Project: Improved interface and functionality for saved articles
Company: NewsBank, Inc.
Date: October 2012

 

Several NewsBank databases allow the user to save news articles to a personal collection, either temporarily (in session) or permanently (with a registered account). This allows a researcher to quickly accumulate relevant articles, and to organize, print, or generate citations at a later time. The goal of this project was to improve the interface and functionality used to interact with saved articles.

 

This project was developed using Agile methodologies, and we experimented with new techniques for integrating collaborative UX design with an iterative design and development approach. Initially, I developed several Visio wireframes to demonstrate different approaches to the interface and user interaction, based on existing features and identified opportunities for improvement. The wireframes provided a frame of reference for discussing design choices with all project stakeholders, and we were able to identify the required elements for development of a first iteration.

 

The first iteration was feature-limited, and was developed to test the general framework we were proposing. The original saved articles interface allowed users to organize articles into folders, but it was limited and confusing. To allow more robust organization, the first iteration substituted simple tagging functionality. Usability testing of the first iteration determined that while the process of adding or removing tags from articles was intuitive, the terminology was not well understood, leading to user confusion. In addition, the method of selecting articles from the list needed refinement and better user feedback.

 

The second iteration added functionality allowing the user to print, share, export and cite saved articles. The development team kicked off the sprint with a whiteboard design session focused on improving the usability of the first iteration, and adding new functional elements to the interface. I moderated the session and mocked up ideas on the fly as the team worked collectively to establish a framework. Afterwards, I collaborated with the project’s lead developer to refine the user feedback, identify and handle edge cases, and finalize the graphic design treatment.