Climate(Central:( Usability(Briefing(

Transcription

1 Climate(Central:( Usability(Briefing( TO:Dr.JackBanks&RuthFitzgerald(WebDesigner) FROM:MarieBrokaw(ENGL334W) Introduction( ClimateCentral swebsiteisatthecoreofatmosphericscienceresearch.crossing thethresholdfromsciencenovicetoclimatemavendependsontheeffective managementofallthesitehastooffer.whenusersvisitclimatecontrol s website,theywillknowtheirinquirieswillbemetwithupqtoqdate, groundbreakingresearch,whichispresentedinanavigable,purposefulmethod. TheinformationincludedinthisbriefingreportisbasedonfirstQhandexperienceinusingtheClimate Centralwebsite.ThisinformationservesasaguidingtoolforthebettermentofClimateCentral s usabilityanduserexperience.theresultsoftheobservationandapplicationphaseofthewebsiteare appliedtotheprinciplesoutlinedbystevekrug(don tmakemethink),guiseppegetto(usabilityand UserExperienceResearch),andtheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(usability.gov).

2 Importance(of(Usability( Thepublic sincreasingawarenessofclimateconcernshasyieldedanincreasingnumberof usersviewingclimatecentral swebsitedaily.usersrangefromclimatescientiststocoastal managerstohomeownerstostudents.appealingtoseveraldifferenttargetaudiencescanlead tomoreinformationthanusersknowwhattodowith.usabilityisimportantformeetingthe needsofuserswhilemeetingthewebsite sgoalsofinformationexchange. First(Look( ThefirstthinguserswillseewhentheynavigatetoClimateCentralisthehomepage.First impressionsareessentialinkeepingusersinterestedlongenoughtogobeyondthehomepage andintothebodyofinformationclimatecentralhastooffer.buthowdowegetusers attractedtothesiteinthefirstplace?aninternetsearchfor ClimateCentral producesa brief,yetmurkyexplanationofthewebsite spurpose.beneathclimatecentral.org,theuser willread: Climate(Central(bridges(the(scientific(community(and(the(public,(providing( clear(information(to(help(people(make(sound ( Fromthisgeneraloverview,weknowlittleotherthanthesiteincludesscientificinformation. BecauseClimateCentralfocusesonclimatechange,agreateremphasisshouldbeputonthe site sofferingstoappealtousers.someoneseekinginformationabouttheclimatewill undoubtedlyhavehundredsofresultstochoosefrom.let smakethechoiceeasierforusers bymakingclimatecentraltheirfirstandonlyoptionforclimateinformation.beneath climatecentral.org,perhapssay: Climate(Central(readily(provides(research,(news,(and(reports(on(climate( science(for(a(more(climate(conscientious(society. ( 2(

3 Let s(talk(about(taglines( Thetaglineonasite shomepagecanbejustasinsightfulasthesiteiditself.typically consistingononeconcisesentenceorphrase(fiveorfewerwords),theusergetsthemission statement,sitedescriptionandidentity,andcontentoverviewwrappedintoone.ausermay onlytakeaglanceatthehomepagebeforemovingontoanothersitewithmoresensory appealsoit sbesttofocusontheattentiongrabbingdetails,nomatterhowminor. Afirstglanceatthesitehomepagerevealsthis: Beneaththe SUPPORT(OUR(WORK clickqtab,wehaveaphrasethatmayormaynotbea tagline.thesentencestates: Researchingandreportingthescienceandimpactofclimate change. FirstimpressionindicatesacatchphraseforthepromotionoftheclickQtabbuttonfor makingcontributionstotheclimatecentralwebsite.butbeforeuserswillwanttodonate, theyneedtohaveaconnectiontothecontentdisplayedonclimatecentral. Figure1:Whenfirstviewingthesite,provideuserswithataglinebeneaththesiteID(logo)willbe quickerandmoreeffectiveincapturingtheirattentionthanthecategoriesof WhoWeAre, WhatWe Do,and AboutOurExpertise. 3(

4 Ifthissentencedoesserveasthewebsite stagline,greattheworkishalfwaydone. However,ifthesentenceismovedbeneaththeClimateCentralsiteID(orlogo),itwillindicate tousersthatitisthesite sdescription,ratherthanawellqintendedsolicitationforthe continuationofclimateresearch. IfthissentencewasnotmeanttobeataglineforClimateCentral,thenoneshouldbecreated. Cleanlinesandasleekdesigncanbeeffectiveinmaintaininganorganized,structured webpage.toomuchwhitespaceonthehomepagecanbeasignofanunfinishedproductor lackofcontent.thetaglineshouldbesuccinctinpromotingclimatecentral.anexampleofa suitabletaglineis: Committed(to(Conquering(Climate(Change. Navigating(Climate(Change( TheeasewithwhichuserscannavigateClimateCentral swebsiteiscriticalintheirdecisiontousethe siteinthefuture.currently,climatecentraliseasytonavigate.withtheclickofthebutton,theuser canjumpfrompagetopage,whiletakingininformationonclimatesciencealongtheway.the difficultycomeswithknowingwheretostartandwheretogo.whenattractingnewusers,itsimportant togaugetheirunderstandingofthesubjectmatter(climatechange)andwhatcontentisbestsuitedto theirneeds.ifapersonisviewingthewebsite,itislikelyforaspecificreason.pinpointingwhois viewing,whattheyalreadyknow,andwhattheyneedtofindoutwillenhancetheirnavigation experience. Whatusersdesirewhenviewinganewsiteisasenseofdirection(Krug57).Usersneedaroadmapto getthemwheretheyneedtobeasquicklyaspossible.noonewantstodrivearoundincircleslooking foradestinationtheyknowisthere,butisjustoutofreach.theexistingsearchboxisagreatstarting pointforbeginningusers,butitmaynotbeenough.let slookintodesigningamoreeffectivewayof separatingcontentbasedonviewers existingknowledgeanddesiredlevelofunderstanding. Thewebsiteseparatesinformationintothefollowingcategories,withsubcategoriesbeneatheach whenyouclickorhoveroverthem: Figure2:Home,News,Research,SpecialReports,Gallery,Videos,StatesofChange,WhatWeDo 4(

5 Thesiteisorganizedwell,ifyouknowwhatitisyouaredoingorlookingfor.Asanewuserviewing thesiteforthefirsttime,theamountofinformationisdaunting.toomuchinformationaboutaneverq changingtopiclikeclimatescienceisinnowayaproblem.itismanagingthisinformationsouserscan findwhattheyneed,whentheyneedit.thecurrentsearchboxmeetsthebroadneedsofallusersand iseasytospot.mostuserswanttotypeinoneword,withtheexpectationthatthewebsitecan interpretexactlywhatthatmeanstotheindividualuserandprovidecorrespondingresultsthatinclude everythingtheuserwanted.withsomuchresearchanddatainthefieldofclimatescience,this methodisnearimpossible.wealreadyhavethebasicsdnowlet sgettospecifics. Suggested(Search(Categories( 1. Narrowdownwhotheaudienceis: a. Whatkindofuserareyou? Climatescientist Cityplanner Coastalmanager ConcernedHomeowner Student Teacher GeneralPublic/TVViewer 2. Determinewhatkindofcontenttheuserislookingfor: a. Whatcanwehelpyoulocate? News Blog Research/ScholarlyArticle b. Whichareaofclimatechangedoyouwanttolearnmoreabout? EnvironmentalEffects LawsandRegulation Communityoutreach Animalandplantlife 5(

6 Asseenabove,thepreviouspageoutlines(verybroadly)potentialtopicstoincludeinamore specific,userqorientedsearchbox.thecategoriesabovearenotallinclusiveandmayleave outinformationthatclimatecentralthinksshouldbeadded.theideabehindcreatinga searchboxwithmorepreferencesistohelpuserseliminateinformationthatisbeyondtheir scopeandtonarrowdownresultsforusers,sotheycanfocusmoreontheresearchandless onthesearching. Conclusion( TheinformationcontainedontheClimateCentralwebsitefarsurpassesthecurrentwebstandardfor providinginformationaboutclimatescience.thewebsite sinformationwillmeettheneedsofusers spanningvaryingeducationalbackgroundsaswellastheirvaryingresearchquestions.areasrequiring furtherwebmanagementinvolvefirstimpressionwebsearches,homepagetaglines,andrefinedsearch boxestobetterorganizeinformation. Recommendation( Thefocusofthewebsiteinthefutureshouldbeclassifyinginformationsouserscanmaximizethe website scontent.gettinguserstoviewthesiteisdependentonasitedescriptionthatenticesusersto seemore.competingforwebsiteviewsandreturninguserswillbeeasierwithamoreaccuratewebsite description.whenfirstviewingthesite,provideuserswithataglinebeneaththesiteid(logo)willbe quickerandmoreeffectiveincapturingtheirattentionthanthecategoriesof WhoWeAre, WhatWe Do,and AboutOurExpertise.Complementingtheexistinginformation,ataglinewillcapturethe reader sattentionsotheywillwanttoreadmoreinqdepthaboutthesite.refiningtheexistingsearch enginewillalleviateuserfrustrationastheinformationtheydesirewillbecomereadilyavailableafter narrowingthetargetaudienceandspecifyingthesoughtqoutinformation. Thequickerthechangescanbemadetothewebsite,thebetteruserfeedbackwillbe.Theimmediacy ofthesechangeswillinfluencethewebsite sappealtonewusersandthesatisfactionofitscurrent users.usabilitytestingisthenextstepinrefiningthewebsite.anoutlineofusabilitytestingis summarizedinappendixa. 6(

7 APPENDIX A: Usability Script Marie Brokaw English 334W Dr. Jack Banks Ms. Ruth Fitzgerald 10/23/16 Recruiting Users: Who are the ideal participants? The first group of participants will be volunteers from a college or university (ODU) majoring in the science field. Participants can range from freshman to senior students, male or female, and varying in the area of science their degree is focused in. College students are accustomed to searching for information and recognizing quickly which sites will provide the researched needed to write academic papers. Perhaps the most focused of all test groups, group one will yield specific data, likely requiring more lengthy changes. A second group will be participants who have an understanding of operating the internet and navigating websites. Age, gender, and occupation are not of concern (all participants must be over 18). Users can be novice or expert, frequent or uncommon computer users, so the desire to participate exists. Compensation will be provided to anyone who volunteers to motivate participants to stay engaged and be honest throughout the usability test. Introducing the Site The usability test must have an introduction to inform participants of the purpose and goals of the test. Sample introduction is as follows: Welcome to the usability testing center. You have volunteered to help Climate Central improve its website by providing honest feedback based on your experience here today. The goal of today s test is to view the website with a fresh perspective (which is where you come in). I will walk you through the tasks as we go along and ask you questions about

8 APPENDIX A: Usability Script your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the website. There are no right or wrong answers, we simply want to get a sense for how the website looks and operates for our web users. The opinions and ideas expressed today will allow Climate Central to better serve users as they navigate the site. Let s get started Now, as testing sites will vary, we won t get into how participants will be observed/recorded. This will be determined by Climate Central and is determined based on time frame, budget, and resources. A consent form will need to be signed and obtained before any participants can begin usability testing. Tasks for Completion Participants will need to complete a set of tasks in order for the monitor to determine what aspects of the site need improvement. Tasks will include hands-on application in seeking and using the site s content. The following are possible tasks: 1. From the homepage, click on the tab that says What We Do. On the next page, click the word People, one of the options under Climate Control s Mission. Identify the staff, board, development, and editorial categories. 2. Go to the tab that says Videos. Select the first suggested video to watch. Now share the video to your social media page. 3. Click on the News tab. Find the date of the most recent article. Click on the Archives year that is the furthest back. Observe the number of articles available for that year. Interview Questions 1. Can you summarize the website s purpose from the homepage? 2. When you searched for a topic, were the results what you had in mind? Were they broad, specific, or just average? 3. Could this site be used as a source for an academic paper? 4. Was the site suitable to your existing knowledge of climate change? Was the content easy or difficult to understand?