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Enhancing Museum Website Usability: Insights from User Studies

This study explores the usability of museum websites from a user-centric perspective. By observing real users, the research aims to identify usability issues and their solutions. It compares user behavior with common practices and expectations in the literature. The study emphasizes the difference in perception between designers and non-technical users, illustrating how preconceived notions can skew usability assessments. A structured approach—encompassing preparation, conducting user studies ethically, and detailed reporting—ensures that the insights gained lead to meaningful improvements tailored to users' needs.

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Enhancing Museum Website Usability: Insights from User Studies

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Running a Usability Study Considering a Museum website from the perspective of usability Figuring out what needs fixing and how to fix it

  2. Aims of the study • To get a sense of what people actually, really do • To compare and contrast with: • What you do • What people like you do • What is reported in the literature • What is 'common sense'

  3. Usability: Seeing through a user’s eyes • Users don’t see an application the same way as a designer does • Non-techie users don’t see an application the same way as a techie does • Non-expert museum visitors don’t see an application the same way as a museum professional does • So… It is really hard for designers to see their interface the way that a user does • Why? • What you see depends on what you know

  4. Solution • User Studies may help… • …If you do them right • Try to see through the eyes of the other person • Repeat • Analyze • Fix • Repeat

  5. Planning a user study • Before • During • After

  6. Preparation • Which site? • Which part? Why? • What do you know about the users, uses, needs? • What do you suspect about its usability in advance? • Plausible tasks • Create scenarios of need • Real uses you can watch?? • Do a dry run. Do another • Recruit friend(s) Can do this with pairs of people

  7. Running a study • Ethics & the Law • Keep your user happy and relaxed • Break all plans to ensure this • It is the right and the rational thing to do • Informed Consent • Can They Say No?? • Thanking, payback

  8. Wording matters • ‘Experiment’ => White coats and electrodes • ‘Study’ sounds nicer, friendlier. Even better word? • Driving Test v Test Drive • It’s NOT your fault • Focus on the fault of the computer • “Why did you do that?” • “Why do you think it made you think that?”

  9. Phrasing the tasks • You can’t guess which words people use to describe their information needs • But you can guess it won’t be the ones you thought of! • Don’t give the game away in the task wording • “Can you find the Funformation section on the site?” • “Funformation?? Oh I’d click on the ‘Funformation!!!!’ Link” • “Can you find out if there is a special section of the site for children? • “Hmmm. Oh maybe, I’ll click on the ‘Funformation!!!!’ Link Yes!”

  10. Reporting a study • What you did (exactly) • What happened (clearly) • Why (as far as you can guess) • What to do with that knowledge

  11. Checklist • 1) Anonymize User • 2) Background of User • 3) Details of tasks, exact wording • 4) What they did • 5) What is interesting • 6) What they didn’t do • 7) What was surprising to you • 8) Why they did it • 9) Relation to the literature • 10) Redesign Speculations

  12. Activity • Teams of 3 to 4 • Pick a Museum Website • Create a couple of tasks. Example: • Image you have a family who is thinking of visiting this museum • How do you get there? • When is it open/closed? • How much does it cost for 2 adults & 2 children? • Get a volunteer from another group • Run the study • Don’t help unless essential • Ask followup questions at the end • Thank person, send them pack • Explain to you volunteering team member what happened • Revise task • Tweak, or create some other task • Repeat with a new volunteer

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