We used the findings from a collaborative UX project between the University of Sussex Library and Semantico, digital publishing company, to inform our implementation of the new Primo upgrade. Using lean methods, we carried out a range of UX techniques to explore students' and researchers' behaviour around search and discovery using Library Search - our discovery tool.

1. Using UX research to improve
our discovery interface
Tim Graves, Systems Librarian
Suzanne Tatham, Academic Services Manager

2. What we did and how
•UX research – collaborative project between the University of Sussex
Library and Semantico, digital publishing company
•Set up working group – representation from across the Library
•Implementation of new interface – Primo upgrade
http://www.slideshare.net/UKSG/uksg-conference-2016-breakout-session-search-and-discovery-
defining-user-behaviour-suzanne-tatham-and-andrea-fallas

3. User testing
•1st round – exploratory interviews
• understanding of search behaviours
• task-based approach
•2nd round - Paper usability testing
• lean approach
• forces participants to break
down their interactions
https://youtu.be/adyli4xnPMk

4. Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com

5. Cluttered interface
“I don’t know why I don’t use
Library Search for articles ...
I think it stresses me out”
(Maria, 3rd year Psychology student)
Rick Poynor, 2012 Used bookstore, Nice, France.
http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=35748

6. Underused functionality
• Search scopes
• Header links

7. Signing-in
“You’re usually signed in because you have to be signed in to
perform a search – don’t you? I don’t know, maybe you don’t.”
(Lenart, 3rd yr UG)
“I can’t remember what I do to sign in”
(Hannah, 2nd yr UG)
“I always forget to sign in”
(Tom, 1st yr UG)

8. Items level tabs

9. Icons
• Star icon – connotations of rating not saving
• Book jackets identified as very important
• Item type icons - greyed out so not noticed
• Icons fairly indistinguishable – not aiding
item type recognition

10. Can you identify these icons?
?
? ??
??

11. Answers:
Book
Legal doc Conference proceedingJournal
ReviewArticle

12. Facets/filters
• Left-hand filters – minimal use – some filtering by
book item type and by author
• Creation date not used but when prompted, thought
to be useful
• Confusion around selection/deselection process in
‘More options’

13. Prototype design
Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com

14. Semantico - UX design team, www.semantico.com

15. Conclusions drawn from UX results
Keep it simple
Imagery matters
Most used functionality → prime position
Underused functionality → hidden or removed
Focus on purpose of a discovery tool → avoid duplication/replication
Get it right for the novice = get it right for the researcher

16. August 2016 - from first contact to launch
• Advance planning of other Library Systems projects
• Gathering priorities from the UX project
• Small, cross-library working group
• Basecamp site with Ex Libris for the implementation

17. How far did Ex Libris coincide with the Sussex
UX findings?

18. Rendering on mobile devices

19. Integrated item level information

20. Improved sign-in

21. Less cluttered results page

22. (Some) Improvement with iconography
•Pin better than the star
•Item level icons bring useful functionality to the fore

23. Further changes based on UX findings

24. Facets moved from right to left

25. Facets reordered based on user testing
Item type
gets top
billing

26. Removed underused functionality

27. Icons
• Give a visual identity without giving too much prominence
ar
rticle ook
ournal

28. Resist the temptation to fill up space just
because it is there

29. Feedback so far
• Soothing lack of complaint
• Mobile rendering great for teaching

30. Conclusion
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/search