University Group Project:
Evaluating the Usability of the library app Libby.
Research Design
App Evaluation
January 2024
This project about user evaluation methods focused on assessing the usability of the Libby library application, comparing its web and mobile versions. Conducted through usability testing, the evaluation measured key aspects like efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction. The study revealed insights into how device choice impacts user interaction, particularly in tasks such as borrowing books, where performance varied significantly between the web and mobile versions.
The libby app is exectly the same across platforms, both the web and mobile version look and work like the mobile one, completely ignoring web standards. THerefore the usability of the web version might be worse than the mobile one. The objectives of the project were:
The research design for the evaluation of the Libby App followed a comparative usability testing approach, focusing on both the web and mobile versions of the application. Two user groups were formed, each tasked with completing four representative actions:
Data was collected through the thinking-aloud method, where participants vocalized their thoughts during the tasks. Video recordings were used to capture screen interactions. The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of each version were measured through quantitative analysis (task completion times, error rates) and qualitative feedback (user comments). Additionally, user satisfaction was assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS). The study aimed to uncover usability challenges and performance differences between the two platforms.
To get the results the quantitative data was analyzes with SPSS and the qualitative data was evaluated with MAXQDA.
Efficiency: Mobile users completed tasks faster when borrowing books, but no significant differences were found in other tasks.
Effectiveness: Participants made fewer mistakes on the mobile version, particularly when navigating menus, but struggled with complex tasks like tagging (on both versions).
Satisfaction: The overall SUS score indicated room for improvement, especially in the web version, which received lower usability scores.
The usability evaluation of Libby provided valuable insights into how device choice impacts user experience. While the mobile app performed better in terms of efficiency, both versions exhibited areas for improvement, particularly in navigation and feature visibility. Addressing these issues will significantly enhance user satisfaction and usability across platforms.
