Michelle Dalmau (SLIS MIS/MLS graduate) will be the speaker for the final talk of the Fall 2005 Digital Library Brown Bag Series. She is "the Interface & Usability Specialist for the Indiana University Digital Library Program (DLP), where she conducts multi-faceted usability studies that inevitably lead to the end-design of digital collections and resources. She also plays a leading role in requirements building, wireframing, prototyping and design."
The talk will be held at noon in Room E-174 (Wells Library) on Wednesday, December 14.
Abstract:
Verse Chorus Verse: Overview of Iterative Usability Studies for the IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana Project
This talk will demonstrate how usability studies can serve as building blocks not only for software development, but also for metadata creation and usability design. I will focus on three usability studies that were completed during the project's first year to inform the design of the sheet music cataloging tool and the collection website: a logs analysis study, a card sort and task scenario study and an email content analysis study. Each of these methodologies will be summarized and assessed in terms of their respective strengths and weaknesses. I will also illustrate how these methodologies were appropriate to the corresponding stages of the project's development cycle. Lastly, I will explore data analysis techniques and challenges for each method, and conclude with an outline of usability studies to come.
For more information about the IN Harmony project or to access the usability evaluation plans and final reports for the studies mentioned above, visit: http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/inharmony/.Posted December 05, 2005