Eye-popping Content: Creating a User-friendly

Framework Part I: User Experience Webinar Series

~ presented by Kristiana Burk

Laying a Foundation…

today > Overview of User Experience

Digging Deeper: Upcoming Webinars Taxonomies for the Everyday User Practical Personas Thematic Approach to Organizing Resources Search & Labels Web 2.0 and Beyond Layered Content Make Learning Fun

Covering Today…

It’s All About the User Understanding User Experience What Are Your Users Looking For? A Natural Fit - Role of Libraries Let’s Get Practical: Getting Started & Lessons Learned Ask Yourself… Resources At Your Fingertips: the LibGuides Framework Q & A

Why a User Matters …

They are the reason your job exists!There would be no service to provide if they weren’t using itEverything you do should be focused on their needs

Where the User is Coming From…

“In the everyday world, we want to get on with the most important things in life, not spend our time deep in thought attempting to open a can of food or dial a telephone number”

~ Don Norman, 1988

User-Centered Design…

A convergence of where content and context meet the needs of users.

Three Circle Diagram from Peter Morville, Semantic Studios http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

User Experience Is Not…

“just design”

“just usability”

“the perfect search app”

“amazing content”

“a sleek interface”

User Experience Is…

The big picture. Items mentioned before are mechanisms or tools to better understand or improve the user experience.

Many facets make up a satisfactory user experience

User Experience Honeycomb from Peter Morville, Semantic Studios http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

Different experience depending on the environment and context

What Are Users Looking For?

> Relevance> Context> Interactivity and Cross-Referencing> Satisfaction of Curiosity> Openness> Comfort

Example Comments…

“something that feels warmer”

“looking for something clean, easy-to-use”

“simple, easy to find”

“prefer a design that gives me clear, broad categories with more specific sub-topics rather than individual items competing for attention”

“consistent, easy navigation from one topic to another”

“trustworthy, content backed by professionals”

My Personal Favorite…

“I just wish websites didn’t feel like they have to be all, “OMG LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF WE HAVE!!!”

Conclusion about users…

Users are desperate for authoritative information that is contextually arranged and will: > satisfy curiosity > fulfill an information need quickly without overwhelming them > entertain Who Has the Resources to Meet Those Needs? Librarians!

Librarians Excel In…

Creating TaxonomiesPulling Quality Resources TogetherFinding Authoritative Content That Meets NeedsListening to Those Needs

But Missing Piece of the Puzzle is Often…

Content in Context.- We tend to want to organize resources strictly by format- We tend to use terminology they don’t understand- We tend to organize it in a way they don’t get- Users are thinking topics – we are thinking format

Something to Consider…

“People’s behavior makes sense if you think about it in terms of their goals, needs and motives”

~ Thomas Mann

Let’s Get Practical – Where Do You Start?

Step 1: Understand your Users- personas- channel charters- focus groups- don’t assume anything!- site comparisons

Persona Approach

Site Comparison

Let’s Get Practical – Where Do You Start?

Step 2: Lay the Foundation- rediscover taxonomies- easy to navigate- label it correctly- don’t box yourself in: build for extensibility

Animals

Home & Garden

Science Auto

People

Food & Recipes

Health

History

Geography

Computers

Electronics

Entertainment

Adventure

Money

Let’s Get Practical – Where Do You Start?

Step 3: Organize Contextually & Cross-Reference- look for ways to make high-level connections between formats- remember the search to browsing dynamic- enhance your content- provide cross-reference connections to keep them clicking

Provide context for your users

Article: American Colonial Life Video: The Colonies Prepare for WarMaps: Maps of BostonGeography: Massachusetts

Launch Internet Explorer Browser.lnk

Article: Claudius IVideo: Virtual Ancient RomeMaps: Maps of RomeHistory: Ancient Rome & Roman Empire

Article: American Civil War Video: US Civil War: Gettysburg Images: Civil War Image GalleryHistory: Battles and Incidents

Article: How Geisha Work Video: Modern Day Geisha in JapanMaps: Maps of JapanGeography: Geography of Japan

Let’s Get Practical – Where Do You Start?

Step 4: Layer in Content, i.e. “sticky stuff”- RSS feeds- image galleries- teaser articles- polls- quizzes- teaser tidbits- podcasts- presentations- slideshows- top lists

Provide your users quality “sticky content.”

Let’s Get Practical – Where Do You Start?

Step 5: Check Yourself- does this satisfy user needs?- can you easily find what you are looking for?- is this guide and content interesting?- would I want to ‘hang out’ here?- would I want / feel compelled to share this with others?

Remember that…

“True interactivity is not about clicking on icons or downloading files, it’s about encouraging communication”

~ Ed Scholssberg, 2002

The Good News Is…

You Don’t Have to Start from Scratch!- take advantage of the LibGuides community - copy guides from others (and HowStuffWorks guides of course!)- enhance with localized resources and programming

find a guide Grab the template

http://libguides.uta.edu/europe

http://community.libguides.com

http://hsw.libguides.com

example ‘hot topic’ guides:

Green LivingEngineering

Economy 101 / Financial Crisis

Geography & MapsPhysical Science

Technology & Everyday ScienceHistory

Sciences

make it yours

- Login to Admin Interface- Click on “Create New Guide”- Select “use a guide from another institution as a template”- Enter the URL of the guide you want to use- Enter the new title and description - Click on “Create New Guide”- Click ‘ok’ to alert button (it will email the institution you copied a guide from)

http://libguides.unm.edu/elections

Some of my favorite things…

Thank you!

Kristiana BurkChannel Director

404.760.4311 kburk@howstuffworks.com