Kara Pharris Web Designer Site Improvements & the Usability Project Concepts for usable navigation, functionality and presentation

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 2 User Refinement project A usability analysis process designed to:  Identify current strengths and weaknesses of usability  Re-evaluate info about users, NSIDC objectives, sponsor requests  Address the growth/evolution of the site’s content, audiences  Proactively examine future user, content, technology needs The project examines:  Presentation  Organization  Interactivity  Navigation  End-user technologies  To identify changes that will more clearly present content and functionality and ensure the site is easy to use, easy to learn

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 3 Process summary POINT Evaluation: Heuristic evaluation that summarizes the site’s current strengths and weakness; provides a prioritized list of changes 1.Audience/Task Analysis: info gathering from strategic plans, other web efforts, internal interviews, users, PODAG, user surveys 2.Content Organization: site map of the major categories 3.Functional Design: navigation and task design 4.Interface Design: graphic design, presentation of all elements 5.Implementation

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 4 Make a very deep site “shallow” Bring more options to the top to reduce the number of clicks it takes to get to a page or task ** * * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 5 Give users a mental map of the site Add navigation options, change navigation schema to show users the breadth of content and functionality * * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 6 Make navigation consistent at lower levels Create a vertical secondary navigation menu Avoid many stacking horizontal menus Provide a mental map of sub- content * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 7 Provide a focal point for prioritized audiences Give data users a point of focus on multi-audiences pages such as the home page * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 8 Use “trigger words” for the specific audiences Use terms that make sense to the specific audience we are targeting; avoid organizational terms * * * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 9 Give users access to more powerful searches Give more power/functionality to the users by reformatting an advanced data search Create an opportunity for feedback that can be used for other data discovery prototypes * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 10 Implement accessible designs elements Maximize screen space Use readable font sizes Create print style sheets Create a CSS- based design Avoid too much change as to cause existing users to relearn the site * 80 Pixels * *

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 11 Action plan Nov 30: The Web Planning Board will review the navigation and design recommendations Dec 11: A demonstration of select pages will be available on  Preview new design  Notify users of upcoming change  Solicit user feedback Q1 2007: An implementation plan will be created

NSIDC.org User Refinement Recommendations 12 Other site improvements Replacing static content with dynamic content – decrease resources needed to update, maintain content; improve usability Streamlining internal workflow – create more efficient Web-contribution processes Developing a content plan for new material and updates – schedule resources needed for content maintenance & improvements Coordinating site promotion efforts – ensure site is accessible to data users Examining new data search and presentation schemas – position the center to be more flexible as technologies, user wants change