Summary
This project was done as part of coursework for SI 622: Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation. Our client was the Design and Discovery UX team at University of Michigan (UM) Library System. The UM Library had rolled out an improved version of their resources "search" feature in the last year. We were given the task of measuring the usability of this new search application, find any barriers to use by various stakeholders, report out consolidated findings and develop possible short-term and long-term solutions.
Our recommendations helped build consistency across the search application, increased search relevance and ultimately brought the usage of library search application for academic research on par with Google Scholar (benchmark platform) within the UM academic community.
Team
4 graduate students taking the course SI 622: Needs assessment and usability evaluation
Tools
Google Suite, Qualtrics, Figma
My Role
+ Draft reports
+ Proofread content
+ Create interview protocols, interview stakeholders and take notes
+ Administer surveys
+ Conduct usability tests
+ Manage timelines
+ Proofread content
+ Create interview protocols, interview stakeholders and take notes
+ Administer surveys
+ Conduct usability tests
+ Manage timelines
Project goals
1. Conduct needs assessments and 5-8 Usability studies with U-M faculty testing the usability of the UM Library Search Application (and the Search box from the main UM Library Website) from a broad sample of academic disciplines and roles (Adjunct, Lecturer, GSI, Assistant/Associate/Full Faculty)
2. Identify usability barriers related to the design, performance, search indexing (search results), information architecture of the U-M Library Search application in the following areas:
+ Record displays in Everything, other search categories, and full record displays
+ Record exporting functions (including My List and the specific options available)
+ Integration of Library Favorites
+ Access to the actual items represented in the search interface
+ Speed and responsiveness of the system overall
+ Record exporting functions (including My List and the specific options available)
+ Integration of Library Favorites
+ Access to the actual items represented in the search interface
+ Speed and responsiveness of the system overall
3. Collaboration between Design & Discovery UX staff and Student team to identify feasible short-term and long-term opportunities to improve U-M Library Search experience for U-M faculty
Research questions
+ Are users able to successfully locate and access search and advanced search options?
+ Are users able to find specific content (known search) using the search bar?
+ Are users able to search for an unknown item when they are unaware of a topic?
+ Are users able to discover and understand the usage of various filters?
+ Are users able to leverage various features like favorites, exporting citation, sharing books and booking a resource online?
+ Do users get useful feedback for errors and how do users seek help?
+ Are users able to find specific content (known search) using the search bar?
+ Are users able to search for an unknown item when they are unaware of a topic?
+ Are users able to discover and understand the usage of various filters?
+ Are users able to leverage various features like favorites, exporting citation, sharing books and booking a resource online?
+ Do users get useful feedback for errors and how do users seek help?
Method
Summary of methods used for usability evaluation and associated timeline
Please find the detailed case study elaborating on each method, findings and reports here.
Key Findings
We made a brief video presentation of consolidated findings and recommendations for the client. Please find the video below.
Outcomes and Impact
The Design and Discovery UX team at UM Library was very pleased with the quality of recommendations we put together, so much so that by the end of the project, half of our key recommendations were already implemented and being beta-tested. Our recommendations helped build consistency across the search application, increased search relevance and ultimately brought the usage of library search application for academic research on par with Google Scholar (benchmark platform) within the UM academic community.
Reflection
Cumulative synthesis: This was my first comprehensive usability evaluation project. I was surprised by the amount of content the team was able to generate in terms of findings and recommendations with each activity in a systematic manner. This is where I learnt the importance of cumulative synthesis. Halfway though the project we already had so many recommendations that we had to pause and reflect on the most that were most pertinent and repetitive. We started to prioritize findings progressively after every research method to always have a set of top 5 primary recommendations and 5 secondary recommendations. This helped us stay aligned within the team and end the project with a solid set of findings, evidences and recommendations.
