Writing Studio

The Writing

StudioA Usability Analysis Report

Andrea L. Beaudin ▪ Jeremy F. Huston ▪ Michael R. TriceTexas Tech University

Report Overview

Study Purpose and Goals Methodology Results and Analysis Recommendations

Study Purpose and Goals

Client Purpose and Goals

Client Purpose Determine usability of

profile page navigation of the Writing Studio

Identify areas where usability could be improved

Client Goals Increase effectiveness

of site navigational elements for users

Increase comprehension of individual navigational elements on website

Make the interface familiar and usable for users of popular social media

Study Purpose and Goals

Study Purpose Determine what areas of the profile page are the

most/least memorable, error-prone, efficient, and learnable

Study Goals Determine whether the navigation on the profile

page is intuitive Investigate what navigational components may

be leading to and increasing the frequency of errors, and determining recoverability of those errors

Determine the learnability of specific functions (creating blogs and e-portfolios) performed from the profile page

Evaluate comparative cognitive load across tasks

User Profiles Multiple Users

Students 17-21 year-old first-year students (first-time users) 22+ year-old first-year students (first-time users) High school students (first-time users) Intermediate users (1 year experience) Expert users (2+ years experience)

Instructors Novice/Beginner Intermediate Expert

Writers not affiliated with classes

Methodology

MEELS ▪ Procedures ▪ Participants ▪ Tasks

MEELS Memorability

If a user has used the system before, can he or she remember enough to use it effectively the next time or does the user have to start over again learning everything?

Efficiency Once an experienced user has learned to use the system,

how fast can he or she accomplish tasks? Errors

How often do users make errors while using the system, how serious are these errors, and how do users recover from these errors?

Learnability How fast can a user who has never seen the user interface

before learn it sufficiently well to accomplish basic tasks? Satisfaction

How much does the user like using the system?

Procedures

Testing Environment: TTU Usability Lab Morae

Mouse tracking Click measurement Task time Screen capture Video Survey administration

Eye tracking Retrospective Recall

System Software: Windows XP Firefox

Research Roles: Facilitator Observer Note Taker

Measures for Optimal Use Mouse clicks Task time

Participants Solicited via email and class invitation 5 first-year full-time FYC students at Texas Tech 4 males, 1 female 17-21 years old No experience with Writing Studio All Blackboard CMS users

On a scale of 5 (highly confident) to 1 (not confident at all) rated CMS confidence between 4 (40%) and 3 (60%) self-reported comfort level with CMS

Online Writing Frequency Weekly (60%) Daily (40%)

Online Writing Spaces All used Facebook and Email One indicated blogs; another listed Comment Fields

Tasks

Task Purpose

1 Create user account Establish user in systemDetermine usability of account creation process

2 Create profile with image

Introduce user to My Page interfaceMeasure navigation and functionality

3 Create blog NavigationEvaluate comparative cognitive load

4 Create blog entry NavigationMeasure memorability and learnabilityEvaluate comparative cognitive load

5 Check/Change Password(repetitive task)

NavigationMeasure memorability and learnabilityEvaluate comparative cognitive load

6 Create ePortfolio(repetitive task)

NavigationMeasure memorability and learnability

Results and Analysis

Navigation ▪ Functionality ▪ Design

Navigation 60% of users resulted to using the back

button to return to the main page during at least one task.

40% of users closed the profile setting options before creating a profile.

On average, changing a password took 3 extra steps and a full minute longer than expected.

Eye-tracking data and quotes suggest users were confused bylack of conventional navigationstructure along left sidebar andhorizontal headings.

—User 6

“The hardest part was finding where to go to create the profile.”

—User 3

Eye tracking suggests that although users initially followed the standard “F” pattern for scanning the page (Task 1 and the beginning of Task 2), by the end of the test, there was no discernible focus area. Users were looking everywhere on the screen to complete tasks.

Users performed best at creating blogs and ePortfolios. Task times were within 30 seconds and 20 seconds of optimal range for each, respectively.

No users made use of the search box 60% of users rated profile creation

either “difficult” or “very difficult”

User Quote:Functionality

Design4 links

10 drop down menu

s5

graphic

icons9

graphic

icons

8 tabs2 links

2 buttons

search box

icon

link

2 breadcrumb

s

Design: Clicks per Task

—User 3

Design

Recommendations

Navigation ▪ Functionality ▪ Design

Navigation

Simplify navigation with context sensitive menus

Or conceptually group navigational elements

Cluster navigational elements on left of page

Offer direct navigation to profile page and class pagefrom blogs

Functionality

Option to hide elements: Add a reset button Or “return to default”

Make link styles more uniform

Correct upload issues with user photos (fixed?)

Add webcam option for photo upload

Rename “Password” to “New Password”; move “Current Password” field above “New Password”

Design

5 graphi

c icons

9 graph

ic icons

8 tabs2 links

2 buttons

icon

Users looking for a more “Facebook” type navigation

Design

Conclusion

Navigation ▪ Functionality ▪ Design

Conclusions

Writing Studio offers a full suite of options to writers and provides a “bottom up” model for writing instruction.

The platform provides a great deal of control for users / students

Based on user testing, minor design/ navigation tweaks could increase the usability of the site

Addendum

Following Up

Following Up

After the initial presentation, Mike Palmquist instituted major changes to site, including security updates, feature redesigns, and a server upgrade. Most notable, however, was the site redesign, particularly of the Personal Page.

Following Up

“Some of the most visible changes to the site include a major upgrade to the Personal Pages as well as to the management pages for our classes, wikis, and writing tools. We've dropped the tabbed interface on our pages and replaced it with a simpler and (we hope) easier to use set of links. We've also worked to eliminate the drop-down menus that we used so extensively in the past.”

—Mike Palmquist, “Writing Studio News and Updates”

Following Up: Redesigned Page

New page is considerably streamlined

Personal Page menu options have been moved to right

Content (dependent upon menu choice) appears below profile

Thank You

Usability testing can identify situations and potential problems; the key is what to do with the information once the testing is done. Mike Palmquist worked with our recommendations to implement a redesign that was not altogether radical (so that more experienced users would not be disoriented), but is clearly more streamlined and user-friendly. The changes are subtle, yet effective.

We wish to thank Mike Palmquist and all those involved with the Writing Studio for their support and receptiveness.