participated in the usability testing.

1. Findings Report
Usability Test of
XXXXX.gov
<Your Name>
<Agency>
<Date>

2. 2. Purpose of Test
● Get data from users about site
● Measure user success with tasks
● Discover user difficulties &
roadblocks in using the site
● Suggest recommendations for
improvement
What we Did
Overall Task
Success
XX%
● www.XXXX.gov tested on DATE
● X users
● Usability problems collected and prioritized

3. Recommendation: Address search algorithm and highlight search terms in
version 3
Problem 1: Search produces poor results that are seemingly not
connected to search terms, and results didn’t highlight search terms
Where is “NIH” in search results?

4. Recommendation: Delete unnecessary text on central part of home page.
Replace with Plain Language explanation of who, what, when, where, how.
Consider adding tagline
Problem 2: Customers were unclear about purpose of site, who intended
audience was, who owns the site and what you can do here
No simple explanation of site’s
purpose or who target audience is
in main content sections

5. Recommendation: Add invisible skip link to navigation, add hidden text to
search box, modify carousels and make links underlined, self-explanatory and
SEO friendly (e.g. not “Click here,” but “Campaign to Cut Waste.”
Problem 3. Site had Section 508 Issues discovered by customers and
Accessibility expert Angela Hooker
Skip link is coded (.hidden
{display: none}) so that it is
completely hidden from screen
readers
Search box is completely hidden
from screen readers (using
display: none)

6. Recommendation: Come up with a 508-compliant solution, possibly text- or graphics-
based, that alerts the viewer they are leaving the site. Possible examples include adding the
word “exit” or use a box with an arrow. Idea: Google “exit disclaimer” to see examples.)
These external links
frustrated testers,
who assumed all
links here led to
Performance.gov
items
Problem 4: Customer didn’t know which links took them off of performance.gov to agency
sites, and were frustrated that they kept leaving the site accidentally. Wanted to know which
links were internal / external

7. Scenario Success & Failure Rates

8. See our full report (if available)
See “XXXXX” for complete report.
● Scenarios
● Full list of problems