User Experience Testing of Oral Histories Report
- njoniec (Deactivated)
Session dates: 10/30-11/14/2019
Participants: 6 people fitting personas (2 fellows, 2 staff, 2 non-Science History Institute researchers)
Session duration: 1 hour
Study setup: See the test plan: P:\Othmer Library\Digital Collections - Internal Access\UX testing\ux_test_plan_20191122.docx
Tasks: See the task list: P:\Othmer Library\Digital Collections - Internal Access\UX testing\ux_questions_responses_20191122.xlsx
Overview:
Testers familiar with the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS) tool sought an interface that mirrored this technology (see recommended oral history websites section for examples given by testers). Below findings are divided by the user interface, transcriptions and sound file labeling.
UX testing findings/potential fixes:
User interface:
Tester didn’t see oral histories listed within text underneath Digital Collections homepage so clicked on “collections” and then “Oral History Collections” and expected to find audio files within Oral Histories microsite
Update Digital Collections homepage text to include oral histories (e.g., “Search 7,251 of our digitized items: artifacts, photographs, advertisements, letters, rare books, oral histories and more.”
Hillary submitted Github ticket 11/20/19
Testers scrolled down to find correct Herman Mark audio file but then lost the ability to pause audio once scrolling past audio player
Have way of pausing audio after scrolling beyond player-audio file will auto scroll
One tester wished there was an advanced search with a format selection so they could easily locate the oral histories via format
Consider advanced search where users can select format
Testers were all frustrated that they could not view transcript while listening to audio file
Comparisons to Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS) tool:
Testers wished to see a synchronized transcript consisting of audio file playing along with transcription text on same page
Testers looked for time stamping of transcripts to bring user directly to audio file when clicking on a term
One tester was confused by search result for “oral history” including the collection level record as well as individual records for oral histories
Testers generally did not locate facets until scrolling up and down. Usually a pause and think before they realized the facets were present.
Transcriptions:
Testers would locate passage within transcript but then could not always figure out what audio file to reference
Include appropriate filename information within header and footer of pdf pages (“end of tape” is too confusing; should be actual filename)
Use bold text when indicating filename change to draw viewer to differing content
One tester was confused that the transcription wasn’t a word for word recording of audio so had troubles locating correct file
Confusion since transcription was cleaned up to omit introductory comments on audio file
One tester thought it would make more sense if number of transcripts matched number of audio files. Same tester also wished that the pdf would contain hyperlinked text to open up audio file/player to specific passage of interest.
Sound file labeling:
Testers first thought that the sound file label would mirror the label found within the PDF
Have sound file label consistent with label found in PDF
Testers observed page number of PDF thinking that would be important when locating the correct audio file. Some testers found timestamps and thought that would be useful in locating audio file by mathematically figuring out which file it would be based on the length of audio tracks (see first paragraph on p. 76 for example).
Consider renaming labels with page number from pdf (could be problematic since actual page number often differs from page number assigned by pdf reader (e.g., page one of Robert McNeil’s transcription reads as page 12 when utilizing pdf reader’s page number display)).
Tester recommended including both the side information and page number within file label (e.g., “side 3, pp. 22-47”)
Recommended oral history websites:
The following websites were recommended by testers:
Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project
Audio player opens in a smaller window so user can view transcript while audio file is playing
Sites using Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS):