Effective website design for experience-influenced environments: The case of high culture museums

While most research on website has focused on functional tasks, the Internet offers many opportunities for leisure as well as experiential activities. Because of the evolution of developed society toward an experience economy, analyzing the role of technologies in the presence of prior user experiences makes sense. This research identifies variables that play a role and influence online behaviors in a specific experiential environment, namely the high culture museum website. Relying on the literature on experience, we propose a research model tested with two different websites. The results of the free simulation experiment indicates that (1) esthetics is the most important design criteria for experiential interfaces and (2) that website design influences intentions to visit a physical place.     

What you get is what you see: revisiting the evaluator effect in usability tests

Usability evaluation is essential to user-centred design; yet, evaluators who analyse the same usability test sessions have been found to identify substantially different sets of usability problems. We revisit this evaluator effect by having 19 experienced usability professionals analyse video-recorded test sessions with five users. Nine participants analysed moderated sessions; 10 participants analysed unmoderated sessions. For the moderated sessions, participants reported an average of 33% of the problems reported by all nine of these participants and 50% of the subset of problems reported as critical or serious by at least one participant. For the unmoderated sessions, the percentages were 32% and 40%. Thus, the evaluator effect was similar for moderated and unmoderated sessions, and it was substantial for the full set of problems and still present for the most severe problems. In addition, participants disagreed in their severity ratings. As much as 24% (moderated) and 30% (unmoderated) of the problems reported by multiple participants were rated as critical by one participant and minor by another. The majority of the participants perceived an evaluator effect when merging their individual findings into group evaluations. We discuss reasons for the evaluator effect and recommend ways of managing it.     

Older adults’ use of smart phones: an investigation of the factors influencing the acceptance of new functions

After adopting mobile phones, most older adults use them only for calling and SMS. The purpose of this study is to extend their usage of mobile phones to new functions. To understand older adults’ requirements of mobile phones, a questionnaire was constructed and 351 Chinese older adults were recruited to complete the questionnaires. Data collected through the questionnaires were analysed using explorative factor analysis. The results revealed that older adults’ requirements were composed of 10 factors: Find a Specific Function, Awareness and Attractiveness, Readability, Personal Concern, Soft Keys and Multi-tap, Hardware Capacity, Touch Screen, Concern of Learning, Connectivity, and Social Influence. Then, from the above 10 factors, the 6 most important factors were revealed using multiple linear regression analysis. The results imply that accepting new functions is different from accepting a product. Readability and Find a Specific Function, which are critical for older adults’ acceptance of feature phones, are not determinants of their acceptance of new functions in smart phones.     

虚拟现实全景流体绘画系统的可用性研究

虚拟现实环境给三维空间场景应用带来更强的真实感和身临其境的体验。在虚拟现实场景中经 常需要使用 360全景图像生成沉浸式环境背景,其中全景流体动力学绘画系统提供了一个新的全景图绘制方 法。在调研虚拟现实技术在流体绘画领域应用的适用性测试中,本文综合运用用户测试法、操作日志分析法、 事后问卷调查法和访谈法,对基于虚拟现实的全景式流体绘画创作系统进行可用性评估,并创意性地使用可视 化方法辅助日志分析。所有的受试者均认为系统的可用性不低于一般水平,利用该系统完成流体绘画的创作工 作不需要受试者具有专业绘画经验。受试者对系统的功能效果持积极肯定的意见,并期待尝试用其他交互形式 代替手柄类交互方式以促进艺术创作的表达。其研究方法和结果将为同类系统的开发和评估提供参考。     

Students Weigh In: Usability Test of Online Library Tutorials

Librarians can improve their online tutorials by borrowing usability testing techniques from the computer science field to improve the human-computer interface. This study involved a multimethod usability test of librarian-created tutorials to determine what students learned, how they felt on several affective questions, and what they suggested for improving the tutorials. Results of pre- and post-tests showed that student knowledge increased, and surveys and focus group findings lean to several suggestions for improving engagement and placing tutorials where they will be most effective. This case study demonstrates the value of user input to improve the effectiveness of online instruction for information literacy.     

Investigating the Viability of Multifactor Graphical Passwords for User Authentication

ABSTRACT

Authentication using images (i.e., graphical passwords) is claimed to be one of the alternatives for overcoming weaknesses in the traditional username and password authentication. This paper reports on the study to explore the feasibility of combining two graphical password methods for better security. A graphical password prototype scheme, the Enhanced Graphical Authentication System (EGAS), was developed (which combines the methods of clicking on the image (i.e., click-based) and selecting a series of images (i.e., choice-based). The EGAS was tested by 30 participants randomly chosen from the authors’ university and two evaluations were made; namely user performance of the combined method and the feasibility of authentication strategies toward the introduced method itself. From both evaluations, it is found that positive results have been obtained, which suggest that these methods could be combined together effectively without giving impediment to users.     

Use and non‐use of VDTs—organization of terminal work: Research findings from Swedish cross‐site studies in the field of office automation

A group of users in Copenhagen were asked to evaluate how important a number of user interface characteristics were for them. The results show high importance of efficient daily use and of possibilities for exploratory learning while tutorial materials were of less importance. Users also were asked to evaluate four usability aspects of a number of popular programs. Results show that the quality pleasant to work with has the largest impact on evaluations of overall user‐friendliness while users seem able to view usability independently from the number of features in an application.     

Protocol Analysis of a Federated Search Tool: Designing for Users

SUMMARY

Librarians at Springfield College conducted usability testing of Endeavor's federated search tool, ENCompass for Resource Access. The purpose of the testing was to make informed decisions prior to customizing the look and function of the software's interface in order to make the product more usable for their patrons. Protocol, or think-aloud, analysis was selected as a testing and analysis method. Subjects from the general college community were recruited and given a list of tasks to perform on ENCompass, and they were asked to speak all of their thoughts out loud as they worked. Upon analyzing the test results, researchers found that subjects' problems fell into certain categories, such as unfamiliarity with terms or navigation from screen to screen. The researchers were able to use their findings to recommend extensive revisions to the interface, which improved usability for this library's patrons.     

Designing a Special Library's Intranet for an Engineering Audience

ABSTRACT

Designing a successful library Web site for an engineering audience means researching how engineers find and use information. It also requires the special librarian to conduct usability tests to determine what is and isn't working on the site. The special librarian is more than simply a librarian, he or she must be able to take the research and the test results and either build the Web site or make sure the site is built by a team. The librarian must be able to play several roles: researcher, tester, project leader, and Web manager. The more successful the librarian is at involving users in site design, the more used and usable the site will be. This article describes one librarian's experience with designing a special library Intranet. It also includes an extensive bibliography of related articles.     

Planning and Implementing a Federated Searching System: An Examination of the Crucial Roles of Technical,Functional, and Usability Testing

SUMMARY

Federated searching software offers much promise to users as a convenient way of accessing the wealth of electronic information resources libraries provide. But metasearching is not the same as Google searching; care must be taken in organizing and presenting search options and results so that they are comprehensible to users. From software installation to usability testing and creating documentation, most of the work of implementation is behind-the-scenes and hidden from most library staff and users; however, the decisions made during implementation greatly affect staff and user experiences with the product as well as its overall utility and usability. Systematic testing of the product is necessary to make informed and defensible decisions. This article details three layers of testing (technical, functional, and usability) recommended during implementation of a federated search product, based on best practices in the literature, metasearch standards, and the authors' own experiences with implementing a locally developed broadcast search system and the federated search system WebFeat.