Heuristic Evaluation
by PhotoCat
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Uhle Solution
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Outstanding
Issues |
1. [H1 Visibility] (Severity 2)
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I have a laptop running 1024x768, and
the choices below Material Type are below
the fold. Perhaps you could merge the Uhle
title area with the navigation bar to get rid of the
space on the upper left and bring the content up a little
more on the page.
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We decided not to implement this comment.
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Done |
2. [H7
Flexibility] (Severity 2) |
In my browser
interface, the links on the upper right seemed too close
to the search radio buttons (that are displayed post-search).
You might want to move the links up to the white space
with the title. |
We are temporarily
removing this function for the next user testing until
the backend functionality exists. |
Add in. |
3. [H7
Flexibility] (Severity 3) |
The gray background
combines three forms with three different Go
buttons. Does Search go with the map, or is
it a more global tool like the other items up top (site
navigation_? You could answer that by keeping Search
with the maps background or with the nav bar background. |
We created separate
color sections to distinguish the separate areas. |
Done |
4. [H10
Documentation] (Severity 2) |
The legend in
the corner of the map is unclear. 1-10 what? Im
guessing this means the number of artifacts. A label would
be nice. |
We labeled the
map legend. |
Done |
5. [H1
Visibility] (Severity 3) |
Does Show
All open up all the hierarchical menus? Or does
it check all of the menus, so that clicking Go
will then show all artifacts? Or, is it a fast way to
uncheck all the checkboxes in the facets below? The Show
All checkbox presumably makes the interface ignore any
selection that has taken place in the faceted metadata
area. The checkbox isnt the most appropriate control
and it does not make the consequences of selecting it
very clear. The Show All button and the faceted metadata
node checkboxes may both be selected at the same time
(in seeming conflict). Two radio buttons may be more appropriate
here with two choices: one to show everything and one
to select metadata. When Show All is selected the metadata
area should reflect the state of not being used by being
deactivated. |
We added the
ability to expand all the menus and close all the menus. |
Done |
6. [H1
Visibility] (Severity 3) |
How does Total
Matches field relate to the map above it? Does it
relate to the map, to the facets below, or both? If the
facets and the map are distinct tools and the Total
Matches field pertains to one of them, this should
be communicated somehow. |
We created separate
color sections to distinguish the separate areas. |
Done |
7. [H6
Recognition] (Severity 2) |
When I open the
home page, Im a little unsure of where to start.
It might be nice to give the first-time visitor a clear
pointer as to what to do first (Click on the map? Type
a search keyword?). |
We created a
help page that describes how to search. |
Done |
8. [H6
Recognition] (Severity 3) |
In the featured
artifact display, it might be nice to include the top
breadcrumb links so people can explore the areas under
which the featured artifact is classified. Those links
would also give users clues about how the collection is
organized and how to explore the collection. |
We added content
to the home screen. |
Done |
9. [H1
User Control] (Severity 2) |
It would be nice
to have a Close All button by the facets that
would close all the menus at once to make the interface
uncluttered. Or maybe you could call the button Reset,
and it would uncheck everything as well. |
We added the
ability to Close all the menus. |
Done |
10.
[H1 Visibility of system status] (Severity 2) |
The interface
displays a Name and Password log in area under the navigation
links for the site. Right now the interactive prototype
acts as though people are logged in. It is probably more
appropriate to provide status such as logged in
or showing the username of the person logged in such as
gMail does. Because of the form and no log-in status someone
using the system might be uncertain of their log in status. |
We removed this
feature for this phase of the project. This is functionality
that will need to be included during the life of the project
but not needed for the scope of this design. |
Done |
11.
[H2 Match between system and the real world] (Severity
1) |
Most people
will understand what the log in is asking for with Name
and Password. It may be more appropriately called Username
since name suggest that someone type their name rather
than a username or login. Most sites Ive seen ask
for a Username instead. |
We removed this
feature for this phase of the project. This is functionality
that will need to be included during the life of the project
but not needed for the scope of this design. |
Done |
12.
[H10 Help and Documentation] (Severity 4) |
There is no help
visible for the system anywhere. For the most part, the
system is reasonably straightforward to use, though. |
We added a help
page to assist users. |
Done |
13.
[H4 Consistency and standards] (Severity 3) |
The display
of matches when selecting the faceted metadata seems to
show things in a strange way. It has Total Matches followed
by what appears to be a disabled text box that shows the
number of matches. Also as part of the problem, the Go
button directly follows the disabled text box. This part
of the display seems like a data entry form with a textbox
and a Go button right beside it. As suggested in the GUI
Bloopers book, textboxes should be used to enter data
and not as display devices. Also the Go button probably
goes with the list of faceted metadata in the list below,
yet it appears next to the results. Moving the text box
inside of the faceted metadata selection area would make
its relation more obvious if this is what the Go is referring
to. |
There is no
longer a border showing on this text box. |
Done |
14.
[H7 Flexibility and efficiency of use or H4 Consistency
and standards] (Severity 3) |
The expanding
lists of metadata items have different behaviors on different
items. Sometimes the expanding lists expand by clicking
either the side-arrows next to them or the text of the
item. Sometimes they only expand when the text of the
item is clicked. Many people who click these expanding
lists will expect the list to expand as they click the
side-arrow icon that indicates a closed portion of a list.
The same goes for folding them back up by clicking the
down arrow icon. |
We changed all
the menus to be consistent. |
Done |
15.
[H4 Consistency and Standards, H5 Error prevention] (Severity
4) |
The search options
for Within search results and new search do not operate
correctly as radio buttons normally do. Both may be selected
at the same time. It also makes the state unclear and
its unclear which type of search is being performed
when both are selected and cannot be deselected. Also,
its often traditional to place a Go or Submit button
after all the form fields related to it (such as after
these two options). |
We are temporarily
removing this function for the next user testing until
the backend functionality exists. |
Done |
16.
[H5 Error Prevention and H6 Recognition rather than recall]
(Severity 3) |
In both the
search results and the details screen there is a Remove
link next to either the search or the facets. It was unclear
what this does in the details screen in which it is shown
next to the facets. Does this indicate that any user may
remove this object from this facet? Or does this indicate
that the user is no longer interested in limiting by this
item? Or does this indicate that the facet is being removed?
If the use is unclear then it may cause errors or people
will need to remember what the items does because of the
ambiguity. Maybe this is unclear because I dont
know some tidbit about archeology. |
We created a
colored box that surrounds the entire parameter set so
that remove is more easily associated with the grouping. |
Done |
17.
[H1 Visibility of system status and H2 Match between system
and the real world] (Severity 2) |
The thumbnails
screen shows small thumbnails of each item with its collection/item
number underneath as a caption. Does this small caption
present the most useful information in the available space?
Im not sure what piece of information your target
users will want to see the most with each thumbnail since
there is limited space. I suspect that a collection number
might not be the most useful. It might be useful, however,
since this is a specialized application and perhaps this
number is of great significance to archeologists. I know
in everyday life, most people do not want to see the item
number of an item when they are shopping. They would rather
see its name or description. |
We added more
information to the thumbnails. |
Done |
18.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design](Severity 2) |
If users are
required to login before they can view any of the elements
in the collection creating a separate login page might
make sense. Would remove the login from the main screen. |
We removed this
feature for this phase of the project. This is functionality
that will need to be included during the life of the project
but not needed for the scope of this design. |
Done |
19.
[H1 Visibility of System Status](Severity 2) |
Seems like if
you are giving Total Matches a dynamic changing
value it might be good to show the factors that are changing
the values. |
The check boxes
relate to the Total Matches. We'll see how this plays
out in user testing. |
dna |
20.
[H7 Flexibility and Efficiency of Use] (Severity 2) |
The numbers
of Total Matches should be updated as a user
moves through the entire hierarchy not just when they
click the check box. Or, if this approach isnt taken,
this aspect of the system should be re-examined: total
matches for each category, or something like that. |
As a design
decision, we decided to test this at the simpler level.
We'll see how this plays out in user testing. |
dna |
21.
[H3 User Control and Freedom] (Severity 3) |
Map should be
click-able for those users who want to navigate to a specific
site quickly without having to use the drop downs. |
We are using
a map tool that is yet to be implemented. |
Map |
22.
[H7 User Control and Freedom] (Severity 3) |
In scenario
3 the user was supposed to print results. But the results
in both text and photos view are broken up six per page.
User should be able to define the number of elements per
page. User should be able to define number of element
on a page so printing is a feasible option. |
We created a
print option that opens a print window, where the user
can print from. |
Done |
23.
[H2 Match between system and Real World] (Severity 2) |
In the interview
data you mention that a user suggested the text view,
perhaps there are more fields that can be displayed? Also
might be useful to sort by terms. This doesnt really
have much more data than the photo view. |
We added more
fields to the text view. |
Done |
24.
[H7 Recognition Rather than Recall] (Severity 2) |
Should be able
to see the textual data in the grid view with the images
of the artifact, so the user doesnt have to remember
the artifact number. |
We added more
fields to the text view. |
Done |
25.
[H7 Flexibility and Efficiency of Use] (Severity 2) |
Should highlight
the location(s) on the map that have been selected when
viewing searches. |
We are using
a map tool that is yet to be implemented. |
Map |
26.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 3) |
On the search
results page there is a bread crumb trail that has a remove
at the end seems like clicking one of the links would
move back without needing remove. Now we understand this
function but the remove is very confusing. |
We created a
colored box that surrounds the entire parameter set so
that remove is more easily associated with the grouping. |
Done |
27.
[H2 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 3) |
If the <<
and >> arrows are going to be used on the search
result pages (photo, text) there should be << >>
on the single image page to allow a user to move through
the images/data without having to go back to the results. |
We put <<
>> on the detail pages. |
Done |
28.
[H2 Match between system and the real world] (Severity
rating 3) |
I understand
that the map is going to be developed with a pre-existing
map tool, but I think it lacks enough information to really
represent the data. The size of the blue dots is understood,
but I dont think enough geographic information is
offered. I would suggest rollovers or tool-tips
maybe
give longitude/latitude or other info when a blue dot
is touched? I dont think that cardinal directions
are enough information about the map. I would even suggest
that since the map shows a detailed area, it map as an
inset to a larger map, placing it in context to its relative
geographic location. |
We are using
a map tool that is yet to be implemented. |
Map |
29.
[H7 Flexibility and efficiency of use] (Severity 3) |
I desperately
want to touch the blue dots on the map and
have them bring up some data. Because the map is located
directly over a navigational system, it comes off looking
like a driver, or an area that allows you
to input and control output. The blue dots evoke a sense
of interactivity to me and Im disappointed that
I cannot click on them. |
We are using
a map tool that is yet to be implemented. |
Map |
30.
[H7 Flexibility and efficiency of use] (Severity 3) |
There is something
I dont like about the position of the views/thumbnails/text
only menu. Being at the far right of the screen,
its a very inactivated area of the screen. The eye
doesnt often go there. Also, how do I know that
that is an option before beginning my search? Why does
it only pop up after search results are produced? I think
this fact is more significant than screen positioning.
I would suggest to make this option visible from the first
screen so the user can know what the options are before
starting out. In turn, I would move it in to the upper
left / left portion of the screen where it will be more
active and more visible. |
We changed the
layout of the thumbails/ text only views. We also implemented
radio buttons that indicate which the user is looking
at. |
Done |
31.
[H7 Flexibility and efficiency of use] (Severity 2) |
What are my
options for search? I think that the search mechanism
needs to be either more documented/annotated or perhaps
enhanced. Are there options? Is it all the same? Would
it help your audience to have a more refined search, or
a short blurb that explains how searching works? Either
add more controls or a label: do I enter a tribe, an area,
a keyword, or what? |
We added a help
screen to cover such questions. |
Done |
32.
[H8 Aesthetic and minimalist design] (Severity 4) |
Because it isnt
implemented yet, its hard to know how this will
work and look, but I caution against how the constant
links at the top will work with the navigation on the
left and the display space. I would not want
to click uhle biography or history of
the collection and still see the map/options on
the left, unless they were relevant in some waycould
the map reflect data about the history of the collection
and be interactive? Otherwise, be careful how this info
gets displayed. Im also not clear as to why these
links need to be constants at the top, seen throughout
all search screens, etc.are they really that relevant? |
We changed
these links to open in a window separate from the display
area for search results. We believe this will be particularly
useful in using help, where a user may want the screens
to be side by side to walk through steps. |
Done |