Waypoints: Needs & Usability Summary
Upon completion of our needs assessment and initial usability testing, we generated an executive summary that identifies important observations from our testing.
This report documents the findings of a database development effort and usability evaluation for a digital library project underway at the U.C. Berkeley, School of Information Management and Systems. This project, Waypoints: A Digital Archive for Coast Guard History, includes an effort to design a Web-based digital archive which supports content browsing and search retrieval of a collection of historical artifacts.
The most important findings in our report include:
- A digital archive is desired. Both administrators and potential users are excited about the prospect of a digital U.S. Coast Guard historical archive.
- The system meets organizational goals. Development of an archive supports the U.S. Coast Guard's goal of preserving and promoting the organization's history.
- The browsing and search interface was easy to understand. Basic browsing and search functionality in the initial (paper) prototype was intuitive and easy to understand.
- The system was well-liked. Testing subjects commented that they were interested in using the system and exploring the archives contents once an interactive system was available on line.
- The database supports information needs. As data has been added to the system, the database design has proven successful.
Areas for continued development/research include:
- Continued interactive prototype development. With basic functionality implemented, the interactive prototype should be further developed to align its capability with the desired features outlined in the paper prototype.
- Data/metadata entry tools need improvement. Though intial user testing revealed that basic record entry was easy to accomplish, adding descriptive metadata proved challening to all users.
- Identifying resources is a priority. Four of the five interviewees commented that resources to develop and maintain a digital archive might be difficult to come by. As development moves forward, one of our goals will be to identify a permanent funding source and host for the Waypoints system.