The UX Libraries Vancouver Group had a presentation on Google Analytics and a few lightning talks.
Google Analytics by Jonathan Kift
statistics are constantly gathered in libraries; web analytics is only one of them; also want to answer specific questions, be able to tell stories
- Accounts = general sources of data; under which you have properties (silos of data; almost like profiles)
- Common that in libraries, will have multiple profiles, especially to track users on hosted/vendor sites
- always leave “All Web Site Data” alone
- most common view: exclude staff usage; may also have others: central branch only, public terminals, etc.
- create view by using filters e.g. exclude IP Address
- date range; can also compare to previous year(s)
- can turn off stats from spiders, etc.
Behavior
- things to look at: behavior -> site content -> All Pages
- exit (last page you looked at, where people are leaving) vs. bounce rate (single page session; immediately leave)
- track where people are exiting: consider using events with categories (e.g. Databases; Bibliocommons)
- tracking info: referral exclusion list: will not end session
- exclude URL Query Parameters e.g. session ID, profile, limitbox
- similar: content drilldown, which groups subpages; landing pages, where people arrive
Acquisitions
- All traffic -> referrals: how people get to your site, what was the last page they were on
- channels: type of source
- social media
Audience
- how are people using the current site?
- can see desktop vs. mobile vs. tablet
- browser
Decisions
- based on technology
- content inventory: how many relative views
Resources
* Library Technology Review, Number 4 / June 2013
* Guide from Massachusetts Library System
* Google Analytics Academy
* Google Analytics Spreadsheet Add-on – helps to gather data from different properties
Alternatives
- piwik (free)
- crazyegg.com (paid, small fees) – heatmap, scrollmap, overlay
Break Time
Time to socialize a bit
Lightning talks
Engaging the BC Wine Industry (in Online Forums) : Kim Buschert
- 3-year project, position the BC Wine industry for international growth; UBC Kedge wine industry collaboration
- positioning: working with industry to reach their goals, rather than doing research project
- working on project coordinator: tracking, reporting
- engagement activities: 100% of the industry by the end of the year
- task forces, events (wine leaders forums, wine industry collaborative, town halls), communications (knowledge dissemination, online discussion forums, information portal)
- challenges: users understand role of university, wide rage of user personas (reflects range of wineries and operators; might be only on mobile or check email once a day); tracking engagement (in-person events, email/newsletters, online presence), care and feeding of web content, social media, forums; quantifying engagement
No tweaks why test? UX study at BCIT library
- what discovery layer
- why doing a test if not customizing/changing anything
- to inform teaching
- recruitment by posting notice, for $10 gift card; limited to 15 students
- instructors by invitation
- overwhelming response allowed getting a range of students and areas
- 6 scenarios in total, done within 30 minutes
- observing and recorded difficulties
- post
- not as intuitive; no idea how to email citation, get to advanced search
- created google spreadsheet (using conditional colouring)
- created tip sheet with blank boxes for students to fill in
What we learned
- have at least two people: one to administer, one to observe
- have coding sheet while doing the test
UX Testing at Langara Library by Dan Slessor
- conducting us studies in order to preapre for a refreshed library homepage and research help page
- incorporation staff from reference, borrower, systems, college department (e.g. communications & marketing), student workers
- key points: many hands make light work; incorporating diverse roles resulted in better understanding of our students’ habits and abilities, which in turn has resulting in improved service points
- usability testing: recruited 5 students, bring in research assignments, recorded screens and talk-aloud; allowed to go wherever they wanted
- example: Gladiator music research, went back to library website and typed in trumpets, then went to Google
- recordings were given to reference groups: got group analysis to find road blocks in interface, but also allowed
- card sorting tied to research help: why they; always had someone from borrower services; 160 students over 2 days;
- web analytics: crazyegg heathmaps, and google analytics (involves C&M, and systems)
- systems staff to review
- A/B Testing -> SWAP students
- jargon audit
- conclusion: involving staff members from a variety of roles is worth if
- involving staff from for increased understanding of student needs and ultimately improved services across service points
- more staff buy-in
Everything is user experience: Seeing (almost) everything through the UX lens : Janis McKenzie
- skills training (example) library juice courses; Steve Krug books
- user experience innovations are everywhere
- ILL request form: book, journal article
- what is really easiest for the user? e.g. printed schedule for unbookable rooms
- the solution involves other people. bringing the student’s idea to the commons space staff for them to come up with a solution
Easy Approach to a New Library Home Page
- changing tabs to buttons
- inherit frame from parent site; can only customize what links go into menu
- search box a bit small
Process
1) ID Scope (change the content area of the homepage)
2) Identify Goals (home page elements to maximize student usability; priority areas identified
3) redesign: get rid of the tabs, strategic use of colour, new navigation in prime real estate area, buttons created in HTML; Built tool to change colour on the fly of different elements using basic onClick property. Asked staff to choose some colour combinations
4) Usability testing: flash test – what do you see (first, next)? ; which do you like? ; task test – can you find? ; play – can choose own colour combination
3 Tools to Inform Your Web Redesign : Adrienne Lai
- content strategy: readability-scre.com; gather content
- UX research & design: Moqups (alternatives: draw.io, Baslsamiq), inVision; na.gg
- information architechture: card sort analysis; treejack
- assessment/analytics: crazyegg, PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest
- Treejack: free trial: online tool to test architecture; only shows structure/labels; get detailed
- Moqups (free with limits): liked it combination of looked nice and easy to use
- WebPageTest (free): more detailed analysis than PageSpeed Insights (by Google); interface can be a bit clunky/options can be overwhelming
Improving User Experience for Student Research : Joyce Wong
- put up self-help, but factory manual, compartmentalized, too many choices
- how can we do better? we have lots of student data: courses/status
- offer more just in time help: strategic choices
- collaborate with faculty: anticipate student needs
- need background context
- generate specific searches, suggest adding keywords
- need faculty buy-in, a lot of prep work, may be privacy issue if personalization
- could ask more from vendors
- student motivation still an issue
End of Presentations
