Remembering Our Rural Roots: A Usability Study

The purpose of this usability study was to create and evaluate the ease-of-use of a website about the history of ‘Ele’ele School and the community in which it exists. Founded in 1837, ‘Ele’ele School is a public elementary school located in the County of Kaua’i in the State of Hawai’i. Using the mapping platform Esri, the historical website integrated maps, narratives, photographs, archival records, and other elements to tell a story of the community and at the heart of it all–a school and its pupils. To evaluate the ease-of-use of the site, the investigator conducted three rounds of distant, usability testing with nine participants currently living in Hawai’i. Participants were asked to perform a series of tasks; each task was designed to allow for exploration through the site and to test potential problematic elements within the site. The website was evaluated using several usability metrics, including: Single Ease Question (SEQ), task completion rate, and Subjective Usability Scale (SUS). The intent was to increasingly improve the design of the site with each round of testing and to make the end-user experience easier, more effective, and more satisfying. The results from this study indicates that users are more likely to be satisfied with a website if it is effective at supporting them to achieve their goals.