Wolverine Access: Faculty Center School of Information | University of Michigan Tiffany Chao, Saurabh Koparkar, Jane Loegel & Megan Morrissey 18 April.

Wolverine Access: Faculty Center

School of Information | University of Michigan

Tiffany Chao, Saurabh Koparkar, Jane Loegel & Megan Morrissey

18 April 2008

SI 622: Wolverine Access- Faculty CenterSlide 2

Presentation Outline

Product Overview–User Population

Methods–Persona and Scenario

Findings and Evidence Recommendations


Product Overview

Faculty Center functions as an online University course management system for faculty and graduate student instructors (GSIs) to conduct administrative duties

Currently known as ‘Teaching Support’

Some new features are:– Class Search, Faculty Search, Browse Catalog– Also offers more customization capabilities, improved interface,

and visual icons


User Population

Faculty Center serves both faculty and GSIs– Faculty (full-time/part-time):

5,542– Graduate Student

Instructors: 2,234

Our target population was very specific and therefore the pool of available and willing participants was limited


Methods Generalized Transition

Network Personas and scenarios Comparative Analysis

– 2 indirect competitors Heuristics Evaluation

– 4 evaluators; 10 heuristic components

Online Survey – 50 respondents

Usability Testing – 3 GSIs, 2 faculty: 5 tasks

Vocabulary Analysis – Metaphor analysis,

object/action analysis, & general vocabulary analysis

Preparing for the Usability Test


Persona & Scenario

Charles Shein, Assistant Professor– Comparative Literature,

English Department

Single, enjoys old war movies

Uses Dell PC laptop computer to type assignments and check email


Scenario

Time: Beginning of the semester Professor Shein wants to download class and photo

roster for the two classes he is teaching Needs to print off both rosters to bring to class Logs onto University wireless network with his

laptop


Summary of Findings

Successes– System provides useful functions– Improved interface compared with predecessor

Areas of Improvement– Finding 1: Inconsistency in terminology throughout

system– Finding 2: The meaning of visual icon functions were

inconsistent– Finding 3: The interface contained layout and color issues


Finding 1- Inconsistency in Terminology

Inconsistency in function of terms used– Learning Management tab and the Learning Management icon– The two have the same name but represent two separate

functions which causes confusion for users

LM tab - takes user to external resources

LM icon - takes user to CTools

Evidence:– Heuristics Evaluation of the Faculty Center System (violation of

‘consistency and standard’ heuristic)


Finding 1- (contd.) Confusing vocabulary

Evidence:– Usability Testing: user responses to task

Class Search – a search function for finding courses

Browse Catalog – a course catalog indexed alphabetically

Both tabs essentially perform the same function


Finding 2- Inconsistency in Visual Representation of

Features Icon does not convey function

– 'download class roster' icon

Evidence (Usability Test):– Substantial amount of time required to find the icon– A tester’s comments - "This is ridiculous!”– The icon was identified only after the icon tool tip was encountered


Finding 2- (contd.)

Lack of consistency among icons– Same icon is used for two different reasons:

1) to show that a class has a waitlist

2) to show that an error has occurred

Evidence:

– Heuristic Evaluation of the Faculty Center System (violation of ‘consistency and standard’ heuristic)


Finding 3- Aesthetic Value Usability is compromised by poor visibility

– Teaching Schedule and Exam Schedule tables difficult to distinguish based on same color scheme.

Evidence: "I wouldn't have known that was the exam schedule, it

looks exactly like the class schedule." - A user from the Usability Test


Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation 1– Establish a visible ‘Help’ feature

Recommendation 2– Enforce visual and vocabulary consistency

across the system Recommendation 3

– Improve the visibility of icons and color differentiation of features


Recommendation 1

Establish a visible ‘Help’ feature for users Short-term goals

– Visual ‘Help’ icon or link– Create a Glossary with explanations of features

• ‘Learning Management’• Differentiation between function of ‘Browse Catalog’

and ‘Class Search’

Long-term goal– Creation of a tutorial or information session for

new instructors


Recommendation 1- (contd.)

Current System

Faculty Center


Recommendation 2

Function of icon should be effectively conveyed: 1) Include the 'download' icon in the icon legend

2) Use the typical University email attachment download

icon; this would achieve consistency

Download Roster


Recommendation 2 - (contd.)

Enforce consistency among icons:1) Use unique icons for different functions

2) Use standard error message icon for consistency


Recommendation 3 Use a different color scheme to differentiate between Exam

Schedule & Class Schedule Make icons larger and more brightly colored to increase

visibility and transparency


Conclusion

Overall, an improved user interface compared to Teaching Support

Some usability issues such as inconsistent visual representations, aesthetics and terminology exist

Short term recommendations:– Improve the terminology inconsistencies

– Change the color scheme to help differentiate the features

Long term recommendations:– Modify the visual icons

– Implement ‘Help’ feature

Thank You! Questions?

Wolverine Access: Faculty Center School of Information | University of Michigan Tiffany Chao, Saurabh Koparkar, Jane Loegel & Megan Morrissey 18 April.

Documents

function slide

faculty search

laptop slide

gsis faculty

limited slide

user population faculty

usability test slide

standard heuristic slide