Project Summary:
The LSU Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) website usability study aimed to understand and enhance the current site’s accessibility and user experience. Current issues included difficult navigation for emergency reporting and outdated features. A survey of 21 participants was used to identify these problems, and a comparative analysis with other universities’ EHS websites helped pinpoint best practices. A new prototype was developed and tested, showing significant improvements in emergency reporting efficiency and user preference. The redesigned EHS website now offers a more intuitive and efficient interface, enhancing safety and usability. Further refinements include consistent button design and improved cross-device compatibility.
Collaborators: Abhiram Maddula, Reginald Blouin Jr, and Samuel Hildebrand.
Project Background:
This project aimed to investigate the current usability of the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department website at Louisiana State University. The university has seen tremendous growth in research activity from $400 million in 2022 to $488 million in 2023. To provide and promote research safety, emergency support, and regulatory compliance; it is crucial to have a user-friendly website that caters to the user’s needs.
The EHS website acts as a medium for providing services such as assistance with compliance requirements with established laboratory standards, emergency protocols, and hazardous waste management. The website comprises multiple features ranging from occupational safety training to reporting hazardous incidents.
Identifying Users:
The target audience for this project includes all personnel actively involved in research that involves studying and experimenting on organic matter and handling hazardous chemicals. The users comprise students, lab assistants, teaching assistants, research assistants, professors, principal investigators, and others. As the organization (EHS) serves users within the Baton Rouge branch of Louisiana State University, it is essential to tailor the website to meet their specific needs.
A preliminary server is conducted to understand the users and user needs using the Qualtrics XM survey tool. And, the majority of the participants (users) interact with the website once or twice a week.
A user persona was developed based on the responses to the questionnaire. An unstructured interview was conducted for respondents from whom extra information about their roles was used to build the user persona.
These personas encompass various roles such as student workers, research assistants, and laboratory assistants, outlining their specific needs, tasks, and interactions with the EHS website.
Identifying User Goals and Requirements:
The survey comprised eleven questions that explored their experience navigating the EHS website. The questions are aimed at understanding how often users interact with the website and the common problems they encounter. The feedback from this survey highlighted specific issues, such as difficulties in reporting emergencies and navigating the site, which were then used to outline the user requirements.
Since the EHS organization serves only Louisiana State University, it has no direct competitors that target the same user audience. Hence, we referenced the EHS websites at universities of similar research caliber. These comparisons offer insights into the ideology behind the tools and techniques used to assist users at their respective institutions.
Based on the questionnaire and site comparison, we deduced the common tasks users performed and asked them to select the tasks they perform/performed using the EHS website by difficulty.
Based on the feedback, a high-fidelity prototype website was developed in Figma. The prototype was then tested by a focus group and a post-test survey was conducted using participants selected from the College of Engineering and College of Science.
Existing EHS Website
Mockup Home Page
The participants were asked to participate in a timed study to find the “report an emergency” option on the new and old EHS website and a post-test survey was conducted for the participants to collect feedback from the study. The results are as follows:
