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October 31, 2011 Dear Mr. Nave: We chose to conduct our Usability Test for Technical Writing on the Hyperphysics site because Thomas was familiar with Hyperphysics. He always thought Hyperphysics was a useful website in the past, but he thought the site seemed to have a few inherent design flaws; therefore, he decided to collect data on the usability of the site, to see if others felt the same. After completing the test, our findings support the following recommendations; First the implementation of a search function, followed by a rearrangement and enlargement of the tabs along the side of the top display. We hope that the data provided here will be useful in improving the website in order to help future students with their research and understanding of physics.

Sincerely,

Samantha Staufeberg & Thomas Long

Assignment 3: Usability Report

Website: Open Study at hyperphysics.phy-ast.gsu.edu
Samantha Staufenberg Thomas Long

Table of Contents
Cover Letter.1 Title Page.2 Table of Contents.3 Summary..4 Methodology....6 Results.............8 Recommendations...11

Summary
HyperPhysics is an educational website that contains information on scientific and mathematical content. Through completing this project we obtained information on the user reliability and efficiency of the website, so the creators will be made aware of site features that are not intuitive for browsers. We hope the creators of HyperPhysics will use the information collected to update the site, so it will be more user friendly site.

The issues that were relevant to the site were: are users able to learn from the site and find information? Does preexisting knowledge hinder or help the navigation of the site? Is the site time effective? Can the site be used in a research paper? The goals that we thought the site should work towards are: The design of the site should allow users to extract the information they are searching for learn with limited preexisting math or science knowledge in a quick, efficient, and effective manner. We also want users to be able to locate the information required for a bibliography or works cited page, so the information can be used in professional or educational papers and projects.

We conducted the tests at the GJ Lab on campus at the University of Idaho. The Lab had over a dozen empty computers that we utilized while testing the test subjects. Multiple computers were necessary for unbiased testing. The lab is used by students that have a science and/or math background. The lab tends to have fewer students occupying it than other computer labs on campus, so testing condition variations were as acceptable as can be expected from a public place.

User Profile Users of the site are individuals who are in a math or science class or personal interest because the site is targeted towards people who need knowledge of mathematical and science concepts. While we targeted people with at least basic mathematics and science knowledge, we believed that as an education site information should be easy to find despite the users level of knowledge; therefore, we tested individuals that had varying degrees of knowledge in the subjects.

The list of tasks focused on navigating the site quickly and effectively. They ensured that average readers could find both common and specialized knowledge equally well. Users were asked to find additional materials like media and applied principles. They were required to get citation information, contact information, and additional information about using the site. Users who are not native English speakers should be able to receive translational aide and all students were expected to be capable of asking for live help.

The data compiled suggests that while the website might contain all the data the users need, current formatting focuses viewers attention to the wrong sections. We found that when search bars were pulled up on the internet browser the test took significantly less time. Many of the direct links to different areas on the site were misplaced or too small for the users to find. The fact that the link for Chinese translation was not in close proximity to the link for the Spanish translation confused many of the test subjects. The placement of the contact information for the bibliography was ineffectively placed in the middle of the page in the wall of text. This design feature made it difficult to locate the information needed. In order fix some of the issues found during the test, we have some suggestions that will improve the Usability of the site. First, we recommend that the information in the wall of text format on the home page be separated into different links. Once the different links have been set up, the links should be enlarged and organized based on content. Second, we believe the Index would be more effective if the information was broken down into subsections alphabetically instead of one long list. Third, we suggest that a search engine be provided on the webpage itself. The search would ideally scan and compile suggestions from all of the content provided on the site. Fourth, we believe that the three language helpers: changing text to Spanish and Chinese, and the Chinese translator should be in close proximity to each other instead of different areas of the site. Finally, we recommend that the contact information should be placed either at the bottom of the web page or in a separate link. It would also be helpful if they would include a premade citation for the site, so users will not have to waste time searching for all of the information required. We hope that our suggestions will improve the quality of an already informational site.

Methodology
Statement of Issues and Goals:
As an educational site, the content, the lay out, and the usability of the site are important. Below we will list the issues that we consider vital, and the goals that we believe the site should be designed around. Issues: 1. Are users able to learn from the site? 2. Are users able to find information? 3. Is the degree in which a user can navigate the site based on preexisting knowledge? 4. Is visiting the site time effective? 5. Can visitors cite the website in research papers? Goals: 1. Users will be able to obtain knowledge from the site. 2. Users will be able to locate the information needed. 3. Users with less knowledge will be able to find information easily. 4. Users will be able to locate knowledge in a timely manner. 5. Users will be to cite the websites in a bibliography.

Description of Test Environment:

We conducted the tests at the GJ lab. The GJ lab is located on the University of Idaho Campus. The Gauss Johnson laboratory is a heavily used engineering computer lab. It receives traffic every day consisting of engineering students.

User Profile:
We focused on individuals that have an interest in science or math, or students that have a class where science or math is required. Some individuals had years of science knowledge, others may only have rudimentary knowledge. As an educational site, the information should be easy for anyone to find.

Information about Test Subjects

Test Subjects are mechanical engineer students that range from knowledgeable to very knowledgeable about science and math concepts, and have never used the HyperPhysics website. These individuals use the internet for research. They consider their skills in maneuvering websites proficient. Time management is vital to these subjects.

List of Participant Tasks:

1. Look up a Bose-Einstein Condensation.

2. Look up a red giant star. 3. Find contact information for the site. 4. What is the name of the institution that runs HyperPhysics? 5. Look up the principles behind lightning. 6. Watch the hoop and cylinder video. 7. Ask for live help on a question. 8. Find info on purchasing Hyperphysics on DVD. 9. Translate the site into Spanish. 10. Find the periodic table of elements.

Methods of Evaluation:
We evaluated the data collected by observing the body language and facial expressions during the test. We utilized a screening test, data collection test, and a posttest questionnaire to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of the site. A copy of each of the tests and the questionnaire were provided in the Usability plan.

Factors that Influenced the Test:

We were unable to finish the tests in one block of time, so not all the tests were completed under the same circumstances, with the same distractions. Four of the tests were completed at night, and the last was completed during the morning hours. Depending on the person mental fatigue, drowsiness, and/or anxiety might have affected the test subjects at differing intervals. We were unable to get enough of an in-depth study of the subjects and the student activity of the lab to receive results that reflect subjects that worked under parallel faculties. The conditions were acceptable within the parameters we had to work with: a public place and an impracticality of expecting a psychological exam of participants.

Results
Users found the site moderately helpful in aiding their learning. Most said it was moderately time effective to use and that the screen layout was only partially effective. Oddly enough most said they would suggest the site again to others despite being less than willing to use it themselves. Test subjects had a difficult time finding information based on preexisting knowledge on all but the most basic tasks. The index was long and lacked all multimedia. The site is difficult to classify and thus difficult to provide a citation for. Our data signifies that no single question is part of the problem. The range of times taken on each question suggest that answering each one is difficult and the speed with which each one is answered is based on the method used by the test taker as well as a measure of luck. A few questions did test significantly higher or lower than the others but in many cases questions that only took a few seconds for one person took several minutes for another. In practice one of the most notable problems was finding the actual information. The tab for the index was small and off to the side, meaning people generally glossed over it until they had given up on the main search feature for the website. After starting the index many spent a good deal of time scrolling up or down trying to find the information they were looking for. Most gave up at this point and began using the computer find function in order to locate the answers in the index. Many of the subjects scrolled up and down the screen when looking for information. The wall of text made most unwilling to attempt to read the page until they had run out of other options. Many glossed over contact information several times because it was located in the middle of the wall of text and was not easily distinguishable. All users had difficulty using the side tabs, glossing over them when searching for the media. Not a single user found the periodic table of elements through the tables tab. Finally all users had difficulty switching the page back

Time Per Question

4.5 4 3.5 3 Time 2.5 (Minutes) 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Question Number Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Average

to English after having translated it to Spanish. Despite the translation portion being in its own language when the page is in English, the English translation button is in Spanish when the page is translated. In general users seemed irritated when attempting to find information through the site. The graph labeled Time per Question was included to show the simple range of times based on participant and question. As the graph clearly shows, while some questions do tend to take longer than others, many have a very wide variety of times involved from just a small fraction of a minute to nearly two minutes. The most notable differences are in questions 1 and 6, wherein a

Test Time
14:24 12:00 9:36 7:12 4:48 2:24 0:00 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Test Time Linear (Test Time)

Test Time
14:24 12:00 9:36 7:12 4:48 2:24 0:00 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Test Time Linear (Test Time)

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few participants took around 30 seconds while others took 3 through 4 minutes. The two graphs above show the amount of time taken by participants as a function of the percentage of time spent on the find function. The graph shows a notable downwards trend as time spent on the function increases. The second plot was done to remove participant 4, who was an outlier in this experiment due to a misspelling in in the find function that cost him nearly 3 additional minutes on question number 6.

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Recommendations
General Layout & Links
We believe that the wall of text format of the website is not an effective method to display the information on the site. The clumps of information cause the user to gloss over important information and results more time spent searching the site. We recommend that the data be separated and placed into different links. Once the different links have been set up, the links should be made bigger and organized based on content.

Index
The Index while somewhat helpful can be improved. The index does not include the videos and tables. The first thing the participants tended to do was search the Index for the video and periodic table, so we believe the Index would be more effective if the Tables and Videos were in the index. Another improvement that could be made to the index is to use the alphabet to break down the data into sub sections instead of listing all of the links one after another.

Search Function
All of the participants when asked how to improve the HyperPhysics wrote that they wanted a search engine built into the site in order to find data faster. An ideal search would not only scan the page that the individual is on, it would also scan all the other pages that are a part of HyperPhysics.

Language Changing
The arrangement of Language changing links is not ideal. While the links to change sites from Chinese and Spanish are close together, another link to contact Chinese translators is in another area of the site. We believe that the three should be in close proximity to each other. Another issue is the inability of users to easily change the language back to English unless they know how to read either Spanish or Chinese. We believe that including the languages names in each language will ensure that users return to the language they are fluent in without problems.

Citation and Bibliography

The information that is required to cite sources is hard to locate due to the wall of text format of the site. We recommend that the contact information needed should be placed either at the bottom of the web page or in a separate link. It would also be helpful if they would include a premade citation for the site, so users will not have to waste time searching.