Participants needed for web usability studies

How would you sum up your user experience (UX) with University of Utah websites? Is the content clear or confusing? Are webpages intuitively designed or a challenge to navigate? How about on mobile devices?

To answer these questions, UIT’s University Support Services (USS) group is seeking volunteers for a series of user studies aimed at improving the U web experience. Feedback from the studies – open to students, faculty and staff – will shape current and future web applications.

“What makes [a usability study] so invaluable is that it gives us the ability to address how a user feels about using a system, rather than just focusing on what that system looks like, and how it works,” said Kelsey Loizos, senior UX developer in USS.

To be eligible, complete this short survey.

A final pool of participants and dates for the studies have yet to be determined.   

Good usability doesn’t happen overnight; it requires thorough testing and refining.

For example, Loizos and her team have been conducting usability studies to fine-tune UIT’s Service Catalog. The first phase involved user interviews, followed by hands-on testing at a Marriott Library computer lab. In the latter tests, users were prompted to perform a series of tasks then asked to comment. Usability software Morae was used to collect quantitative data for analysis while a web cam provided developers with a way to pinpoint any moments of confusion or frustration.

Loizos said that the next phase is typically card sorting, in which users physically sort items, or services in the above example, into categories that make sense to them. All previous data is used to inform the design of mockups, which are developed into a visual guide called a website wireframe. At this point, users are invited back to retest on a semi-functional prototype. Once a new or revamped website or app is complete, the final phase is usability testing on the developed product.

“We use a variety of methods and techniques to ensure that the needs of our users are met. These include improving the usability, accessibility, and overall value that the finished product brings to the user,” Loizos said.

 

Node 4 Search