Dodge Nature Center
Findings and Recommendations Report
Overview
Dodge Nature Center & Preschool is a nonprofit organization that offers nature-based educational programs for people of all ages. They operate on 460+ acres of nature preserve, across four separate properties within the cities of West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, and Cottage Grove. The center provides environmental and agricultural experiences for thousands of people every year through school and public programs, community events, and a nature preschool that is recognized nationally. My team and I were tasked with helping Dodge improve their website by optimizing information navigation and inquiry to user needs.
Key findings
Derived from heuristic analysis and usability tests, there were challenges in:
Locating information due to misleading labels
Frustration caused by redirection
Lack of contextual cues
Confusion regarding specific layout features.
Methods
Heuristic Analysis
Usability Testing
Usability Test Planning
Script Writing
Deliverables
Findings and Recommendations Report
Research
During my team’s heuristic Analysis to determine usability problems in the website we came to an some usability issues within the website.
We found that there was a recurring issue with the website’s flexibility and efficiency of use. There was simply too much of it. There was much confusion and frustration due to multiple redirections before reaching their desired page. After synthesizing our findings, we concluded that navigation and user flow were the main problems that the website had.
I sought to identify the precise location of these pain points. Was it the layout? Or perhaps the flow? If it was the flow, which specific step was causing the most issues?
To answer these questions, a usability test was done. Four scenarios were devised to target and address these concerns while still maintaining the focus on completing key tasks given by the client. Five users, 4 of whom fell into the client’s intended audience, participated in our test. Each test was conducted over Zoom lasting 30 min.
Interested in the detailed findings? Check out our board!
Findings and Recommendations
1
Finding
The key issue was the “Read Here” button that redirects users to the same page multiple times. Multiple users were already directed to the “Read Here” page prior to clicking onto the “Read here” page. This redirection caused frustration among most users.
Recommendation
Do not have “Read here” on a separate page. Get rid of this section and move all information on the “Read Here” page to a single page containing all other information regarding the field trips.
Preference of having details on the same page was expressed by 80% of users.
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You are an elementary school teacher using the Dodge Nature Center website because you’ve heard they offer a great experience with nature for students pre-k - 8. You are looking for a field trip to help your students have an in-person experience and want to learn more information about what they offer.
Task 1: Find some options where you can bring your students to regarding field trips.
Task 2: Schedule your class for one of their listed field trips available.
Task 3: Where would you find information to pay for this field trip?
Task 4: Let's say you want to bring dodge to present to your class instead. Schedule one of their available sessions.
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During our heuristic analysis, we reached the conclusion that within this particular section, multiple pathways existed for users to access a single piece of information. The problem was that it was too flexible. We designed this scenario to allow a step-by-step observation of their interactions to gain insights into user navigation patterns. Through this approach, we were able to accurately pinpoint the specific stage in the user flow where redirection issues frequently arose.
2
Finding
Contrary to our initial hypothesis, our findings revealed that the issue in the “Apply” section lay in the visibility of system status, rather than mapping. Particularly, misleading visual representations of the application completion time.
Recommendation
A few users suggested using "How to apply" instead of "Apply" for improved mapping. Start with the labeling first to address flow then in next steps, target the misleading visual of application completion time.
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You are an elementary school teacher using the Dodge Nature Center website because you’ve heard they offer a great experience with nature for students pre-k - 8. You are looking for a field trip to help your students have an in-person experience and want to learn more information about what they offer.
Task 1: Find some options where you can bring your students to regarding field trips.
Task 2: Schedule your class for one of their listed field trips available.
Task 3: Where would you find information to pay for this field trip?
Task 4: Let's say you want to bring dodge to present to your class instead. Schedule one of their available sessions.
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During our heuristic analysis, we reached the conclusion that within this particular section, multiple pathways existed for users to access a single piece of information. The problem was that it was too flexible. We designed this scenario to allow a step-by-step observation of their interactions to gain insights into user navigation patterns. Through this approach, we were able to accurately pinpoint the specific stage in the user flow where redirection issues frequently arose.
3
Finding
A notable recurring pattern was that users consistently desired more information, regardless of the task at hand (excluding Preschool). Regarding donations, the lack of specificity regarding fund allocation deterred users from contributing. Insufficient content prevented user engagement and connection with Dodge, leading to a reduced motivation to donate.
Recommendation
Have a section labeled “What we do” in where there is context on where the money is going and what sets them apart from other nature centers
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You are a private funder passionate about environmental education and want to see if Dodge Nature Center’s cause aligns with your values.
Task 1: find Dodge’s mission statement (what they believe in) and summarize what they stand for.
Task 2: Let's say that you are compelled to their mission statement. Donate $1,000.
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One of the objectives was to assess the factors influencing donor motivation and evaluate the ease of the donation process. To address this, we created a scenario to understand user emotions and involved personalized follow-up questions tailored to each individual, allowing us to delve deeper on how presented content influenced their donation decisions. This approach facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the user experience and its impact on donation behaviors.
4
Finding
1
There were two recurring issues. First was the misleading label that prevented most users from finding information efficiently. “Activities” heading was continuously mistaken for another section of information. Many looked at this section expecting to find hiking and outdoor activities since many other sites list “Activities” as such. Users expressed discontent that Calendar and activities are the same.
Recommendation
Replace “Activities” with “Events”
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You and a group of 7 friends hikers are looking at Dodge’s Nature Center for a hiking opportunity after a recommendation from a good friend. Curious, you go on Dodge’s website to look for location information to determine if their hike trails are good for you.
Task 1: Locate the map of desired location.
Task 2: Find out if bikes are allowed on the trails.
Task 3: Find out if you are allowed to bring your group of 7 to hike.
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One of the tasks the client wanted us to determine was how intuitive certain information for the general public was. To understand user expectations, we designed this scenario for step-by-step observation of their interactions and reactions to information placement. This allowed us to identify specific improvements to enhance intuition.
“This was misleading, ‘Activities’ on other websites are listed as something else”
Finding
Second, though the map was found, it was overlooked on the main page multiple times.
Recommendation
Bold lining on the main page to bring attention to the PDF link.
Next Steps
With the insights gathered from this test, we would recommend moving forward with changes in the following areas discussed in this report to attain the goal of efficiently navigating and inquiring information from the website. Once this is implemented, have a second round of usability testing to validate if changes attained goals.