advocating for usability: when, why, and how to improve user experiences
TRANSCRIPT
Advocating for Usability:When, Why, and How to Improve User Experiences
Daniel Pshock & Sarah ArnoldUNC Chapel Hill Libraries
Overview
• Why User Experience Matters
• Usability Methods & Tools You Can Use
• Be an Advocate
• Resources/Further Reading
Why user experience matters
User experience encompasses who users are and what they need
Usability focuses on how they interact
Usability Methods & Tools You Can Use
Surveys
• Qualtrics• SurveyMonkey• System Usability Scale (SUS)
Interviews
Usability Testing
• Camtasia/Morae• QuickTime
Surveys
When to use surveys
Surveys are useful during new initiatives or when you want to gauge user opinion or understanding
Sample survey questions
● “Why did you come here today?”
● “What are your overall thoughts?”
● “What do you find frustrating?”
Don’t forget to capture demographics!
Survey services
Survey resource: System Usability Scale (SUS)
10 Likert scale 1-5 questions about the system you are evaluating:
I think that I would like to use this system frequently.I found the system unnecessarily complex.I thought the system was easy to use.I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system.I found the various functions in this system were well integrated.I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system.I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly.I found the system very cumbersome to use.I felt very confident using the system.I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system.
SUS results example from recent survey
Why surveys?
Surveys are all about getting into your user’s mind; what do they think? What’s important to them?
Interviews
When to interview
Interviews are the next step after surveys when you need more information from your users
How to conduct an interview
• Reach out to users• Follow a script with basic questions• Be prepared to go down the rabbit hole• Take a buddy• Meet the user in their environment
What to ask
• Open-ended questionso Simple vs. complexo Structured vs.
Unstructured• Multiple choice questions
Why interview?
Interviews help you dig deeper into understanding users & why they do what they do
Usability testing
Usability testing
Aka “think-aloud,” this evaluation method involves observing users directly as they complete specific tasks
So, what are you thinking?
Well...
Usability testing - What to measure
So, what are you thinking?
Well...
● Success / failure● Completion time● Paths● Comments
Are users able to complete the task effectively, efficiently, & satisfactorily?
Important note:Make sure to check with IRB at your organization
A simple usability test example
“You want to check out a copy of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. Show me how you would do this”
All you need is 5 participants1 & a notebook*
*(recording software doesn’t hurt)1www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/
When to usability test
Evaluation of the product is part of an ongoing cycle of designing, building, & evaluating
Usability tests can be done to know how real users interact with a design
Design
BuildEvaluate
1-2 tests / yearly quarter is healthy
Tools for usability testing
Recording
● Camtasia / Morae● Screencast-O-Matic (Free, PC)● QuickTime (Free, Mac)
Guides & resources
● Usability.gov● Steve Krug
Why usability test?
Put simply, users are unlikely to use your design exactly how you thought they would.
Evaluating your design allows for iterating & improving on it
Be an advocate
Library user advocacy
UX librarians serve, satisfy, & advocate for the needs of library users & patrons – they are the bottom line
Be an advocate
Gauge understanding Dig deeper Evaluate your designs
Communicate what you find!
Do not keep your findings to yourself; share them with all levels of your organization
● Blogs
● Newsletters
● Internal presentations
Components of library UX
Building Web Systems
Questions?
For resources on user experience and usability, visit libux.web.unc.edu/resources
Daniel PshockUser Experience research [email protected]
Sarah ArnoldInstructional Technology Librarian, User [email protected]