Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Matthew Hurd
ENGL317
Professor Schab
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Introduction
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................. 2
Methodology............................................................................................................ 3
Tasks......................................................................................................................... 4
Metrics...................................................................................................................... 4
Likert Scale.............................................................................................................. 5
Results...................................................................................................................... 5
Task
.5
Task 2.................................................................................................................... 6
Task 3..................................................................................................................... 8
Task 4..................................................................................................................... 9
Task 5................................................................................................................... 11
Task 6................................................................................................................... 12
Task 7................................................................................................................... 13
Task 8................................................................................................................... 14
Task 9................................................................................................................... 16
Task 10................................................................................................................. 17
Overview............................................................................................................. 18
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Summary............................................................................................................. 20
Bibliography....................................................................................................... 21
Two websites that any hunter in western Idaho and eastern Oregon must be familiar with are
those run by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife. These state run sites are depended on by many a hunter, especially those who are new
to the sport. This white paper presents the results of a usability test of these two websites. These
websites are expected to be able to handle any problem or question pertaining to fish and game,
and were tested with that expectation by being evaluated in ten tasks. These tasks are ones that
would likely be needed by first time or prospective hunters and fishers with average computer
Methodology
This usability test of the Idaho Fish and Game website and the Oregon Fish and Wildlife website
for first time hunters was conducted on a 2013 Dell laptop with an Intel Core processor and a 64
bit processing system using Windows 8 and Google Chrome version 57.0.2987.133.
A new or prospective hunter is supposed to be using these websites from the comfort of their
own home, with little to no distractions that are organic to that environment. This usability test of
the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) website and the Oregon Department of Fish and
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Wildlife (ODFW) website was conducted in an at home setting with relatively little distraction to
best simulate the environment of a new or prospective hunter trying to find information in the
comfort of their own home. This experiment was conducted by first testing and evaluating the
IDFG website, followed by the testing and evaluating of the ODFW website. These websites
Tasks
4. Finding the rules, regulations, and hunting seasons for the 2017-2018 whitetail deer season
5. Finding the rules, regulations, and fishing seasons for the 2017-2018 season
8. Reporting a poacher
9. Reporting roadkill
Metrics
Engaging: Style of the webpage enhanced the process of accomplishing the goal
Easy to Learn: The website made it possible to easily learn how to accomplish the goal
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Likert Scale
1 2 3 4 5
Results
Task 1
Creating an account
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this page, users have to click on the Buy License Button, which will take them to a separate web
page, where they then have to put in their information. This would have created a State account
that seemingly cannot be logged into on the State fish and game website, which makes the whole
process seems too stretched out. It should be consolodated into a register and log in button on the
website.
Task 2
Once again, the Idaho fish and Game website makes it very simple to reach the needed
information, in this case information about Hunters education. A simple click on the
Education Tab, leads users to a drop down menu, where they will select Hunter Education.
As with Idahos Site, Oregon had a drop down tab that allows the user to go straight to the
hunters education page. This is crucial for any fish and game website, as any first time hunter
needs to take hunters education. This leads users to a page that had everything that is needed to
know about hunters education, as well as a brief summary of what the classes will be covering.
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Unlike Idahos it also gave the logistical side of the hunters education, such as dates and fees
associated with classes. After the home screen, however, the process lacked in appeal.
TASK 2 IDAHO
EFFECTIVE 5
EFFICIENT 5
ENGAGING 2
ERROR TOLERANT 5
EASY TO LEARN 5
CUMULATIVE 22
Task 3
Buying a hunting license on the Idaho fish and game site is much more complicated than simply
creating an account and clicking a buy a license button. While it is easy enough to start the
process by simply clicking on Licenses, then clicking Online, users are then redirected to a
separate webpage. First time buyers are required to make a separate login account for security
Buying a hunting
license on Oregons
website is much
process of making an account. Site visitors simply have to go back to the licenses and regulations
page, click on the large Buy a License button, log in with their account info on the separate
webpage, and choose which license they wish to buy. It is very efficient to be able to buy a
combination of different licenses in one place. I still think that the whole process should be
Task 4
tab, which when clicked on opens a drop down menu. The very first item on this menu was the seasons
and rules tab. When clicked on, it opens a page with a table containing the most up to date seasons and
rules for all big game animals. There was also links to all of the different animals and their section.
As the most popular big game to hunt is deer, I clicked on the deer link in the season guide. This opened
up a very informative section that was viusally appealing and had everything a hunter would need to
Finding the hunting rules and regulations was very similar on Oregons fish and game website.
Once again, users just click on the hunting tab, click on rules and regulations, and that brings
them to a page with quick links for big game animal rules and regulations, as well as a hunting
While the quick links for the animals were convenient, they did not provide much pertinent
information. I then went to the E book, which provided all of the information, but in a confusing
array of references and tables that is not user friendly at all. After following a trail of references
GON
EFFECTIV 5 4
E
EFFICIENT 5 3
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ENGAGING 5 3
ERROR TOLERANT 5 4
EASY TO LEARN 5 4
CUMULATIVE 25 18
Task 5
usability.
fish and game website. I simply clicked on the hunting tab once
hunt is, and how to apply for one. The application process itself
redirects you to a different page. Overall, it is a fairly simple process, just a little time consuming
controlled hunt application button. From there on out it was as simple as buying a license. The
web design does not lend itself to usability in this function, as the logical thought process for
buying a controlled hunting tag is to go to the page that is titled controlled hunts. The task can
Task 7
Idahos website made it very easy to file a hunters report. Simply click on the hunting tab, click
hunter report and it will take users to a page where it explains what a report is and why they
are important. When a user clicks on the hyperlink on the page, it takes them to a separate page
where they enter their last name and tag/license number. After that, they answer a short survey
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The
process
for a
hunters
click on reporting.
After this, users are taken to a screen where they enter their state hunter ID, followed by the short
survey about their hunting season. The process is very short and to the point, which translates to
very usable.
Task 8
Reporting a Poacher
The process of reporting a poacher on Idahos website is very simple. On the homepage, simply
where and when they poached it, and anything else that
legal kills. I then used the search bar, and again there was no search results for a page. Lastly, I
went to the hunting tab, then to resources, scrolled down to the very bottom of the page, and
found a link to turn in poachers, as well as a pdf example form. Both of these links ended in
Task 9
Reporting Roadkill
page and click on the report roadkill button. The next screen is an information screen about
roadkill in Idaho, along with a large orange button that takes to users to a reporting page. Once
users are at this page, they simply have to fill out pertinent information about the animal found
Task 10
Idaho and its regions. When a region is selected, the user is taken to a page with region specific
information like animals available to be hunted, key terrain features, as well as maximum and
minimum elevation. This task was very easy to accomplish in a very quick manner that kept me
On oregons website, while they did not have a interactive map, they did
have a menu on the side of the homescreen that showed a wildlife areas
button. Once clicked on, this button redirects the user to a page that
listed all of the wildlife areas in oregon. Each of these areas has their
own page that gives the areas history, suggested visiting times,
suggested things to do, and much more. This was much more detailed than the region specific
page of Idahos although much less efficient and easy to use. The only problem that new hunters
would have using this web page for hunting information is that these wildlife area pages are not
Overview
Below is a comparsion between the two websites based upon how well they scored on all of the
tasks that were tested. As the tables show, Idahos website scored well across the wide variety of
tests that were administered. While Oregons website scored decently on most of the basic tasks,
the website was not setup to handle some of the more specialized tasks (reporting a poacher,
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reporting roadkill).
25
25
24 24
23 23 23 23 23
20 22 22
21
20 20
19
18
15 17
15
13
10
5 6
0
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9 Task 10
IDFG ODFW
Below is a second graph that depicts how well the two websites cumulatively scored across the
five scoring metrics. Idahos website was extremely effective; every task was able to be fully
realized on the website. Idahos site was also extremely easy to navigate and learn. Oregons
website struggled in comparison across the board, but especially in efficiency, engaging, and
33 33 32
30
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20
easy to learn. 10
0
Effective Efficient Engaging Error Forgiveness Easy to Learn
IDFG ODFW
I recommend to new hunters looking for information to use the ODFW website as a second
option. This website has a large amount of information, but when it comes to more specific cases
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and questions, such as reporting a poacher, it is simply not set up to handle the situation. The
website also lacks efficiency; it often takes multiple clicks through several different pages to find
the information or the link that is needed. The website is not very engaging, especially once users
leave the home page. This makes it difficult to maintain any level of interest. The error
forgiveness on this site needs some work as well. If a user goes to the wrong web page, the only
option is to go back to the home screen and try again. If the user doesnt know what they are
looking for, this poses a lot of problems. Finally, this website could be much easier to learn than
it is. There are plenty of drop down menus on the home screen to help users find information, but
the more specialized questions take a few minutes of searching to find. Overall, this website does
The IDFG website is an excellent resource to new hunters that I would highly recommend for
multiple reasons. I was able to accomplish every one of the wide variety of tasks on this website
with little to no hindrance. The websites efficiency really stood out to me; it seemed like I was
two clicks from anything on the site. The one exception to that statement is the extended process
of buying a hunting license, but I am more than willing to accept heightened security for an extra
thirty seconds of waiting. This website is about as engaging as any state or government website
can be, with great aesthetics on most pages. Great error forgiveness goes hand in hand with the
high level of efficiency on the website. When a user is two clicks from any information on the
site, rectifying errors becomes a very easy process. Finally, the IDFG website is an incredibly
easy website to learn. I highly recommend this website to both experienced and prospective
hunters.
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Summary
While both websites do their jobs well, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Website was
clearly built with hunters in mind. Idahos website outscored Oregons in every task
Bibliography
https://idfg.idaho.gov/
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/
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ID
Notes -Very simple process, easy to find with any level of web experience.
-Once the account is made, it cannot be used on the Oregon fish and game website, only on another
website that you are directed to from the fish and game website.
CUMULATIVE 22 15
ID
Notes -Very efficient and easy to use.
-Less engaging than the rest of the website. Very bland and boring.
ID
NOTES -Extra security makes this process take longer than it should. It was still very easy to
OR
NOTES -Once an account is made, buying a license on Oregons website is very easily
accomplished.
-The process still should be consolidated onto a single web page. Redirecting each
ID
NOTES -Idahos fish and game website has clearly made easily finding the rules and
regulations for big game hunting a top priority. Everything was easy to find and the
OR
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NOTES -Oregons fish and game website made it relatively simple to find the necessary
information, but the information provided was often underwhelming and was not
ID
Notes -Task was completed in a timely manner, was decently visual engaging. Any errors that were made
(clicked on the wrong link) were easy to fix. The whole process was very easy to learn.
regulations. The Oregon website in general is less appealing than Idahos website. Any errors are east to
ID
Notes Easy to use, very similar to the process of buying a normal hunting license. Still a little inefficient and
buy now button on the controlled hunt page, it would save a lot of confusion and backtracking.
ID
Notes - I was able to make the hunting report within a few clicks, and It was a very easy step by step
process that engages new hunters who may not know the exact reasoning why a hunters report
is highly recommended.
Effective Efficient Engaging Error Tolerant Easy to Learn
Task 7-
5 5 3 5 5
OR
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Notes - I was easily able to make a hunters report, this website has a fool proof process that is
impossible to mess up. This only loses points for engaging because people who know nothing
ID
Notes -once again, Idahos fish and game website was very user friendly. I was able to report a poacher in two
clicks after filling out pertinent information. The page is set up in a format that was very clear and easy
to navigate.
ENGAGING 4 2
ERROR TOLERANT 5 1
EASY TO LEARN 5 1
CUMULATIVE 24 6
ID
Notes Once again, Idahos site is an effective information source that lets the user accomplish the task with
ease.
site. It was difficult to find, but engaging and informative once I finally found the webpage.
eFFECTIVE 5 1
eFFICIENT 4 2
eNGAGING 5 4
ERROR TOLERANT 5 3
EASY TO LEARN 5 3
cUMULATIVE 24 13
Effective Efficient Engaging Error Tolerant Easy to Learn
Task 10-
5 5 3 5 5
ID
Notes -Task was easily accomplished in one click. Information was interesting and visually appealing, but
lacked depth. If a wrong choice was made, a simple backtrack was needed. Incredibly easy to learn,
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simply click on the color coded region name to see information about that region.
OR
Notes -Mostly effective, although it never does as good of job as listing what there is to hunt in each wildlife
area as Idahos website does. The information was very in-depth and engaging. The wildlife areas
button took a minute or two to find, it is not the first place I looked for the information.