Overview
Fry, Inc., headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a leader in eCommerce solutions. Their multi-channel integration accounts for all aspects of commercial websites by strategically aligning business goals, technology, and consumer expectations. During Fall 2007, I worked with the User Experience Group on a number of client and in-house projects.
Projects
The full deliverables for these projects are confidential and so I am only able to provide a cursory overview.
- Collaborated in the analysis of a multi-site client project for invitations and personalized paper goods. Developed an innovative taxonomy based on a chronology of actions in place of a traditional product-based organization. The new taxonomy is currently being incorporated into the redesigned websites.
- Developed a usability testing plan and materials to be used quarterly in gaining insights into consumer behavior and shopping trends.
- Created conceptual designs based on research and competitive analysis that seeks to support different shopping behaviors such as browsing, comparison shopping, and recurring purchases.
- Produced functional specifications, wireframes, and flow diagrams for various client projects.
Tools and Methods
- Taxonomy Analysis
- Competitive Research
- Wireframes
- Conceptual Design
- Functional Specifications
- Flow Diagrams
- Usability Test Development
Overview
In March 2005, The NYPL launched the Digital Gallery, providing free access to over 275,000 images, effectively acting as a digital gateway to world-renowned cultural and historical documents. Nearly three years later and another quarter million images, the Digital Gallery has taken a look inward as well as forward in preparing for the next big stage in its evolution.
During July 2007, I joined the Digital Library Program to co-conduct an evaluation of the website to identify its strengths, weaknesses, and future goals.
Project Goals
- Evaluate the website taxonomy and organization for strengths and weaknesses.
- Conduct a comparative evaluation to identify conventions and standards within online digital collections.
- Review current Web 2.0 trends and new technologies for potential inclusion in the website redesign.
- Design and implement a series of on-site usability tests to identify key strengths and weaknesses.
- Develop personas based on archetypal users for use in future design iterations.
Outcomes
The full report can be accessed on the NYPL Labs website.
What’s Going Well
- Usability testing revealed users find the website to be a good resource for visual documents.
- The comparative evaluation of similar online resources showed the Digital Gallery excels in content, presentation, and functionality.
- The comparative evaluation also showed the Digital Gallery as having a faster and more searchable database.
What Needs Improving
- Users feel the website is complex and somewhat difficult to use for directed searches.
- The Search tool does not support current conventions for handling pluralization, misspellings, and natural language queries; this conflicts with the expectations of users who are accustomed to using Google, Yahoo!, and AskJeeves search engines.
- The layout and design has caused some unintended scoping issues for global vs. section-level navigation.
Looking Forward
- The website should begin to feature more contextual tools such as the Collection Guides. Lesson guides for teachers is an effective way to conduct community outreach and build a user base.
- Being an early adopter of web trends that are likely to become conventions will keep the Digital Gallery at the forefront. This includes folksonomy (tagging) and social and collaborative networking.
- Supporting user behavior to reuse the website’s content on their own websites, in the classroom, or for various arts and crafts projects will foster community involvement and interaction. Making the collections portable via RSS is one potential solution for enabling this user behavior.
Tools and Methods
- One-on-One Usability Tests
- Comparative Evaluation
- Functionality Matrix
- Persona and Scenario Development
Jan. 2006 to Dec. 2007 |
detroitcenter.umich.edu
Overview
The Detroit Center website provides online access to information and resources related to the Center. As part of the University of Michigan community, it emphasizes fostering relationships between the campuses and Detroit through partnership, outreach, and education. I took over responsibility for the website shortly after the Center opened and both developed and maintained it during 2006 and 2007.
Contributions
- Implemented website redesign using Sitemaker, XHTML, CSS, and Javascript.
- Complied with Section 508 accessibility standards and best practices.
- Developed online room reservations module.
- Developed admin controls and reporting tools.
- Designed and developed events listing and management tool.
- Created and conducted usability testing and an online survey, the findings for which influenced future design and development plans.
Tools and Methods
- Content Management Tool, Sitemaker
- XHTML, CSS, and Javascript
- On-site and Remote Usability Tests
- Online surveys
Screenshots
Fall 2006 to Spring 2007 |
www.ipl.org
Overview
The Internet Public Library (IPL) is an online public service providing research and reference tools on nearly every conceivable subject. The website offers targeted content for teens and children through separate portals, Teenspace and Kidspace, respectively. I collaborated with the IPL team to update Kidspace education modules, conduct an analysis of the global website, and create and present design concepts for a renewed interface and improved user experience.
Project Goals
- Develop a more cohesive taxonomy, site architecture, and global navigation.
- Strengthen the IPL brand and provide distinct identities for Kidspace and Teenspace.
- Create a cleaner and more appealing aesthetic.
- Update markup and styling to conform with best practices and allow for more efficient maintenance.
Deliverables
- Conducted a comparative evaluation of similar sites in terms of aesthetics, functionality, and usability.
- Evaluated existing taxonomy and site architecture and provided potential solutions and recommendations for further consideration.
- Developed distinct, branded identities for the IPL, Kidspace, and Teenspace.
- Created design concepts for each of the three main sections that offered a global navigation, consistent page layout and aesthetic, and improved section-level navigation.
Screenshots
Fall 2007 |
MiTalk Prototype (Optimized for Firefox)
Overview
MiTalk, a product of the University of Michigan, is a university-wide initiative that seeks to provide students online mental health resources and education. As part of a semester-long project, a group of students, the MiTalkers, sought to understand, evaluate, and ultimately recommend solutions for the mental health education modules component of MiTalk.
Project Goals
- Identify and understand the unique user groups of the product.
- Develop a model that ensures the privacy and trust of the user.
- Create an interface that facilitates administrative needs such as tracking completion, user demographics, and feedback.
Solutions
To view the complete project, visit the MiTalkers website (optimized for Firefox.)
- Through contextual inquiries we identified three archetypes: students, student leaders, and administrators. For each of these user groups, we developed personas and scenarios, which highlight their unique needs and goals.
- Pulling from the data collected during contextual inquiries, we identified the key functions of the website.
- Through brainstorming sessions we developed lo-fi prototypes and an information architecture for the website.
- Building on our understanding of the product, we designed and produced a hi-fi protoype using Javascript, XHTML, and CSS.
- Utilizing the hi-fi prototype, we developed and conducted several usability tests with each of the three identified user groups.
- From each of the processes above, we concluded by presenting our findings and recommendations to the client. The deliverables provided by our project are actively being used in the development of the MiTalk website.
Tools and Methods
- Contextual Inquiry
- Personas and Scenarios
- Lo-Fi Protoype
- Hi-Fi Prototype
- Comparative Evaluation
- Usabiity Testing
- Affinity Walkthrough
- Information Flow Diagram
- XHTML, CSS, and Javascript
Screenshots
