Integrating user experience evaluation in the development of a web-based Community Engagement Toolkit

Abstract

Current advances in technology have allowed programs to become more innovative and provide web-based services and products for their participants. This requires evaluators to expand their evaluation repertoire to continue to provide useful and actionable information. Our study illustrates the application of user experience evaluation as part of the formative evaluation of the Community Engagement Toolkit (CETK), developed by the Network of the National Library of Medicine. The CETK is a website containing resources that help library staff deliver health-literacy programming more effectively. The overarching objective of the evaluation was to obtain in-depth feedback from potential users about the website design and content in order to make the toolkit user friendly and useful. We used an online video conferencing software to conduct contextual observations and interviews with geographically dispersed participants. Findings from the evaluation study indicated an overall favorable review of the toolkit's interface and navigation, but relatively less favorable review of content relevance and broad appeal for the participants. Feedback from the participants was used to inform the development of the toolkit to increase the likelihood of its use and value for intended users.