Stiles and Barratt "UX and usability at a distance"

1. UX AND USABILITY RESEARCH at a distance Keren Stiles, Senior Library Manager (Engagement and Insight) Caroline Barratt, Engagement and Insight Officer Library Services, The Open University

2. AGENDA Part 1 – Background, setting up your study Part 2 – Usability study interviews, asynchronous activities, touchstone tours Part 3 – Diary studies and interviews, analysis tools Part 4 – Open questions and discussion

3. THE OPEN UNIVERSITY open to people, places, methods and ideas no formal entry requirements distance learning innovation 168,000 students available throughout Europe OpenLearn 24,000 students with a declared disability secure environments Open STEM labs The Open University's mission is to be http://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/strategy-and-policies/mission http://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/strategy-and-policies/facts-and-figures

4. 1969 “The University of the Air” 2020 Television broadcast set: https://www.open.ac.uk/library/digitalarchive/image/image:000000010849 OpenScience Labs with virtual microscopes and other technology. The OU's own telescope which students can book in to use. THE OU THEN AND NOW

5. THE OU LIBRARY AND COVID-19 Uninterruptedservices • Library Helpdesk: Webchat and email available 24/7. • Online Training sessions: Live sessions continued and recorded sessions are available • Online resources such as databases, journals, ebooks and more • The OU DigitalArchive. • Document Delivery - Secure Electronic Delivery (SEDs) service for electronic journal article and book chapter requests. Services we paused • Helpdesk by phone is not available. • Visiting the OU Library in-person - no access to the print collection and study spaces • Inter-Library Loans • Visiting the University Archives in-person

6. SETTING UP YOUR STUDY Recruitment • Sourcing participants from a distance • Student panels • Now you have them, what's next? Informed consent • Who you are • What the study is about • How their information will be used • What risks are there, can they opt-out • How long will info be kept, how will it be deleted Photo: Tim Bogdanov/Unsplash Moulton Falls, WA, USA

7. SETTING UP YOUR STUDY Facilitating remote studies • Provide clear instructions • Be ready to provide tech support • Use headsets • Remember to start the recording! • Give yourself time to rest Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

8. SETTING UP YOUR STUDY Closing the feedback loop Tell everyone who will listen what you learned and what you’re doing as a result. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

9. USABILITY INTERVIEWS This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed underCC BY-SA You will need: • Screen-sharing • Recording • Audio • Text chat

10. USABILITY INTERVIEWS Enabled pre-filters May 2019 Journal A-Z hidden July 2018

11. ASYNCHRONOUS https://www.optimalworkshop.com/chalkmark/ USABILITY STUDIES First click testing

12. ASYNCHRONOUS USABILITY STUDIES Standard Primo ‘Save to eshelf’ icon (Classic UI) • OU Library added text to icon after testing

13. https://www.optimalworkshop.com/treejack/ ASYNCHRONOUS TREE TESTING

14. TOUCHSTONE TOURS Show me how you use the library Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

15. DIARY STUDIES Why do them? Why not? When/How often • At defined intervals vs. every instance • In response to a specific event Structured vs. Unstructured Photo credit: Amikishiyev/123rf

16. Quantitative Qualitative DIARY STUDIES

17. Tools to use • Low-tech – paper and pencil • Software • Storytelling – Images and narrative DIARY STUDIES

18. INTERVIEWS • What is different online? • Writing your questions and script • Informed consent • Developing rapport • Intentional silence Tell me more about that Can you explain more so I am sure I understand? I see, and how did you feel about that? Photo credit: Silverkblack/123rf

19. ANALYSIS TOOLS • Nvivo and MaxQDA • Excel • Rainbow charts • Online post-it notes – Padlet, Post-It app (iOS), Microsoft Whiteboard • Transcription services Completelymade-up rainbow chart example

20. THANK YOU! Caroline Barratt Library Services The Open University caroline.barratt@open.ac.uk Keren Stiles Library Services The Open University Keren.Stiles@open.ac.uk open.ac.uk/library @OU_Library VISIT HERE @OU Library Twitter Facebook Website

21. • What stories can you share about moving to online UX? • Tips to share? • Questions for us or the group? QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION Photo credit: Charlotte Castle

Stiles and Barratt "UX and usability at a distance"

National Information Standards Organization (NISO)

Stiles and Barratt "UX and usability at a distance"