Connected Kids Web Gallery Exemplar Test Summary

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Connected Kids Web Gallery Exemplar Test Summary

• Jim Zappen, Matt Stokes,
• and Chris McKee

Usable Content Seminar Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
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Web Gallery Exemplar Test

• Testing Scenario
• The Connected Kids website gallery
• allows parents and children the ability
• to Browse images and find
• information on recreational programs
• and activities offered locally through
• the YMCA and Knickerbocker Park.
• 4 Tasks
• Test Subject Observations
• Test / Exemplar Team Comments
• Test / Exemplar Team Recommendations
• Summary Comments

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Web Gallery Test Tasks

• View a category of images from the YMCA Gallery.
• View a category of images from the Knickerbacker
  Park Gallery.
• Subjects found gallery images, but due to lack of
  organization / hierarchy, they were tedious to
  browse / search.
• Navigation arrows not intuitive.
• Find contextual information (i.e., information on
  a particular set of image captions)
• Subjects could not find the requested information
  on a particular set of image captions.
• No search mechanism or other clues to assist them
  in locating the information.
• Subjects abandoned search effort after becoming
  lost or disoriented while searching through site
  pages.
• Find information about a particular
  youth-services organization
• Subjects could not find information about
  organizations.

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Web Gallery Test Subject Comments

• The galleries overall seem very casual and not
  task oriented they appear to be slide shows
  rather than true galleries.
• The name galleries is confusing and perhaps
  misleading since the name seems to refer to
  images, but the galleries themselves seem to
  include, or should include, some other types of
  information.
• The gallery structure is very linear, uses
  non-standard Previous and Next buttons and
  offers no hierarchy of information or search
  functions to assist users in finding images.
• The gallery structure is too closely integrated
  with other information system components and
  links.
• A more effective and functional gallery structure
  would include a library of types of images and
  thumbnail images to improve navigation.
• The galleries offer no help functions or contact
  information to assist users.
• The W3C icons are distracting rather than helpful.

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Web Gallery Test Team Comments

• Subjects liked the graphical and structural
  design of the Connected Kids information system
  however, they also felt that the image galleries
  were not as intuitive and usable. Specifically,
  users did not find browsing through images to be
  user friendly.
• Subjects were dissatisfied with going through the
  images one at a time, especially since they were
  looking for specific images such as those related
  to swimming or figure skating. Overall, users
  felt that they were looking at a slide show as
  opposed to a true gallery.
• Navigation from the homepage allowed subjects to
  easily navigate to specified galleries however,
  once in the gallery, subjects were looking for
  some kind of image hierarchy for navigational
  cues. Most were frustrated with the lack of
  organization/categorization, images and the site
  linearity, no search functionality.
• Subjects found the gallery too casual and not
  task orientated when browsing for specific
  information. Subjects had difficulty locating the
  main Connected Kids information page because of
  uninformative links and lack of appropriate cues.
  Further, the information page does not utilize
  any hierarchy of text to lead the user to desired
  information quickly.
• Subjects consistently clicked out of the gallery
  inadvertently by clicking either on the logo
  image or the Connected Kids Homepage link on
  the right menu. Once they left the gallery, they
  were confused and lost because the design of the
  homepage is completely different (different
  colors, format, etc.). Once they left the
  gallery, subjects had a difficult time navigating
  their way back.

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Web Gallery Redesign Recommendations

• Give users ability to browse images by category
  rather than have to click through each one in a
  slideshow format.
• Provide thumbnail images, browse categories, and
  keyword search functionality for improved site
  navigation.
• Provide a running count of the images (1 of 10, 2
  of 10, etc.) so that the user will know which
  image he or she is looking at and how many more
  images are included in each section of the
  gallery.
• Offer help functions and useful contact
  information.
• Revise tasks to address different users segments
  - include browsing as well as searching to
  include more oral instruction for the user.

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Web Galleries and User Segments

• Tech-Mediated Communication paradigms for web
• gallery sites must allow for usability across
  different
• segments (or customers) of users.
• User segments could include children and parents
• interested in both general browsing and
  categorical
• viewing of images and community activities in the
  galleries.
• Future design and usability testing for this web
  gallery will
• account for the variability in users needs.