Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:

Usability Test Design: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman

NameInternet skill = Occupation = Online Use =

Site Impressions -

Task & Notes -1. Wh

2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.?

3. Wh

User Recommendations -

Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:

Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman

Asja Kalnins Internet skill = Expert Occupation = Attorney Online Use = 20hrs/wk shopping, news, Facebook Site Impressions - The homepage’s bright yellow flowery image caught her attention. but left her completely perplexed as to what Guidestar is. She was intimidated by the mess of words and the incoherency of their layout.

Task & Notes - 1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit? User was unable to complete this task. She tried entering “Tips” then the whole phrase into the SEARCH box but received off-topic results. The category “Help Identify High-Performing Nonprofits” did not have a Learn More option. She wondered why it did not but the other categories did. User was unable to get back to the homepage without my assistance. 2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.? She was unable to find this information under “Take Action” and was frustrated that the categories were not alphabetized. She clicked on “Distaster Response” which opened another browser window but did not include the task’s information. She was also unable to find it by using the Search function. Her comment, “If they want my money, they should make it easier,” perfectly captured her experience. She gave up on this task.

3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report? User spent considerable time deliberating, hovering over possible categories, without clicking on them. Her exasperation concluded by stating that she “would never know that I could buy something on this website.” User Recommendations - User commented that the products, services and mission of Guidestar should be more clearly defined for the user. The homepage’s layout was busy, things were not clearly demarcated and this confusion continued onto other pages into the site. She believed the site to be unfriendly and that it needed an extensive overhaul to more effectively meet her needs.

Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:

Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman

Spencer Louis Internet skill = Intermediate Occupation = Graduate Student, Military Online Use = 15hrs/wk Wikipedia, research, Criagslist, eBay

Site Impressions - User was not entirely sure as to what the site was about and desired a simple statement as to that effect.

Task & Notes - 1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit? Clicked on “Analyze Nonprofit Data” but returned to the homepage, clicked on learn more under “Demystify Nonprofit Finances” but was unable to complete the task. *User knew to click on the Guidestar logo to return to the homepage. 2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.? He also clicked on “Disaster Response” which opened another browser window which included locations. He did not know where Sandy occurred and was unable to compete the task. 3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report? User was unable to find the page detailing the products and services offered by Guidestar and was surprised that they were in the business of selling something.

User Recommendations - The user suggested buttons or a better, clearer interface with major categories for selection. He also recommended a better more functional search option. On the home page his eyes tended to focus on the information on the lower half which he commented, was not more important but its layout made it stand out more than rest of the site.

Oberserved, Reported and Analyzed:

Usability Test Results: www.guidestar.org Brandon Workman

Christopher Scott Internet skill = Intermediate to Expert Occupation = Teacher Online Use = 5hrs/wk email, Amazon, eBay Site Impressions - Guidestar is something about nonprofit and she is a Guest to the site.

Task & Notes - 1. What are Guidestar.org’s “Tips For Choosing a Charity” and suggestions for donating to the right nonprofit? Easily found and clicked on “Taking Action,” and found the “Tips for Choosing a Charity.” 2. How you would donate to Hurricane Sandy through the charity PETSMART CHARITIES INC.? User struggled with this task. His first instinct was to user the Search option which turned up six results, none of them pertaining to Hurricane Sandy nor the charity. He then retried the search using the charity’s name with no avail. He also clicked on “Disaster Response” which opened another browser window but did not include the task’s information. Exhausted by the task, he attempted to plug the charity’s name into Google to find out how to donate directly to PETSMART CHARITIES INC. via their site.

3. What research and analysis solutions are offered and what is the cost per report? User again tried the Search option which turned up no pertinent results, then went to “Analyze Nonprofit Data” but was unable to complete the task. User questioned whether it was for reports for nonprofits that people were donating to or for reports on the the donations made by organizations. His comment that “It’s hard to research something when I don’t even know what I’m researching,” appropriately captured the experience. User did not successfully complete this task.

User Recommendations - After the three tasks the user remained somewhat clueless as to Guidestar’s purpose. He sort of gave the site a pass, blaming his own lack of knowledge of the site to be at fault. He further explained that he should have clicked “About US” to find out more about Guidestar. User expressed that I should change his internet skill to beginner after this experience.