Usability Evaluation | Maureen Hanratty

Clinical Library: Redesigning an enterprise knowledge repository

Submitted by maureen on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 01:15

Client:

Kaiser Permanente

Role:

Project Management and Usability Intern

Methods:

Business Objectives, User Requirements, Content Analysis, Information Architecture, Usability Testing

Summary:

Internal project manager for the usability analysis and redesign of the Clinical Library, Kaiser Permanente’s prime knowledge repository for clinical information.

For over 3 years Kaiser Permanente's Care Management Institute has worked with user interface consultancy Aaron Marcus and Associates (AM+A) to redesign the Clinical Library so that it better fits the needs and workflow of time pressed clinicians. As the internal project manager I gave AM+A feedback on their designs and facilitated discussions of the designs with physician stakeholders from Kaiser’s 6 regions. While AM+A worked on UI elements of the redesign I focused on the information architecture of the site. I analyzed search statistics, WebTrends and, using an application built by the internal IT department, had each region sort all the documents in their collection. Using the sort data I completed a comprehensive content analysis, testing the proposed faceted navigation for the site. For user testing I defined the characteristics of users to be tested and number that needed to be tested, scheduled participants, wrote user test questions and reviewed final user testing script and mockups.

Results:

The detailed content analysis I conducted resulted in a site taxonomy that better fit the information seeking behavior of clinicians. The faceted navigation user interface was dramatically simplified due to elimination of unnecessary filters. Problems I identified in this analysis were later verified through user testing.

Syntax2D: Usability evaluation of an architecture software tool

Submitted by maureen on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:18

Usability Evaluation

Client:

Syntax2D

Role:

Project Manager and Usability Researcher

Methods:

Generalized Transition Network, Personas & Scenarios, Competitive Evaluation, Survey, Heuristic Evaluation, Vocabulary/Visual Analysis, Usability Testing

Summary:

Evaluated usability of Syntax2D, an open source spatial analysis software program developed by the Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Michigan.

Believing that his software had several usability issues, the project coordinator for Syntax2D asked our team to conduct a full usability analysis of the application. First the team collaborated on a generalized transition network that documented each screen of the systems’ major task flows. For user research we interviewed 7 space syntax researchers at the university and surveyed 55 space syntax from across the globe. For the competitive evaluation I conducted a thorough literature review while other team members researched a competing product, DepthMap. Each team member evaluated Syntax 2D using Jakob Nielsen's usability heuristics. We conducted usability testing with 4 space syntax researchers, asking participants to talk aloud while completing two tasks. We also used Camtesia to record audio and screen capture. Usability problems with the software were so severe that only one participant was able to complete the user testing tasks without assistance.

Results:

For our final recommendations we suggested fixing the most severe usability problems and that, instead of attempting to compete head-to-head against a dominant rival product for the tiny space syntax research population, Syntax2D position itself as a simple and accessible tool for the larger community of non-specialists such as anthropologists and human geographers. The client was so excited by our process and results he submitted a paper about our study to the 7th International Space Syntax Symposium.