Event Title
Faculty Mentor
Qiping Zhang
Major/Area of Research
Information Science
Description
The Post Campus Library website was newly redesigned last year, receiving
mixed reviews. The library front page offers a search engine to locate
resources for a variety of tasks such as class assignments, final papers,
and research projects. Due to the inconsistency of feedback, this project
was designed to evaluate the LIU Library front page based on both cognitive
walkthroughs and heuristic principles. For cognitive walkthrough
evaluations, three personae were chosen from the target groups believed
most likely to use the webpage: undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. For
heuristic principles, four requirements were chosen on which to judge the
webpage: match between real world and system, flexibility and efficiency of
use, aesthetic and minimalist design, and structure of information. Overall
the front page for the Post Campus Library has a streamlined, uncluttered,
functional layout. The redesign of the library webpage successfully incorporates
the most essential functions for most targeted user groups: getting
help and performing a search. In addition, for all levels of users, there is a
tailored user experience. However, several shortcomings emerged. These
included platform (Mac, PC, and mobile phone) inconsistencies, functional
deficiencies related to the primary search capability, and layout design that
causes unnecessary scrolling and disrupts the logical flow of information. A
future study of a survey to reach a broader set of users would reinforce the
findings of this study.
Included in
A Usability Study on LIU Library Front Page
The Post Campus Library website was newly redesigned last year, receiving
mixed reviews. The library front page offers a search engine to locate
resources for a variety of tasks such as class assignments, final papers,
and research projects. Due to the inconsistency of feedback, this project
was designed to evaluate the LIU Library front page based on both cognitive
walkthroughs and heuristic principles. For cognitive walkthrough
evaluations, three personae were chosen from the target groups believed
most likely to use the webpage: undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. For
heuristic principles, four requirements were chosen on which to judge the
webpage: match between real world and system, flexibility and efficiency of
use, aesthetic and minimalist design, and structure of information. Overall
the front page for the Post Campus Library has a streamlined, uncluttered,
functional layout. The redesign of the library webpage successfully incorporates
the most essential functions for most targeted user groups: getting
help and performing a search. In addition, for all levels of users, there is a
tailored user experience. However, several shortcomings emerged. These
included platform (Mac, PC, and mobile phone) inconsistencies, functional
deficiencies related to the primary search capability, and layout design that
causes unnecessary scrolling and disrupts the logical flow of information. A
future study of a survey to reach a broader set of users would reinforce the
findings of this study.