Elizabeth Laera

LS 560 – Heather Mays

18 June 2009

Usability Test Project

Library Website
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s University Libraries homepage will be used
for this study. The URL is www.lib.unc.edu.

Representative Users
In order to test the usability of UNC’s library’s website, five reprehensive users will be selected
at random from the following categories:
Incoming Freshman– the student should be a traditional student, between eighteen and twenty
years old, with average computer skills for someone his age. The student should not have used
the library website before.
Non-Traditional Incoming Student – the student can either be returning to or beginning
college-level course work. If the student is returning, he should not have attended any institution
for higher education in the past fifteen years. The non-traditional student should be between the
ages of thirty-five and fifty-five with a self-described average knowledge of computers and the
Internet.
Faculty Member– the faculty member can be from any department, but should be someone who
uses the library and its resources for research purposes on a regular basis. There is no age or
knowledge level requirement for the faculty member.
Distance Education Student– the student should be a current student of the university
participating in a distance education program of some type. The student should have an average
or above average knowledge of computers and the Internet and a frequent user of the library
website for research purposes.
Administrator or Support Staff– this person should be in direct contact with donors, alumni,
and potential students of the university with the potential to share information about the library
and its website. This person should be between thirty-five and fifty-five years of age and have
an average knowledge of technology.

Setting for Test

Persons fitting the user profiles will be contacted by email to request their participation in the
study. The first person in each category to commit to the study will be the designated user. The
study will take place at a given time in a computer lab reserved for this purpose. No other
students or public users will be allowed to enter the room during the study. The participants will
receive a brief introduction to the purposes behind the study and will be made aware of any
possible publication outcomes of the study. The participants will be made as comfortable as
possible during the course of the study and will receive a thank-you gift for their involvement.

Testing and Data Collection

The users will be given a handout that gives them detailed instructions on what to do. The user
will be asked to complete five tasks, locate a specific book in the catalog and give its location
and call number, identify the current music library hours, request a student research consultation,
contact a librarian through the chat service, and identify a databasein three different subjects.
After performing each task, the participant will be asked a series of questions on the ease of the
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task, the length of time it took to complete the task, and their level of satisfactionwith the website
and with themselves as a user. After completing all the tasks, they will be asked to answer
several questions relating to their overall view of the library website. Please see attached sheet
for the handout. Data will be collected through the surveys conducted during and after the study.
Using a software such as Adobe Captivate or Camtasia, the length of time it took to perform each
task, the amount of mouse clicks it took for the user to perform each task, and the total amount of
time need to complete the study will be measured.

Findings
The findings of this study will be used to judge the usability of this website. It will help the
library staff to better understand the users and the virtual needs of the university community.
The study will also determine which user group struggles the most in navigating the website and
how this could possibly be resolved. Each answer will be evaluated individually and then
compared to the group. The data will be complied into a spreadsheet and then generated into a
graph if necessary. The number of mouse clicks and times will be displayed in a linear graph to
better highlight the advantages and disadvantages in each user group. The goal is to look at the
information as a whole to judge the usability and for each group specifically. The team should
be most concerned with improving the website so that even the least experience user can perform
simple tasks without instruction.

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 University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill Library
Website Usability Survey
Thank you very much for volunteering to participate in this study. Your
opinions will go a long way in determining how best to tailor our
library’s website to best suit our users. This study will last
approximately 30 minutes and will not ask you for any personal
information. Please be aware that you are being monitored for the
purposes of this study only. The number of clicks you make with your
mouse and the length of time it takes you to complete the study are
being recorded. If you are uncomfortable with this or any part of this
study please make the surveyors aware at this time. Again, thank you
for your participation!

Instructions

In the following pages you will be asked to complete five tasks that
measure the usability of this website. Immediately after performing
each task, please briefly answer the questions thatfollow and then return
to the library’s homepage. At the end of the survey, please complete the
final section of questions. There is no right or wrong answer to any of
these questions, just as there is no one “correct” way to complete any of
the tasks. Please take as much time as you need and please express your
opinion honestly.

Task 1
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From the library’s homepage, please search the catalog for The Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Treesby David More. You may search for the book in any way you please.

Were you able to locate the book?

In what library is the book located? What is its call number?

Is a limited preview through Google Books available?

Questions About Task 1

1. Were you able to easily locate the catalog on the homepage?

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a very short amount of time and 5 being a very long
amount of time, how long did it take you to locate this book?

3. From the results screen, were you able to locate all the information requested?

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, with one being not challenging at all to 5 being very challenging,
how challenging was this task?

Task 2
Locate the Music Library’s current hours of operation. What are they?

Questions About Task 2

1. Were you able to easily locate the hours of operation for the Music Library? If not, what
problems did you encounter?

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a very short amount of time and 5 being a very long
amount of time, how long did it take you to find the hours of operation for the Music
Library?

3. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being not challenging at all to 5 being very challenging,
how challenging was this task?

Task 3
Find the Research Consultation form. Who is eligible for this service?

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 Questions About Task 3
1. Were you able to locate the research consultation request form? If not, what problems
did you encounter?

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a very short amount of time and 5 being a very long
amount of time, how long did it take you to complete this task?

3. There are several ways to get to this form. How did you locate it?

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, with one being not challenging at all to 5 being very challenging,
how challenging was this task?

Task 4
Contact a librarian at the Undergraduate Library. What is the name of the librarian on duty?

Questions About Task 4

1. Were you able to contact a librarian? If not, what problems did you encounter?

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a very short amount of time and 5 being a very long
amount of time, how long did it take you to complete this task?

3. There are several ways to contact a librarian, chat, email, text, and in person. Which
method would you prefer?

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, with one being not challenging at all to 5 being very challenging,
how challenging was this task?

Task 5
Locate the E-Research Tools. List one database in each of the following subjects: Film Studies,
Law, Spanish.

Questions About Task 5

1. Were you able to locate the E-Research Tools and the list of subjects? If not, what
problems did you encounter?

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a very short amount of time and 5 being a very long
amount of time, how long did it take you to complete this task?

3. In your opinion, is E-Research Tools a good name for this section? If not, what keywords
would better improve your chances of finding the location of the databases?

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, with one being not challenging at all to 5 being very challenging,
how challenging was this task?

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 Final Questions
1. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not challenging at all to 5 being very
challenging, how challenging were these tasks?

2. If provided, would you take a tutorial or a short seminar on how to navigate the library’s
webpage?

3. In your opinion, what is the best feature about UNC Library’s webpage? The worst?

4. We are now operating a new catalog. From what you have seen, do you think this is a
good way to search for books and other materials in the library system? Why or why
not?

5. Do you have any further comments?