UX Research Study: Website Usability
I have always fascinated by UX in the library realm (I even blogged about it as far back as 2013!).
While I worked as a librarian at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB), I wanted to find ways to enhance the usability of the online research aids (i.e., LibGuides) the library offered. One reason I saw a need to change the design of our current Libguides was due to a steep drop in clicks from the Libguide homepage to subsequent pages. Something about the way the guides were laid out was causing users to navigate away from the page. Therefore, I teamed up with the Systems Librarian to set up a usability study.
Methods:
- Participant interviewing
- Prototype design
- Task design
- User moderation
- A/B user testing
Details on User Testing:
Usability Test 1
- Students were asked to draw their ideal Libguide on a large piece of paper
- The systems librarian and I explained what Libguides were and showed them Mount Holyoke, UT Arlington, and UMHB Libguides as a reference
Usability Test 2
- 3 prototypes were created based on student suggestions from usability test 1
- Prototype A: Based on Mount Holyoke’s Libguide layout
- Prototype B: Based on UT Arlington’s Libguide layout
- Prototype: UMHB’s Libguide
- After the prototypes were created a series of tasks were composed
- 4 users were given the tasks and asked to complete them for each prototype
Project output:
- Development of a redesigned template for the Library's Libguide pages (see before and after versions below)


Description
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
2013