2019-12-16 Resource Access Meeting Notes
Date
Dec 16, 2019
Attendees
@Andrea Loigman
@David Bottorff
@Jana Freytag
@Darcy Branchini
@Joshua Lambert
@Huda Khan
@Brooks Travis
@Allison Estell
@Joanne Leary
@Kimie Kester
@Kai Sprenger
@Emma Boettcher
@Magda Zacharska
@Elizabeth Chenette
@Mark Canney
@Brian Arrigo
@Anya
@mey
@Rameka Barnes
Shirley Moentinish
Discussion Items
Time | Item | Who | Description | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
5min | Housekeeping | @Andrea Loigman |
| |
10min | Usability | @Huda Khan | RA SIG is better informed about the outcome and recommendations of Cornell's Usability test of circ related functions (2019_09_FOLIO_Circulation Report.pdf) | |
10min | Truncated loans | @Andrea Loigman @Emma Boettcher | Determine if patron expiration date should be an outer bound on any due date calculation |
Meeting Outcomes
Functional Area | Product Owner | Planned Release (if known) | Decision Reached | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes
Usability - Huda Khan
Huda discussed the general findings from Circ Function Usability Testing that was recently conducted at Cornell. Five participants were asked to perform 10 basic circulation tasks.
The most significant finding was the universal difficulty in placing a hold request. It was unclear where or how to initiate the request, or how to link the patron and item information to make a request. Button terminology will be changed to make it clear to click the button that will complete the request (not start over, as currently interpreted). Inventory will be changed to position a “request this item” button near the top of the item information block
Most testers wanted to search for an item by call number; that functionality was not present in the test, but is added as part of the MVP
Some testers found pop-up messages confusing; too much information
Some didn’t understand the difference between the terms “sponsor” and “proxy,” but once understood, found it easy to select the appropriate profile
Good findings: working in fee/fine screens was easy and intuitive; check-in and checkout were easy; Darcy Branchini said that Cornell tester Tobi Hines found that transitioning to FOLIO terminology from Voyager terminology was surprisingly easy
Bottom line: there needs to be a stronger/more obvious path between searching for something and doing something with it. Button placement and labeling are crucially important.
Flash! After the meeting, Kimie reported that a JIRA issue has been created to address the problem of confusing drop-down menu selections at the top of the screen. 
Brooks Travis brought up a problem that he encountered in doing bug testing: the patron expiration date (if earlier than the calculated due date) did not seem to shorten the due date. This is a problem.
In all cases, the patron expiration date, if earlier than the calculated due date, should override the standard due date. It should also trump the “minimum guaranteed loan” setting. This is a fundamental need and should be part of MVP.
For existing loans, a newly entered or modified patron expiration date should update the due dates on loans for that patron, in much the same way as a recall might update a due date. This would be an enhancement. (This is an issue that should probably be handled by Cheryl, who was not present at today’s meeting.)
Jana: we would like a pop-up alert to display when a due date has been truncated
Huda asked that we alert her to any other areas that may need usability testing, and if we have any other questions.