Usability Analysis of the Atkins Library

WorldCat Discovery Interface

By: Brooke Johnson, Joseph Samson & Sabrina Terry
February 23, 2016

Submitted to:
Rachael Winterling, Usability Coordinator
Gregory Wickliff, Assoc. Professor of English

Executive Summary
Our class, ENGL 4181 Writing User Documents, analyzed the beta version of the
WorldCat Discovery interface used by UNC Charlottes J. M. Atkins Library. To examine
WorldCat Discovery interface, our group recruited a total of five undergraduate students from
UNCC, each of whom were from various majors on campus. By recruiting individuals from
different majors on campus we lessened our chances of having skewed or biased results. We
used the software Morae on a laptop to record each participants experience. Morae tracked each
persons mouse movements, verbal, and nonverbal communication through the provided webcam
and audio recordings. Throughout each participants usability test, we selected two people to act
as the observers and one person to facilitate the testing.
There were a few consistent problems that each participant encountered when navigating
the WorldCat Discovery Interface. All five of our participants did not successfully complete task
number two or six of our task-based questions. Task two involved locating the Sage Premiere
2016 Resource (Get it! function), and task six involved determining how many languages a
particular book is written in. After examining our results with Morae, we discovered that certain
fonts, images, and icons throughout the interface seemed too small. The small size caused
participants to be unsuccessful in their completion of certain tasks. Second, the misspelling of
words in the search field caused the results to drastically change. Even leaving out just one letter
caused problems amongst our usability tests.
Based on our usability tests, our group recommends enlarging certain text and images on
the Librarys site or writing a short reference guide instructing users how to find resources that
are commonly cause problems.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ... ii
Introduction .. 1
Methodology ...

Participant Performance 3

Key Findings ...

Figure 1.13
Figure 1.24
Figure 1.35
Figure 1.46
Figure 1.57
Figure 1.68
Figure 1.79
Conclusions and Recommendations ..

Appendix..

10

References ..

14

iii

Introduction
UNC Charlottes J.M. Atkins Library introduced the WorldCat Discovery catalog in
preparation for its student and faculty body. However, the interface was still in its alpha and beta
stages. The Atkins library noticed the flaws and decided to put the interface through a number of
trials and tests for improvement.
In collaboration with Associate Professor Dr. Gregory Wickliff and his ENGL 4181/5181
class, Writing User Documents, the Atkins Library allowed us to perform usability testing with
the beta version of the WorldCat Discovery interface. This is for the purpose of testing how
usable the interface is for students and faculty on campus.
Before we conducted the usability testing, Usability Coordinator, Rachael Winterling,
visited the class to discuss WorldCat Discovery, its relationship with the Atkin Library interface,
and the number of topics to explore for usability testing. The group used Morae, a video
recording software. Winterling lead us through the format of the software and the Online
Computer Library Center interface. We asked her questions about the subject matter and she
answered everything we needed to know about OCLC and WorldCat before starting the tests.
With the help of Winterling, our group recruited five participants and we conducted five
usability tests, where the participants were assigned six tasks to complete on the beta WorldCat
Local interface and their actions and verbal thoughts were recorded through the Morae software.
All of them were UNC Charlotte undergraduate students, and each of them were in a

separate major. Each of their experiences involved tasks not being completed, confusion over the
navigation on the interface, complaints about the lack of style on the interface, irrelevant search
results, and the problem with the location of subjects such as availability, floor location,
languages, etc.
We reported these findings in order to assist Atkins Library and WorldCat Local in
providing viable solutions to resolve the technical problems undergraduates and faculty run into.
After examining through the details of this study, the report can suggest ways to make the
WorldCat Discovery interface more focused, less confusing, and less intimidating for the
Universitys undergraduate and faculty users.

Methodology
We recruited participants by contacting friends from campus. The usability tests allowed
for us to analyze undergraduate students from various majors, and to compare and contrast if
their major impacted their level of familiarity with the interface. We used the software Morae to
record the users interaction with the interface. Morae allowed us to record each participants
verbal and nonverbal behavior throughout the testing process. During the usability session, there
was at least one note taker recording the users words, facial reactions and their body language.
We conducted six tasks that tested the participants knowledge of the following:
Task 1: The users ability to access description of the item
Task 2: To test and see if the user understands the Get It! resource
Task 3: To see if the user can find an eBook version of an item
Task 4: To see if user can access an online article
Task 5: To see if user can access general information about the books location and date/edition
Task 6: To see if user can access how many different languages a specific item is distributed in

Participant Performance
All of the users were able to complete four out of the six task-based questions and there
were no general difficulties in navigating through the beta website. Problems encountered with
task two and task six will be explained further in the next section.
The average time of all six tasks performed per user was ten minutes and forty seven
seconds. The graph below illustrates how long each user took to complete all the tasks.

Minutes/Seconds

Dura1on of All Tasks Per User

0:17:17
0:14:24

0:12:50

0:11:31

0:14:05
0:11:15
0:08:35

0:08:38

0:07:30

0:05:46
0:02:53
0:00:00
Par/cipant 1

Par/cipant 2

Par/cipant 3

Par/cipant 4

Par/cipant 5

Par1cipants
Figure 1.1

Key Findings
Get It! Function
With all six of our participants not being able to complete task two, we suspected that
something was wrong. We edited the task question after the first participants performance in
hopes of making it clearer. As we continued with the other participants, we noticed that it did not
make a difference. Prior to taking the test, we asked the participants pre-test questions and
among them they were asked their overall

familiarity with the Atkins Library Catalog. Four out of five participants answered yes. None of
them claimed to be experts of the interface, but instead stated they would occasionally use it to
search for resources pertained to assignments given in class. With this information, especially
after the first participant, we tried our best to ease task 2 question, but as stated earlier it did not
make a difference for the other participants. We pinned the problem to the library catalog not
providing any indication of the Get It! Function to the user. When the users cursor hovered over
the icon, the icon to the Get It! function did not appear to the user, which made it hard to
recognize it as a link. Most users were just one step away from accomplishing the task if they
only knew about the Get It! resource.
Below, figure 1.2 illustrates how small the Get It! icon is and how the icon did not
indicate that it was a link to access the journal.

Figure 1.2

The library catalog was inefficient in communicating what the function does. Later when we
finished the usability tests, we performed a website search on the catalog for the Get It! function,
and nothing popped up indicating its use.
Appearance
All five participants clicked on many links for information that was already posted. For
example, on task five users were asked to locate what floor in the UNC Charlotte library a
particular book was in and to find what Date/Edition the UNC Charlotte library holds. Once the
user searched the title to the book, it was listed as the first result and all the information was
posted right on the link to the book. However, the users clicked on the books link to complete
task 5.
Figure 1.3 illustrates how the font size is very small on the link to the book, which
resulted in the user not being able to recognize all attributes of the book posted as additional
information on the link to the book. Participant three stated the text/images could be larger.

Figure 1.3

Every time a user clicked on the link to a specific item, there would be three item detail
tabs as follows: Description, Edition/Formats, and Availability / Holdings. Most users clicked on
the books link, and still had difficulty in locating the information needed for task five because
the three item detail tabs did not pop out at the user. There was a play symbol next to each tab,
but that was not a good indicator that the tab was a link. Even after figuring out that the tab was a
link, the user could not spot the information they needed because the text was too small or the
page was cluttered, causing the user to overlook the objective of the task.
Figure 1.4 illustrates how the three item detail tabs do not pop out at the user to click on.
They had a play symbol next to each tab, but that is not a good indicator that the tab is a link.

Figure 1.4
Also, when a user would try go back to the item search page by clicking the back arrow,
it would redirect the user back to the main search interface. This is because the user was
supposed

to click on the link at the top right that says close item detail to return back to their item
search. The reason most users were unaware of that was because it is written in very small text
and the page itself was too cluttered for the user to identify the item.
Figure 1.5 illustrates how the close button is too small and this creates a problem for the
user if they just want to go back to their search results otherwise by clicking the back button the
webpage will redirect you back to the main search interface.

Figure 1.5
When a website such as a library catalog is cluttered or has too many options to do one
thing, it can overwhelm the user. We suggest keeping the website simple so that it could be easy
to navigate through. Also maybe enlarging some of the text to make things easier to find.
Inconsistency
The inconsistency within the librarys catalog made it hard for some participants to
complete tasks. For example, when participant four entered the title of the first task in the search
bar, he accidentally misspelled one word in the title. This completely changed the search results
far from the expected results. The book was nowhere to be found and the user

questioned us if we gave him the right information to search. Misspelling one letter in the word
practitioners can mess up the search results to the point where the title of the book cannot be
identified at all and list titles that are not close to the initial search.

Figure 1.6
Another interesting factor we discovered was that when it came to accessing a specific
journal, the interface would require some users to login with a username and password to access
the next page in order to retrieve the journal. However, some users did not have to login at all.

Conclusions and Recommendations

After the usability tests, the key findings suggested that navigation through the WorldCat
Discovery search function can prove cumbersome and time-consuming, depending on the tasks
being completed. Also, based on the users complaints about the style, we concluded that the

style and the design played a large part in a users experience in searching for a book, an article,
or a subject.
Based on the results of our usability tests, we have compiled recommendations for
improving the Librarys catalog. The Get it! Function icon could be enlarged especially while the
mouse cursor is hovering over it, so that users can recognize it is a link to accessing a journal
online. Also, the catalog can improve raising the awareness of the Get it! Function. A brief
description displayed while the cursors hovers over the icon would be helpful to any user trying
to access a journal online. Figure 1.7 illustrates a rough draft of an edited version of the icon for
better use.

Figure 1.7
Second, the overall design can be altered a little to ease a users experience. The size of
the texts and icons could be changed so that users can find things easily and also reduce having
many options that ultimately do the same thing. That way, the user will not be overwhelmed with
too much clutter of the webpage resources or overlook some critical information.
To solve inconsistency issues, such as a misspelling creating a blunder in search results, a
warning could appear letting users know that there was a large possibility in that misspelling
their search keywords can produce irrelevant and off key results. In the meanwhile, this error can
be fixed by adjusting which keywords determines what shows up based on title, author, and
relevancy rather than going off from the keywords themselves.

Appendix A: Users Test Observations

Participant #1
Biology Major

Participant #2
Computer
Science Major

Task

Duration
of each task

Success Summary

Item
Description

1 min, 25 sec

Yes

Was unsure if they found the

correct book

Get It!
Resource

4 min

No

The link did not work

E-book
Version

1 min, 30 sec

Yes

The book is not available at

UNCC

Online Article 1 min

Yes

Used the left-pane to click the

article

Books
Location

1 min, 25 sec

Yes

Easily completed task

Languages

3 min, 30 sec

No

Difficult to locate

Item
Description

45 sec

Yes

Clicked on the description to

find the ISBN.

Get It!
Resource

2 min, 15
sec

No

Not sure where to locate

E-book
Version

1 min, 20
sec

Yes

Task #4 helped him to

complete this task

Online
Article

1 min, 50
sec

Yes

Used a filter to search for

articles

Books
Location

2 min, 5 sec

Yes

Clicked on availability to find

the location and edition

10

Participant #3
Art/Comm
Studies Major

Participant #4
Computer
Science Major

Languages

3 min

No

Language options were not

clear

Item
Description

1 min, 35
sec

Yes

No problem finding the

ISBN #

Get It!
Resource

2 min, 10
sec

No

Was not able to complete

E-book
Version

1 min, 15
sec

Yes

No trouble finding issue

Online
Article

50 sec

Yes

Used filter section

Books
Location

1 min, 30
sec

Yes

Used the description tab to

find item info

Languages

1 min, 15
sec

No

Was not able to find exact

number of languages

Item
Description

3 min, 45
sec

No

Asked if we gave him the

right title because it did not
show up.

Get It!
Resource

1 min, 50
sec

Yes

Searched publication
details and found the 2016
issue.

E-book
Version

1 min, 30
sec

Yes

Could not see eBook

version because it was not
available.

Online
Article

1 min, 50
sec

Yes

Found article, but not

available at UNC Charlotte.

Books

4 min, 5 sec

Yes

Went to login page, but

11

Location

Participant #5
English Major

then was redirected to

search results.

Languages

1 min, 5 sec

No

Found that the book was

written in one language.

Item
Description

40 sec

Yes

Found the ISBN number

quickly. Clicked first result,
clicked on description and
located it.

Get It!
Resource

1 min, 40
sec

No

Found the edition, but none

say 2016.

E-book
Version

55 sec

Yes

Clicked on the eBook filter

and clicked on the eighth
result to find it.

Online
Article

45 sec

No

I dont know how to do

that.

Books
Location

2 min, 45
sec

Yes

Clicked out of the Beta

version onto the actual
UNCC library catalog, but
she still found the right year
and edition.

Languages

45 sec

No

No idea how to figure that

out, There were too many
to count.

12

Appendix B: Task Questions

Task 1

Search this book by title Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to
User Research. Then try to find the ISBN number.

Task 2

Search the topic Technical Writing. Then locate and click on the journal with the title
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication and see if you can access the
2016 issue of the journal online. Make sure the journal is the Sage Premier 2016
resource.

Task 3

Search the title The Voyage of the Beagle. Once you see the item try to see if you
can find the item in the e-book version. Try to see if you can view it, if not successful
try to find out why.

Task 4

Search the title A Modest Proposal. Once done, search for the first online article
about the title and check its availability.

Task 5

Search the book Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial
Freedom and find what floor in the UNC Charlotte library it is located at. Then see
what Date/Edition the UNC Charlotte library holds.

Task 6

Search for the book The Art of Computer Programming and try find how many
different languages its written in.

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References
Usability Test Participants

Biology Major, UNC Charlotte, 2/2/2016

Computer Science Major #1, UNC Charlotte, 2/9/2016

Art/Communication Studies Major, UNC Charlotte, 2/9/2016

Computer Science #2, UNC Charlotte, 2/16/2016

English Major, UNC Charlotte, 2/16/2016

Supporting Documents:
Goodman, Elizabeth, Mike Kuniavsky, and Andrea Moed. Observing the User
Experience. 2nd ed. Waltham: Elsevier, 2012. Print.
"Search UNC Charlotte Libraries and Beyond." Search Uncc.on.worldcat.org. WorldCat,
Web. 20 Feb. 2016.

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