Participant 01 is a teacher, colleague, and close friend from work. She is highly qualified to participate in this evaluation, as a specialist teacher, and a librarian. For the purposes of this project, she fits the mold of the teacher use case. The operating system used is on a school computer, specifically an iMac or a MacBook Pro laptop with most recent update of Google Chrome as an internet browser.
Participant 02 is a parent, teacher, colleague, and close friend from work. Participant 02 is highly qualified to complete the evaluation of my pilot website as a parent and homeroom teacher. For the purposes of this project, Participant 02 fits the mold of the parent use case. The operating system used is on a school computer, specifically an iMac or a MacBook Pro laptop with most recent update of Google Chrome as an internet browser.
Participant 03 is an elementary student, and child of participant 02, colleague from work. Participant 03 is qualified to complete the website evaluation based on her role as a student who will later use this website as a library resource. For the purposes of this project, participant 03 fits the mold of the student use case. The operating system used is on a school computer, specifically an iMac or a MacBook Pro laptop with most recent update of Google Chrome as an internet browser.
Throughout the evaluation, all participants offered valuable input from different perspectives based on the three use cases. All three evaluators were able to take a few minutes and look at all the pages together while making individual (written and oral) comments.
Participant 01 expressed enthusiasm for the color scheme aligning to our school colors, in order to advocate the school brand and show spirit. Also included in design comments, participant 01 desired more media, specifically welcoming pictures on the homepage and secondary pages, to help the audience know that the library is meant to be a fun experience and not just plain text. Along these lines, a more child friendly font was also desired, possibly something similar to ‘comic sans’ which may appear less ‘boring’ to our site viewers. Participant 01 also recommended double checking for grammatical errors or potentially better word choices, especially in the student section… ‘not that she found any errors, but it’s good to revise continuously.’ Finally, she praised the credibility of the website in terms of recent and accurate links, and overall purpose. She thinks this could prove useful to different community members when seeking answers to library questions.
Participant 02 expressed concern for the large amount of white space, however praised the simplistic nature of the pages in contrast. Considering this, she mentioned that more pictures could help, but too many could take away from the simple, easy to use feel. As a parent, she mentioned that any book fair dates should be posted as soon as possible, even if subject to change. As she explains, parents may visit the bookfair with or without their child, therefore easy access to this information will help parents plan. She was also appreciative of the ‘reading to students’ section, however wished for more citing behind the information, suggesting to potentially add a link to more information or an outside source here.
Participant 03 filled out the form in the presence of her mother who helped to record comments. Participant 03 did not understand the nature of some of the questions asked, and simply stated ‘agree’ to many items which were more simply explained by the other evaluators. Participant 03 wished for more media in order to make the site appear ‘less boring.’ In order to read more easily, she mentioned that a larger font would work better for students her age (elementary). Finally, she mentioned that many sites and links in the student page she had seen before in other classes etc., offering credibility to the usefulness of having the links together in one page.
| --- | Design | Content | Credibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandra | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
| Donna | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
| Jenna | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.6 |
Based on the website evaluator feedback, I believe that this evaluation process successfully supported the three use cases outlined in the design document. Primarily, I conclude this based on the roles of the evaluators within my community. As stated, the purpose of this site remains to be a resource for community members such as those who have so far evaluated and visited the site, providing specific pages as resources for family, students and faculty. These use cases will help the site be a more functional tool, because those within the use cases will be the primary site visitors. Considering feedback, I do not currently understand any issues which inhibit the users’ navigation or website functionality, other than creating links which open tabs rather than change the current tab. This will especially help students to navigate other resources linked in the site, while still remaining in the digital library space. Moreover, based on feedback this website will require continuous updating throughout the school year to remain an adequate resource for all viewers. At this time, I do not plan to ‘abandon’ support for any use cases, as all three are vital to the success of this website, considering main viewers will indeed be students, family, and faculty.
Throughout the remaining time for adjustments to my pilot website project, I plan to take the previous feedback and comments into heavy consideration when making changes to my website. I believe that their perspectives have allowed me to see necessary changes to integrate into my final design. First off, based on the feedback I plan to create a better system of font, using a more child friendly style, and potentially larger fonts, especially on the student page. Along these lines, I also plan to recreate the design to include much more media. This could include images on (hopefully) every page, as well as potential instructional videos for students. Specific examples such as book fair photos, library photos, and staff photos could make the site appear more user friendly and fun for the audience. Based on feedback, I believe this could let the website become more welcoming to viewers. Additionally, based on feedback and project requirements I would like to change up the navigation somewhat. I would like to keep the ‘nav’ bar at the top of the page, however create this as a consistent element within all pages, not only the home page. Also, I would like to change the links such that clicking upon any link will open a new tab rather than navigate off of the library pages.
The evaluation process has been a very fun and beneficial aspect of this website design project. I believe this evaluation method was very fun and useful. It was a lot of fun to meet with colleagues and students to evaluate the site together. Though it was quick, it did offer beneficial feedback which will hopefully alter the resulting designs. The eval form addressed many elements and allowed colleagues to offer qualitative comments which are helpful in terms of praise and website changes. Through the process I have learned that this website has a long way to go in order to be a successful resource to all members of my target audience. Moreover, if truly integrated into my school community, this will be an ongoing project requiring updates with pertinent information as often as needed. The users’ perspectives were useful based on their roles within our organization. They were also useful from a multigenerational perspective. For example, It is interesting to hear the wants and desires of a student versus a colleague and/or parent when navigating a website. For example, a colleague who likes a more simplistic design may differ from a student who would want more medial, color, or ‘clutter’ to navigate through on the page.