Usability Studies

Aspen Mockups Testing Spring/Summer 2022

SWAN conducted mockups of proposed new search filter and account functionality, using interactive mockups created by ByWater Solutions.

Aspen Pilot Usability Tests

The Aspen pilot included several usability tests, which you can view in the research summary:

Spring 2020 Usability Test

SWAN and Downers Grove Public Library staff conducted onsite usability testing at Downers Grove Public Library on the SWAN Libraries mobile app. The purpose of this test was to assess the usability of core search, account, and navigation features in the app.

Responsive Enterprise Usability Test (5.0.1 Release)

SWAN staff conducted onsite usability testing at Eisenhower Public Library of the new version of the Enterprise catalog, version 5.0.1. This version includes several changes, including a new responsive layout that dynamically adapts to different screen sizes to accommodate desktop and mobile devices. The purpose of this test was to assess how well patrons can use the responsive catalog on mobile devices.  

Fall 2019 Usability Test

The usability study investigated how users of eBooks and eAudio are discovering and downloading titles made available from the Glen Ellyn Public Library. As most participants used the catalog, this test focused primarily on how patrons are using the catalog to find and download eBooks.

Spring 2019 Usability Test

This test conducted with library patrons focused on the interface for the Article Search, which utilized EBSCO Discovery Service, Enterprise, and OpenAthens. Alternate interfaces were tested within Enterprise. Recommendations include various user interface changes, and provide some future direction for Article Search in marketing to segments of library users.

Fall 2018 Usability Test

The SWAN User Experience Manager and the Discovery & User Experience Group (DUX) conducted a usability test at three member libraries to learn more about how patrons use format facets in the catalog and test out some new ideas.

2017 MERGE Usability Study

SWAN contracted MERGE Design + Interactive to conduct a 3-part usability study of the catalog, which included:

Scored Audit

MERGE reviewed the SWAN Enterprise online public access catalog (OPAC) and performed a variety of searches and functions in order to audit the OPAC's usability. The scored audit graded the usability from a scale of -2 (unusable; requires complete rebuild) to +2 (usabale and appropriate as is).

User Experience Quantitative Survey

This online survey used 30 questions to address key priorities.

User Qualitative Study

MERGE and SWAN staff interviewed four different focus groups at two different member libraries.