pic of Sarah HJ, aka The Librarian in Black...in black, of course (but with a blue streak in her hair)
Web Site Redesign: Two Case Studies
Sarah HJ
Kirstine Bobe
Stephen Fernie
Shian-Chih Chang
William Wheeler
Sarah HJ: a public library website redesign: aka the trip to Hades & back!!!
San Jose Public Library.org (add a link from my blog)
merged with San Jose State University library – unique situation – so merged web site
Problems we're solving:
1 site for 2 libs
public lib users felt ripped off
7 year old design
wemaster as gatekeeper = disconnected staff
ADA requirements cumbersome in exisintg environment
Problems encountered while solving the above:
unrealistic expectations from admin
1 year long rfp and contract process
incompetent designers (lost six months)
lost momentum
merged web team working on 3 websites
redesign planning:
stakholders (ie the peeps) identify org goals
techies, designers, and info architects identify how to meet them (the goals)
identify your givens (what you already know...from demographics / surveys)
use planning software (eg BaseCamp...check it out)...also dotproject (add a link)
double the estimated time line
staff and customer involvement:
initial satisf surveys for both – what do they like now? What do they hate?
Card-sorting for testing early on
staff focus groups
mock-up task testing for customers
ask people to perform common tasks and observe success rate
transparency to staff and customers
keep people informed about how the project is moving along
usability testing
identify who you are serving
focus on the few things you do well
tell stories of what your users want
look for friciton points
who is the site for again? (for eg kidszone...for kids or parents?)
can simply grab some peeps from the lib / ask questions
focus on common functions
...our usability study did a good job on this, je pense
accessibility
start simple
basic tools
JAWS, WAVE, browser emulators, OS emulators...can tell you a lot about how your Web site will be usable
Firefox tools: firesizer, firefox accessibility extension, HTML validator
communication
blogs for staff and customers...keep peeps in the loop + respond to comments and suggestions
also use that for staff and customer feedback on an ongoing basis
recruit usability testing participants from among “the angry folk”!!!
project management
set deadlines for everything
hold people accountable
one person should be in charge of tracking
give periodic updates to staff/mngt
spend the most time on IA (information architechture) and design
keep things moving no matter what
celebrate small victories
launch techniques
phased-in launch (notices, pre-testing)
beta + feedback = 1.0...
more feedback....1.1 etc...
perpetual beta...keep listening and improving
TODO: prvoide brief oline and printable orientation (if it takes more than one page, start over, from the beginning!!!)
five things to avoid:
try to be fancy when your brain says NO
allow consultants to push you around
have more than one project manager
stifle creativity
reinvent some wheels
see how other lib handle things you're puzzling over
five things you must do:
show your ego to the door
take risks
document everything
reserach everything
talk to your users continuously
Georgetown Univ Library Web site
Kristina Bode
goal = user centered
task analysis:
know your users...what are they doing at your site (we did this... :) )
used lots of data...google analytics...faqs etc...
master task list:
cut and pasted (literally) big list in to categories
what could people do on the current site...what worked and did not
master list emerged with fab nav
went back to staff who filled in bits with their unique perspective
Steve...
Usability
you need to do it
looked a lot at other similar libs' sites
picked three with distinct approaces to home page org
tested those pages (their bare categories / labels) and tested them on patrons (guerilla style!...walked up to people and asked them)
“if you clicked on this, what would you expect to get?”
insights gained re how to name things...test / prototype / test...perpetual beta (like wash, rinse, repeat!)
Content Management System
needed to be easy (used to use DreamWeaver, moved to Drupal)
Drupal has a steep learning curve...made up with modules
Subject Guides (Shian)
used program develped by Digital Library Development Lab at Univ of Mn : LibData
A to Z list and Subject Guides linked together
seamless integration with Web site
Will Wheeler...Communication...Wiki
used for documentation and communication, both on and off campus
was a new thing for everyone
enabled small group work
adoption challenges...many users requried constant reminders
“tool fatique”
accessibility does not equal use
refine beyond anectdotal data
think about what data you WANT then figure out how to get it
drupal was a big decision...a complex change...slowly-emerging understanding
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