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Sep

2010

User and Functional Testing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Europeana’s priority as it moves towards a fully operational service is to provide access to Europe’s heritage in ways that engage and satisfy users.
A principal objective of Europeana.eu is to engage young people, both in the course of their learning experience and for personal enrichment. In the swift current of online innovation, theirs are the needs and expectations that change most rapidly. Consequently, in order to define the user requirements for the fully operational service, Europeana focused on detailed qualitative analyses of user behaviour, paying particular attention to students.
Six focus groups were convened, comprising a total of 77 participants in four European countries. Two of the focus groups took place in an international school in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; in Sofia, Bulgaria they were held in a secondary school and a school of applied arts. There was also one for university students in Fermo, Italy and one for university library and teaching staff with representatives of the general public in Glasgow, Scotland.
Studies were also run in Media Labs. These tests used eye-tracking and close observation of 12 subjects to derive empirical evidence of their response to Europeana’s navigation and usability. This is one of the first studies published in the digital library context in which eye tracking combined with analysis of user behaviour and feedback have been used to refine the vision of what users want.
The results of the studies inform the design and functionality of the operational Europeana. In addition, and of value to the marketing and communications initiatives, the studies have helped define the benefits sought by primary target segments, what promotional messages they would respond to, and how these should be delivered to them.