The original Baseline Test was used to establish the human performance and user satisfaction levels for the existing site.  We also used the baseline test to help us understand some of the major usability issues that would help to guide future changes to the new homepage. This was consistent with our usability and user-centered design approach.

The Baseline tests took place in August 2006 at three different locations in the United States (Washington DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Ogden, Utah). All were in-person usability tests, and were conducted in government usability labs.  Because of the type of data we were collecting, we elected not to use remote usability testing.

The participants were both federal employees and people who had no affiliation with the government.  We tested a total of 68 participants that included: [Read more…]

A few years ago (2007), while consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they elected to revise and update their website, CDC.gov.  One of their primary goals during this redesign process was to optimize the usability of the homepage, and some of the second-level and third-level pages.

We organized a six-person user experience team^[1], and created a plan to ensure that major, meaningful usability-related activities would be appropriately carried out.  Over a six-month period, we conducted the following major usability activities:

• Conducting a review of past usability studies on the current CDC.gov site
• Interviewing users, stakeholders, partners, and web staff
• Conducting detailed analyses of web, search and call logs
• Analyzing the user survey data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index
• Surveying the ideas and attitudes of CDC leadership, employees and web staff
• Conducting a card-sort activity
• Conducting parallel design sessions
• Producing a series of wireframes
• Creating graphically-oriented prototypes
• Conducting several usability test and evaluation activities

[Read more…]