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Usability Testing Recommendations
The following recommendations are derived from the Sakaibrary Usability Testing Report. Refer to this document for full details on issues and recommendations, they are only paraphrased below.
Issue | Recommendations | Implementation Options |
|---|---|---|
Confusion with the process of adding an item | Provide online help, change "Add" link & button to "Add Item" | In Sakai 2.4, the process for adding a resource will be changed (see Resources, UI changes to support resource type registry). Control of buttons on resource content pages will be under the control of the resource itself as opposed to the Resources tool - Mark's page-by-page process button label |
Title and Description field | Adding more to "Title" and "Description" labels making clear what it is they are describing | In Sakai 2.4, these details will be moved to the end of the resource addition process (see Resources, UI changes to support resource type registry), causing no ambiguity when the user first sees the Citation List Editor. |
Confusion with the pull-down menu | Changing labels, adding brief help on item types, adding explanatory text for item types | In Sakai 2.4, the process for adding a resource will be changed (see Resources, UI changes to support resource type registry). |
Understanding the concept of "Add Item - Citation List" | Add instructional headings, maintain scroll positioning of a page when refreshing | Create a tabbed interface where search results and citation list editing are side-by-side and notify users of added citations and citation editing ability - see Search Results & Citation Editing tabs mockup. |
Export Option and Check boxes | Use a button instead of link, move button closer to list | Have a listing of actions to perform on selected citations - see Citation List Editor mockup. |
Citation List Order | fix stability bug, allow for user re-ordering | Resources currently allows the re-ordering of a list of resources - see attached Resource reordering screenshot. |
Search Set/Category selection | integrate online help, integrate subject category selection |
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Search vocabulary | add more description in an advanced search, provide examples under the search text box | Have hints for search fields - see search interface mockup. |
Next page/show # items per page | move the "Viewing 1-10 of 233" label closer to search results, include paging controls at the bottom of the search results. | |
Search Results - Additional info | make the abstract and additional information available by clicking on citation title | View search results mockup and click on record 3, "The gospel according to The Beatles" |
Search Results - Sorting | give options for sorting or convey to the user the method of sorting | This can be done for fully-merged search results (i.e. Xerxes' "Top Results") |
Search Results - Full-text option | provide a "full-text only" filter for search results | no mockup or references at this point, but possible using SFX API |
Search Results - miscellaneous | add a "Cancel Search" button, number search results | |
Citation Editing Field Labels | clarify fields with help links, have more pertinent fields at the top of the page (journal title, author, volume, issue, pages, etc.) with more esoteric labels towards the bottom or under an "Advanced Properties" feature. | no mockup or references at this point though the functionality of "Advanced Properties" would be like "Optional Properties" for resources in Sakai 2.3. |
Read only view - clicking on the title of a citation | open citation details in a new window, only color the clicked citation to "visited" | We could use the same floating div idea from the Citation Editing tab (click the Citation Editing tab, click "The gospel according to The Beatles") for the read-only view. |
Read only view - style formats | provide a way to display citations in MLA/APA/etc. | no mockup or references yet, though this could be something added to actions that can be performed on selected citations (along with Export, etc.). |
The term "Citation List" | many options | no mockups or references yet |
UI options for Sakai 2.4 priorities
(these priority areas for the Sakai 2.4 time frame are as of 6 Jan 2007)
The following UI issues and implementation options are in regards to Sakai 2.4 priorities that are not covered in the Usability Testing Recommendations above.
Issue | Implementation Options |
|---|---|
Google Scholar Integration | no mockups or references yet |
Advanced/fielded search | |
Search target configuration and selection |