Group 3: California Digital Library - Revisions due to Heuristic Evaluation

California Digital Library

Assignment : Interactive Prototype #2

REVISIONS DUE TO HEURISTIC EVALUATION

Heuristic Evalutation of PROTOTYPE #1 and Revisions made to create PROTOTYPE #2

Below is the list of heuristic violations and the revisions made to the design. One change to the interface that is not reflected in the table is that we added alternative text for all of the images to accomodate users who have their images turned off and for users who are visually impaired.

Heuristic Violation* Revisions to Design

[H1 Visibility of System Status, H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 4)
Currently all of the links on the right side of the home page go to the same place. Is there a plan to display only a particular subset, such as "Databases"? If not, this is a problem. (Two of us noted this problem.)

The links from the formats on the front page now takes the user to the browse format page with the branch of the format subset expanded.

[H1 Visibility of System Status] (Severity 4)
The navigation is not always visible, and you cannot rely on the back button to get you back very efficiently. Also, when you click on a triangle next to a subject resource heading (on the Browse page), the link takes you into the middle of the page, obscuring the menu on the left. (All three of us noted some variation of this problem.)

Frames have been implemented to ease navigation throughout the site and to increase the visibility of the leftside menu.

[H1 Visibility of System Status, H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 3)
The "tree" design of the left-hand side menu implies a hierarchy, however, the ranking of elements could be improved. For instance, "About CDL" seems less important than "Help". In addition, the top two choices are access methods to sources, while the bottom seven give information about the site and its services. These should be grouped in some way. Also, why is it broken into two parts-site map and other links? There doesn't seem to be a clear reason. (Some variation of this problem noted by all three.)

The "tree" hierarchy on the left hand side has been clarified by grouping branches with common functions and importance. The link to the site map was removed because this tree structure is intended to function as a abbreviated version of the site map, to ease in navigation.

[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 3)
The marketing blurb at the top of the home page contains quite a bit of extraneous information, and does not belong in such a position of prominence. It could be tightened, clarified, and moved to the bottom of the page, or under a link. (Two of us noted this problem.)

A short description was placed at the top of the page and the long blurb has been moved to a less prominent location.

[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 2)
"Select Sources" is kind of confusing. ("Select" has more than one meaning.) Perhaps "Choose" would be better. Or "Select a Source". (Two of us noted this problem.)

The term "select" has been changed to "choose."

[H5 Error Prevention] (Severity 2)
Search is given too much prominence (placed as the top choice in the menu.) The search page needs more organizational clarity, and some sort of directions for the user. A little more guidance for the user in the overall organization, labeling, and documentation would be useful. For example, what you are searching when you search by "Keyword" is unclear. (Three of us noted some variation of this problem.)

The "Browse Sources" is now placed at the top of the menu list.

[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 2)
The front page was a little confusing; we weren't sure what areas we should be paying attention to. The elements on the left and the elements on the right vie for center stage. It seems that sources are on the right and actions are on the left, but this division is unclear. (Two of us noted some variation of this problem.)

The front page has been redesigned to better guide the user's attention. The left-hand menu bar that was used within the site has been implemented on the front page.

[H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 2)
The terminology of the site map does not match that of the menu on the main page, or the titles on the subsequent pages. (Two of us noted this problem.)

This should no longer be a problem because the mini site map used as a navigational bar in left frame is also included on the main page.

[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 2)
The vertical listing of the browse page is quite long. The user must scroll to see all of the options. The header takes up quite a bit of room. (Two of us noted some variation of this problem.)

The header "Browse by Source" and "Browse by Topic" have been consolidated to one line. The table describing the triangles and the "@CDL" and " "LINK" icons has also been consolidated into one line.

[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 1)
The descriptions of resources are inconsistent-sometimes there is a brief explanation, and sometimes there is just the title of the resource. This is not enough information for the user, who may not know that ABI/Inform is a business database. (Two of us noted this problem.)

This inconsistency is due to the volume of items represented and the time constraint in creating the prototype. For the final product, it is our intention that all resources will have a brief explanation. For our prototype, only the hyperlinked resources have been given descriptions to accommodate our scenarios.

[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 1)
The examples given for "keywords" are confusing- "(e.g., genetics journal abstract)" We're not quite sure what kind of search this will do. (One of us noted this problem.)

The examples have been clarified by refering to the types of keywords.

[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 1)
The color-coded "link" and "CDL" boxes next to each resource are distracting, and they give a very small amount of information to the user. (We feel that many users typically wouldn't be looking for this information.) The buttons also invite clicking, implying affordances that they do not possess. (One of us noted this problem.)

The reasoning for the colored icons was to help illustrate the fact that "CDL" links have common features which are not associated with "LINK" (which take the user outside the CDL site. Pages explaining their differences have now been linked to the legend at the top of the page.

* Heuristic evaluation of our site was conducted by Alison Brandt, Katherine Falk, and Daniel McMahon.

Heuristic Violation*	Revisions to Design
[H1 Visibility of System Status, H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 4) Currently all of the links on the right side of the home page go to the same place. Is there a plan to display only a particular subset, such as "Databases"? If not, this is a problem. (Two of us noted this problem.)	The links from the formats on the front page now takes the user to the browse format page with the branch of the format subset expanded.
[H1 Visibility of System Status] (Severity 4) The navigation is not always visible, and you cannot rely on the back button to get you back very efficiently. Also, when you click on a triangle next to a subject resource heading (on the Browse page), the link takes you into the middle of the page, obscuring the menu on the left. (All three of us noted some variation of this problem.)	Frames have been implemented to ease navigation throughout the site and to increase the visibility of the leftside menu.
[H1 Visibility of System Status, H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 3) The "tree" design of the left-hand side menu implies a hierarchy, however, the ranking of elements could be improved. For instance, "About CDL" seems less important than "Help". In addition, the top two choices are access methods to sources, while the bottom seven give information about the site and its services. These should be grouped in some way. Also, why is it broken into two parts-site map and other links? There doesn't seem to be a clear reason. (Some variation of this problem noted by all three.)	The "tree" hierarchy on the left hand side has been clarified by grouping branches with common functions and importance. The link to the site map was removed because this tree structure is intended to function as a abbreviated version of the site map, to ease in navigation.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 3) The marketing blurb at the top of the home page contains quite a bit of extraneous information, and does not belong in such a position of prominence. It could be tightened, clarified, and moved to the bottom of the page, or under a link. (Two of us noted this problem.)	A short description was placed at the top of the page and the long blurb has been moved to a less prominent location.
[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 2) "Select Sources" is kind of confusing. ("Select" has more than one meaning.) Perhaps "Choose" would be better. Or "Select a Source". (Two of us noted this problem.)	The term "select" has been changed to "choose."
[H5 Error Prevention] (Severity 2) Search is given too much prominence (placed as the top choice in the menu.) The search page needs more organizational clarity, and some sort of directions for the user. A little more guidance for the user in the overall organization, labeling, and documentation would be useful. For example, what you are searching when you search by "Keyword" is unclear. (Three of us noted some variation of this problem.)	The "Browse Sources" is now placed at the top of the menu list.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 2) The front page was a little confusing; we weren't sure what areas we should be paying attention to. The elements on the left and the elements on the right vie for center stage. It seems that sources are on the right and actions are on the left, but this division is unclear. (Two of us noted some variation of this problem.)	The front page has been redesigned to better guide the user's attention. The left-hand menu bar that was used within the site has been implemented on the front page.
[H4 Consistency and Standards] (Severity 2) The terminology of the site map does not match that of the menu on the main page, or the titles on the subsequent pages. (Two of us noted this problem.)	This should no longer be a problem because the mini site map used as a navigational bar in left frame is also included on the main page.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 2) The vertical listing of the browse page is quite long. The user must scroll to see all of the options. The header takes up quite a bit of room. (Two of us noted some variation of this problem.)	The header "Browse by Source" and "Browse by Topic" have been consolidated to one line. The table describing the triangles and the "@CDL" and " "LINK" icons has also been consolidated into one line.
[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 1) The descriptions of resources are inconsistent-sometimes there is a brief explanation, and sometimes there is just the title of the resource. This is not enough information for the user, who may not know that ABI/Inform is a business database. (Two of us noted this problem.)	This inconsistency is due to the volume of items represented and the time constraint in creating the prototype. For the final product, it is our intention that all resources will have a brief explanation. For our prototype, only the hyperlinked resources have been given descriptions to accommodate our scenarios.
[H2 Match Between System and the Real World] (Severity 1) The examples given for "keywords" are confusing- "(e.g., genetics journal abstract)" We're not quite sure what kind of search this will do. (One of us noted this problem.)	The examples have been clarified by refering to the types of keywords.
[H8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design] (Severity 1) The color-coded "link" and "CDL" boxes next to each resource are distracting, and they give a very small amount of information to the user. (We feel that many users typically wouldn't be looking for this information.) The buttons also invite clicking, implying affordances that they do not possess. (One of us noted this problem.)	The reasoning for the colored icons was to help illustrate the fact that "CDL" links have common features which are not associated with "LINK" (which take the user outside the CDL site. Pages explaining their differences have now been linked to the legend at the top of the page.