Is enough, enough?

I've discussed the Computer Lab @ the Oxnard Public Library several times over the past few weeks and — surprise — I'll be looking at it again for another UX adventure. 

This time, I'm looking at two (or more) existing signs at the library. As it happens, there are several that are ripe for redesign right at the Computer Lab's sign-up station. As I previously mentioned, the signs at the station are a bit confusing, as they contain a great deal of text but aren't displayed very prominently. 

The sign above the PC tower explains how to sign-up and — perhaps even more importantly — that you only need use the station if there are no available PCs in the lab. The steps are fairly easy, but very few (if any) patrons ever see the disclaimer about not really needing the station if the lab isn't at capacity. Further, the wording on the sign regarding PC assignment mentions a five minute "grace period" and screams "Do not wait 5 minutes!" at the end. What is really trying to be said is that, if you don't log in within five minutes after your name comes up, the PC you were assigned will be assigned to the next person on the waiting list. 

Let's Play a Game

This week, let's take a look at some nifty collaborative games you can conduct with patrons, coworkers, and/or stakeholders to gather valuable information that can help overcome pesky design problems. 

I've included a few synopses of some of my favorite Design Games presented by the folks at the aptly named www.designgames.com.au.

Design the Box

What is it?

Participants get together and design a box for a product — even one that is not actually boxed, such as a service — and create a product, tagline, key features, and constraints an/or requirements. All you really need to play this game is a box — perhaps an old cereal box covered in white paper — markers, and a product or service to design for. 

Surfin' Safari: Contextual Inquiry @ the OPL

Let's head back to the OPL, this time for a little Contextual Inquiry! 

What is contextual inquiry you ask? Why, according to Aaron Schmidt (2011), it's "a method used to gather data about users and how they interact with a product." Essentially, one observes users in context — that is, in the environment in which they use said product — and uses these observations to optimize the user experience. 

Got it? Good, let's get to it.

Everybody Wants a Thrill: Patron Journey Maps

As I continue the exploration of all things User Experience, I'll once again turn to my beloved Oxnard Public Library (OPL) and creating Customer Journey Maps or, as I call them here, Patron Journey Maps (PJM). 

For an overview of what a PJM is — what she calls Experience Maps — I defer to Silvana Churruca, the self-proclaimed UX Lady:

"Experience Map is an important design tool to understand our product/service interactions from users’ point of view. One experience map is basically a visual representation that illustrate users’ flow (within a product or service) their needs, wants, expectations  and the overall experience for a particular goal" (2013).

Based on this, I've attempted to chart a particular service that the OPL currently offers through the eyes of a patron — using a computer to print a document. We'll call this patron "Bill." To help you visualize Bill as he goes through the process of printing his document, I've included a photo of a random "Bill" I found on Flickr. Hi, Bill.

“Safari, so goody.”

In this look at User Experience, I'll be going over some Service Safaris I've done this past week. Service Safaris are, in essence, focused observations of stores, venues, or even public buildings.

Through these observations, one can gain insight into positive and negative aspects of the customer/patron/user experience from that of a customer/patron/user. By recording one's experience through "taking notes, photographs, and even furtive cell phone videos," one can take these detailed observations back to the library to spark conversations about "how [one's] library handles similar situations"  (Schmidt, 2012). The idea is that -- by critiquing the service of others, even retail or food service locations -- Service Safaris can lead to improvements in any institution that partake in providing a user experience. 

Is this a statue of children
being overtaken by a Tsunami?

Before embarking on my own Safari, I appropriated Aaron Schmidt's sample questions to create a worksheet that I filled out as I visited both Barnes and Noble Booksellers and Menchie's Frozen Yogurt at the the Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks, CA. 

It is probably worth noting that the Promenade is a very, very upscale shopping center in a very, very upscale neighborhood. Upbeat music drips from hidden speakers, the lanterns are stained-glass, and terrifying sculptures litter the walkways between shops. Given the quality (read: cost) of most stores at the Promenade, I generally have no reason to go there aside from Cinépolis, a movie theater that feels like sitting in first class on an airline. Unfortunately, my home town is devoid of a Barnes and Noble, and both Ventura and Thousand Oaks are equidistant. I alternate, and it was Thousand Oaks' turn. 

Reach Out and Hug a Spreadsheet

For this week's dive into the ocean of User Experience I'll once again be looking again at the Oxnard Public Library's (OPL) website and performing a mini content inventory/audit. Everyone's favorite scholarly resource, Wikipedia, defines content inventories and audits like so:

A content inventory is the process and the result of cataloging the entire contents of a website. An allied practice—a content audit—is the process of evaluating that content.^[1][2][3] A content inventory and a content audit are closely related concepts, and they are often conducted in tandem.

I'll be looking at a small sample size of fifteen different pages from the site and logging them into a spreadsheet.  For the inventory portion, I'll be including various administrative information, such as a Page ID, Page Name, URL, Date of Last Update, and the number of both Words and Graphics on the corresponding page. 

This is, in all honesty, as tedious a task as it sounds and, as Christopher Detzi points out, "can be a painstaking and time-consuming process depending upon how much content is on the website." Imagine logging all this information from an enormous 10,000+ page website. It's a terrifying prospect. 

Yet, it might be worth it. Detzi calls a content audit -- the qualitative interpretation of the quantitative data collected in the content inventory -- an "exceptionally powerful tool." Further:

Beyond the basic assessment of a website’s content quantity and quality, [content audits] help designers understand an information space, facilitate strategic conversations, and uncover substantive insights that directly influence design direction and strategy.

Inventories, too, have value in and of themselves. Kristina Halvorson (who inspired this post's title) notes that a content inventory is "an outstanding way to keep up with your ever-evolving web presence," and:

Simply having all of your web content assets listed in one place can help you see important content attributes at-a-glance, like who owns what, or what still needs updating.

Essentially, content inventories capture the scope of your site's resources while audits capture how well said resources are performing. 

What the heck is that?!: Testing OPL's Usability

For my next assignment, let's take another look at my favorite local library, the Oxnard Public Library (OPL). We'll be returning once again to concepts from Steve Krug's Don’t Make Me Think, though we'll be focusing solely on usability testing. On usability testing, Krug states that:

If you want a great site, you've got to test. After you've worked on a site for even a few weeks, you can't see it fresh anymore. You know too much. The only way to find out if it really works is to test it (133).

and

Testing reminds you that not everyone thinks the way you do, knows what you know, uses the Web the way that you do (134).

This, essentially, means that designers and members of an institution that design and/or create the material for a website are too close to both the site and information it contains. None of these people are going to see a site the way a random visitor will, nor will they encounter the same delight or frustration that that same visitor will. 

Usability testing is necessary to see your work how others will. Think of it as having a friend or colleague proof-read your report.