Hello Library All!
The Usability Committee is recommending a change in the design of the search box on the Libraries home page in order to improve user experience.
You may recall that usability testing of the Libraries redesigned (current) home page in 2012 showed that students did not use the dropdown menu next to the search box to limit their searches. Instead, they simply used the default search (Summon) whether or not that was appropriate. Using the data from these tests, John Murphy created several mockups of a potential new search tool.
In the Summer and Fall of 2013, graduate students and faculty were shown the current design -- where they repeated the behavior noted in previous usability testing -- and the new mockups. Feedback was gathered on the old and new designs, and a single mockup (with some adjustments) was chosen as the best search option to help users discover the materials they need.
A new round of usability testing was performed in Fall of 2013 on the new mockup, and results were generally successful. The results of these tests are available on the Staff Website, along with the testing videos: http://staff/index.php/Usability_Reports#Search_Box_Mockups_Usability_Te... (available only from within the Libraries, or via VPN).
The mockup that was tested and that the Committee is recommending is available for your using pleasure at http://staff/stuff/usability1/forced.html . Note that it looks very similar to the current design, but that it behaves very differently.
Any and all feedback is appreciated!
- The Usability Committee
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