The flight plan of a digital initiatives project, part 2: Usability testing in the context of user‐centered design

TLDR: Usability testing conducted as a part of a user‐centered redesign of a University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries digital initiatives project that provides online access to historical Aerial Photographs of Colorado revealed the needs of the project's target user group and identified issues with the interface that will be addressed in its redesign.

Abstract: Purpose – To provide the results of research to evaluate the usability of a University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries digital initiatives project that provides online access to historical Aerial Photographs of ColoradoDesign/methodology/approach – This paper describes usability testing conducted as a part of a user‐centered redesign The three stages of the evaluation – a requirements analysis, a heuristic evaluation, and user testing – are explained and the findings are discussedFindings – The usability testing revealed the needs of the project's target user group and identified issues with the interface that will be addressed in its redesign It has also contributed to the larger understanding of how researchers use digital Aerial Photographs and their preferred methods of access and desired functionalitiesPractical implications – Results from the study will be used to guide the redesign of the Aerial Photographs of Colorado digital library and can be generalized to add to a broader understanding o