Notes for Usability Committee

find good accessibility & usability standards that already exist and give it to the designer

• more of a list of what we don't care about
• Deborah will put together
• web standards and usability standards/considerations -- Jakob Nielsen (http://www.useit.com/)
• meet standards (colorblind, low vision) and live up to usability standards
• form separate from function
• http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Focus groups call in Fall

First task: layout

easy URLs -- the way the catalog works should lend itself into urls that you can write down

see Multnomah's individual pages for each type of search, each page with their own url (ie: http://catalog.multcolib.org/search/a)

overall catalog search should look like Multnomah's (http://catalog.multcolib.org/)

really like the aadl concept of browse the catalog -- http://www.aadl.org/catalog/browse

keeping the functionality of the left side menu that is catalog specific

pictures should be library specific or optional

user access to account -- click on a link, not to have the boxes on the home page

something neutral so that you can integrate it into your own web site -- so that it looks like it belongs, forget about the Follett buttons

simple style sheet so that a library can style it themselves -- ie change font or background color and without not too many elements

consortial version should be version two -- the folks then involved need to decide

Second task: language and staff side

aim towards middle or low middle -- what's appropriate for the bulk of our patrons

homework -- look at test site and come back with suggestions to change and things you like and also look at the staff side  (fewer clicks the better); simple interface for simple tasks; advanced for higher level

what are basic tasks (doesn't freak out volunteers) and advanced tasks (but not complicated) for the staff

 Jessamyn will email us with possible dates

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I've been digging around on accessibility stuff.  August 2008 issue of Library Journal has a good overview article on page 26. I think we should start with the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and see if we can meet all of them.  We also need to build in maintenance guidelines so we don't lose our accessibility when we update or revise stuff. The accessibility people claim that following their guidelines will result in better usability--which makes sense--simple and straightforward helps.

Here is a useful piece of background info:

What does usability measure?

It is important to realize that usability is not a single, one-dimensional property of a user interface. Usability is a combination of factors including:

I think we are mostly unconscious of the importance of memorability, for example, but it is crucially important for occasional users. The problem I'm seeing is a lack of actual guidelines on usability--lots of theory--not much practice. I think we'll have to actually corral some users and have them try it out to be sure we've got something workable. Sorry to be so late with this.

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One way to get helpful data on usability would be to contact libraries using Koha. We could ask them what people complain about, staff or public and what they are planning to modify.

I was doing an interlibrary loan today, and I thought it would be very nice if there was a "print mailing label" option built into the process.