Week 11 - In Class

In class I talked about the methods I had planned to used and some changes were proposed to me.

5 Methods:
After reading through the terms I decided on these five terms to use for my observation-

1. Card Sorting: This method would be helpful to use because my website includes a lot of information and some is repeated in multiple tabs. It would be beneficial to my website to figure out how this information could be better organized or the best grouping for each category. 
1. Open and Closed Card Sorting; Have users sort into categories and then have groups of tabs and they name the categories
2. 2x2 Matrix: I am planning to use this method to compare other non-profits websites in hopes of finding a better way to navigate through Mom's House website. I would also like to compare successfully categorized information to my website. Some categories I want to research are functionality, donation pages, and single function vs. multifunction.
3. Guerrilla Usability Testing: Similar to the A/B testing I feel as if this method would help with finding a new way to organize the website. By using this method, I can gain feedback on the prototype I constructed as well as refine it based off of the feedback. This will allow me to quickly find and fix problems within the organization of the website.
4. I Like, I Wish, What If: This method can be used to gain a users feedback on what they like, wish and want for the website. From this information I can find way to categorize the information better. With multiple users I can also compare answers to see if any are similar or what factors seem to be more important to users.
1. Call the website again and gain their perspective
5. System Usability Scale: For this method I plan to ask user's questions on where they believe content is throughout the website. This will allow me to find out what user's prefer in where their content is categorized. 

For the rest of class we started to work on research for one of our methods:

Card Sorting-

This method is used to define my content structure based on an understanding of how users expect the content to be organized. I was recommended to do both an open and closed card sorting method to gain perspective on either side of organization. The process works by having the first participant come in and organize cards into groups based off of the categories previously picked by the tester. Then the next person would come in and move, add, or remove cards based off of what they would like to see. The tester would make notes of what has beed moved, added or removed as well and repeat this process with 3-5 more people. The result will help the tester know how users expect the websites information to be categorized. 

I plan to do 2 rounds of card sorting; one with categories the website already uses to sort it's information and another round with categories that I believe should be used. 

1. The first round includes these categories:
1. Our Work
• Parent Program
• Childcare Program
• Success Stories
• Staff Directory
• Board of Directors
• About
2. Help Now
• Everyday Giving
• Extra Give
• Current Appeals
• Events
• Needs List
• Christmas List
3. Participate
• Volunteer
• Adopt a Mom
• Adopt a Classroom
4. Parents
• Parent & Childcare Programs
• Mom's House Graduate Program
• Apply
• Share Your Story
5. Events
6. Newsroom
• Around the House Blog
• Mom's House Gazette
7. Donate Now
• Our Supporters
• Donation Form
8. Contact
• Email
• Location
• Phone Number
2. The second round includes these categories: 
1. About
• Brief description about Mom's House
• Success Stories
• Staff Directory and Board of Directors
• Contact Information
2. Programs
• Parent Program
• Childcare Program
• Mom's House Graduate Program
• Apply Now
• Share Your Story
3. Get Involved
• Volunteer
• Adopt a Mom
• Adopt a Classroom
• Donate
• Giving
• Everyday Giving
• Extra Giving
• Needs List
• Christmas List
4. News and Events
• Around the House Blog
• Mom's House Gazette
• Events Calendar