Case Study
Scholastic
Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. Usable Interface began working with Scholastic in 2013 and has since been involved in multiple studies for Scholastic Reading Club, Storia® School Edition, and Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Competencies
Remote Usability Testing PrototypingSince 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have identified students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and presented their remarkable work to the world. Through the Awards, students receive opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. Teens in grades 7 through 12 from public, private, or home schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published.
Project Goals
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards received feedback from their end users that the online scholarship application was confusing and very hard for students to complete. Two new designs of the application were created and they needed to be tested in order to learn if either would be easier for the students to use to upload their art work and submit an application.
Methodology
One round of remote usability testing was conducted with six students in 7th-12th grade. Key stakeholders observed each test session and participated in a debrief at the conclusion of the study. The findings were analyzed and a top line report was created to document the key findings and recommendations.
Media
Scholastic prototype (1)
Scholastic prototype (2)
Scholastic prototype (3)
Project Kick-off
Usable Interface worked with the stakeholders of this project to define exactly what tasks we were going to have the participants perform and what pages needed to be prototyped.
Remote Usability Testing
For this study, we remotely tested six students in 7th-12th grade. We had the ability to view each participant’s screen as they used the prototypes to try and accomplish key tasks. Conducting the tests remotely has the added benefit of keeping the user in the comfort of their own home, which opens up the opportunity to gather ethnographic data that would otherwise never be collected in an in-person test (i.e. real life environment distractions, details about the type of computer and browser they use, facts about their system settings and pop-up blockers, etc) and also makes recruiting and observing easier.
Project Completion
Watching real students using the prototypes was an eye-opening experience for the entire team. At the end of the study, we could easily asses which prototype performed better and how the design could be changed to make it even easier to use.
"Kyle ran usability tests for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and we were extremely pleased with the results. In short: 1) Kyle was very helpful in helping us frame the content of the usability test, 2) she showed great flexibility, expertise, and patience as we worked through the preparation process, 3) she was an excellent moderator and was able to communicate clearly and unobtrusively with the test users, and 4) she delivered the results with impeccable punctuality and in a very clear and concise package. I would very gladly work with her again. Thanks for all your great work, Kyle, it was a pleasure working with you!"
Dominic Matar
Director of Web & Information Technology
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards