Issue 62 January 2010
Uncovering User Perceptions of Research Activity Data
Cecilia Loureiro-Koechlin discusses the outcomes and lessons learned from user tests performed on the Oxford Blue Pages, a tool designed to display information about researchers and their activities at the University of Oxford.
Introductory Questions
- Ask tester to look at site's Homepage for 10 seconds. From looking
at this site, what kinds of information do you think you could get from
this site?
- Who do you think this site is designed for? Why?
Tasks
- Find <<name.surname>> profile and display it in the screen.
a. How would you find another person in the Blue Pages who works in
the same department?
- Obtain a list of researchers from the <<faculty name>>
a. Email the above list of researchers to a colleague
Briefing
- Do you think the information displayed in the Blue Pages is useful for Research Work?
- Would you trust the information provided in this
site?
- What kinds of uses of the Blue Pages can you think of which are
related to your work and or studies?
- Do you think it would be good for you to be in the Blue Pages?
What kinds of benefits can you think of?
- What changes and or additions would you suggest in the Blue Pages?
Figure 3 : User test script - Second round (text version)
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