Melanie's+test+results

=Testing Results= = =


 * PARTICIPANT #1**
 * The first participant was unfamiliar with using a Mac. Nonentheless, any difficulties she encountered with using a Mac was eventually figured out by herself.
 * She liked the big visuals on the home page.
 * Her results of the tests confirmed some of the design problems we have already discussed as a group but there were also a few tasks where she was easily able to complete after having familiarized herself with the previous tests.
 * Because we ran through all the tests with one person, our limited scope gave her a chance to know the site and explore it thoroughly. It was unexpected since I had thought of doing my own test always starting off from the home page and assumed that it would be the first time looking through the site. The order of the tests and the way some of them might have overlapped a bit became more important that I had thought. Stumbling around while looking for information for one test can mean that a second test would simply entail remembering a piece of information you previously saw but dismissed since it was not the goal of the previous test.


 * Task 1: Find out the portfolio requirements.**
 * Directly went to the future students page
 * Looked for descriptions of each program but could not find one
 * Selected BFA Studio
 * Started reading the text on that page
 * Found a link to the portfolio instructions page within the text

This participant was able to locate the section of the site quite easily but took longer to locate the BFA page. I purposely chose to leave my test script vague and only mentioned that she was supposed to be interested in hands-on art instead of history/theory. These general interests coupled with program headings that were not very descriptive caused her some trouble. The addition of future students links (including a link to the portfolio page) at the side once inside the BFA page went unnoticed and she began reading the content instead. However, the link still stood out because of the blue colour and she successfully completed the task.

That labelling of the programs proved to be confusing to the participant. However, since the name of the program is probably not subject to change, a better improvement would be to add a description under each program name so that the student has a better sense of what to expect from that program. The sidebar also went unnoticed. This could be because on the future students' page, the sidebar contained nothing that relevant (only news and events). Users might not be expecting new things to pop up in the sidebar so we can either put all the related future students links at the sidebar right from the start or omit the news and events so they don't throw people off into thinking that part of the site is not important.


 * Task 2: Find an e-mail to write to for questions about the BFA application process.**
 * Went to future students
 * Scrolled down and immediately found some contact information
 * Did not have any problems

The participant did not have any trouble with this task. However, it is interesting to note that she went to the future students page (and even scrolled all the way down) when asked to find a contact for questions about a specific program. This information can also be found on the contact us page, which can be found at the top right corner of every page but this path was not used.


 * PARTICIPANT #2**
 * The second participant was familiar with a Mac and asked to explore the site a bit by herself before the start of the test.
 * She enjoyed the interactive part of the site.
 * Her failure to complete one of the tasks suggested that the problem we had already picked up on might be worse than we expected.


 * Task 1: Find out the portfolio requirements.**
 * Found the futures students page easily
 * Looked for a link on that page for Portfolio and Interview Tips but could not find one.
 * Started reading the content but could not figure out where to go.
 * Gave up.

The failure to complete this task answers one of the big questions I was asking for this task; the portfolio requirements page is poorly linked and hidden. Right now it can only be found once the user clicks on of the links on the future students page. The link would then appear at the sidebar and can also be found within the content of the BFA Studio page. This participant expected to see individual links for the portfolio page once she entered the future students section so adding on to the previous suggestions of the previous participant, a sidebar with all the related links (including portfolio instructions) found right on the future students page would be wise. Once again, the news and events were deemed unimportant, especially for future students, and will most likely be removed for the final revision.


 * Task 2: Find an e-mail to write to for questions about the BFA application process.**
 * Went to Future Students
 * Started reading and clicked on Application Center
 * Realized it was an external link and went back
 * Found some contacts at the bottom
 * Was confused as to which e-mail to contact

This participant initially clicked on Application Center when asked to find contact information about the application process. This could be that future students can entail much more than just the application process so it is not imediately obvious that the contact information would be on the first page of Future Students. External links in this test were a tip-off that this was not the direction we (the testers) wanted her to go so she went back to the Future Students page. It was then that she found the contact information. However, the wording of the text did not make it clear enough to her which of the two e-mails displayed she should use.

The information written on the pages we covered in our scope were mostly untouched except for re-organizing some sections and adding/removing a sentence or two. Therefore, this test confirmed my own doubt that it was not clear which contact information to use when presented with more than one option. This problem can only be solved by asking the visual arts department themselves since we ourselves are not clear on the "right answer" to this question.


 * PARTICIPANT #3**
 * The third participant was testing the site on Firefox on a PC laptop.
 * The small screen size caused some things to scroll and to be chopped off and this displeased the partcipant. It was only at the end while browsing through the site leisurely that he found out about the descriptions for each menu item when the mouse is hovered. He suggested making the panorama smaller or having something interesting to entice the user to scroll down to increase the chances of the descriptions being seen.
 * The scope of our prototype did not include every section of the site. This participant found himself clicking on links that did not work (such as Current Students) and was confused when nothing happened.
 * He found the panorama puzzling when it continued moving after he had stopped mousing over the links. Instead of the delay in movement that can cause confusion, he suggest that the panorama just moves according to mouse movement. The relationship between the pictures and the link being hovered over was not noticed.


 * Task 1: Find out the portfolio requirements.**
 * Went to Future Students
 * Did not see any submenu at the side related to the task so started reading the content
 * Would have expected the pictures to be links
 * Knew that what he was looking for would be in the undergraduate section but was confused between which program to select
 * Wondered if the portfolio instructions were program specific or applies to either one
 * Clicked on BFA Studio and found the portfolio page through the sidebar

As we found out with previous participants, the pictures on the future students page are thought of to be links. This participant expected the picture to lead him to a page with a small description of each program before choosing one to read in further details. This participant was the first to find the portfolio instructions page through the sidebar. While he also found the news and events to be irrelevent, the sidebar was the first thing he looked at before reading the content on the page. Submenu links for the future student pages are definitely necessary. A small blurb under the program names as well as having the picture lead to a longer description would be helpful as well.


 * Task 2: Find an e-mail to write to for questions about the BFA application process.**
 * Went to Future Students
 * Clicked on BFA Studio link
 * Looked for contact information there but could not find
 * Went back to the Future Students page and found the two e-mails at the bottom (would contact either one of the e-mails)
 * Would have liked to have seen a contact us link on the sidebar as well

It seems that when asked to find contact information about a specific program, users tend to go to the page related to that program. Nobody has gone to the contact us page found in the hotlinks for this test. However, the contact information could not be found on the application process page of the program. The participant had scrolled down partly and clicked the BFA in Studio link before reading any further. It was only when he did not find what he wanted that he went back and scrolled right to the bottom where the contact information was. A contact us link at the sidebar and having the contact information repeated at the end of the application process page would help users find the e-mail more quickly.

The two tests that I conducted were chosen because of the problems I identified or were unsure of within the site; the possibility of the portfolio page being too hidden and the uncertainty of where users would go to when asked about a specific contact. While each participant had slightly different ways of navigating through the site, there were a few points that are recurring and should definitely be addressed in the final revision. These improvements include:
 * FINAL THOUGHTS**
 * Addition of the submenu on the Future Students welcome page. Possible addition of a contact us link in the submenu as well.
 * Make the undergraduate and graduate pictures clickable and leading to a slightly more detailed description of each program.
 * Provide more information as to which contact should be used for specific situations.

Other general comments unrelated to my own tests include:
 * Removal of the news and events on the future students page. It will probably be enough just to have it on the home page (where there is currently no news and events).
 * Reconsidering the movement of the panorama; it continues to move for a while after quickly moving the mouse across the menu bar.
 * More information was expected in the Future Students section such as fees and deadlines for applications. Repeating some of this information from the York website could be helpful.
 * The hotlinks at the top right corner are a bit too small and don't seem to have the right hierarchy for something as important as the student gallery.