Rachel Steiner, Hannah Parris, Jeremy Scott and Lauren Russell IS 587 Project 2: Heuristic Evaluation Page 1 of 5 Name of engine:  Lycos  Description of search engine: Lycos Search includes Retriever, Hotbot and the Lycos Toolbar; Retriever extracts content from the web, while HotBot compiles results from Ask.com and MSN to make searching easier. Lycos Search is powered by a global digital marketing firm called Ybrant Digital that is headquartered in Hyderabad, India

Interfaces evaluated:  Web, Image, Video, People, Shopping, News, etc.

Brief description of the features:  Basic Search Features: o Keyword searching o Phrase searching, use term in “” o Exclude a term, put –term o Include a term, put +term  Advanced Search Features: o URL/Site search o Limit results by date and language o Adult Content Filter: filter material by clean, mixed or adult only content

Consolidated list of the usability problems and their ratings:  Lack of "back" outlet without pressing the back button on the toolbar o Severity Rating: 1.25  Unpredictable searching with quotation marks o Severity Rating: 3  No real system update o Severity Rating: 1  Advanced Search issues: even when certain limiters are used, they are not applied in the search results o Severity Rating: 3  Dog theme could be confusing - "fetch" instead of "search" o Severity Rating: 1  "Need a second opinion? Try Hot Bot." (HotBot pulls results from MSN and Ask.com) o Severity Rating: 1.5  General searching does not transfer into multiple fields, like in "People Search" Database o Severity Rating: 2.25  broken links in Knowledge Base Rachel Steiner, Hannah Parris, Jeremy Scott and Lauren Russell IS 587 Project 2: Heuristic Evaluation Page 2 of 5 o Severity Rating: 2.75  "Latest News" images on homepage are often fuzzy o Severity Rating: 1  Advanced Search Box is difficult to find and does not offer many options for refining a search o Severity Rating: 3  Help section is called "Knowledge Base", which does not seem to match with a "help" function o Severity Rating: 2  Help section is hard to get to, and even harder to navigate to find what you're looking for o Severity Rating: 3 Description of all heuristic violations:  Visibility of system status o Description of Violation: . No real system update o Justification for Violation: . Lack of transparency within the system to show that an action is taking place o Suggestions for Improvement: . Include the time it took to retrieve results . Have some kind of icon indicate search results are being retrieved while the user is waiting  Lycos dog is fetching results  Match between system and the real world o Description of Violation: . Dog theme could be confusing - "fetch" instead of "search" . Help section is called “Knowledge Base,” which does not seem to match with a “help” function o Justification for Violation: . Use real-world language instead of “themed-language” for search terms o Suggestions for Improvement: . Use the dog logo, but use the term “search” to make it more user-friendly . Make the Help link more specific, such as “Need help? Check out our Knowledge Base” so the user knows that the Knowledge Base IS the help section  User control and freedom o Description of Violation: . Lack of "back" outlet without pressing the back button on the toolbar . Advanced Search Box is difficult to find and does not offer many options for refining a search . Advanced Search issues: even when certain limiters are used, they are not applied in the search results o Justification for Violation: Rachel Steiner, Hannah Parris, Jeremy Scott and Lauren Russell IS 587 Project 2: Heuristic Evaluation Page 3 of 5 . Hinders the user’s ability to have access to previous results, advanced search options, and to limit their search criteria o Suggestions for Improvement: . Add a “Back to Results” button OR create an optional Lycos toolbar that stays on the page as you navigate through the results (like on About.com) . Put the link to the Advanced Search Box on the homepage and add more limiting fields such as file type, image size, phrase searching and Boolean Operators (like AND, NOT, OR). . Incorporate advanced search features into the general search box like “inurl:” or “intitle:”  Consistency and standards o Description of Violation: . Unpredictable searching with quotation marks . Advanced Search issues: even when certain limiters are used, they are not applied in the search results . General searching does not transfer into multiple fields, like in "People Search" Database o Justification for Violation: . Irrelevant results appear for search criteria o Suggestions for Improvement: . Quotation marks should select only that phrase; limit criteria to more relevant results . Incorporate advanced search features into the general search box like “inurl:” or “intitle:”  Error prevention o Description of Violation: o Justification for Violation: o Suggestions for Improvement:  Recognition rather than recall o Description of Violation: . Advanced Search Box is difficult to find and does not offer many options for refining a search . Help section is hard to get to, and even harder to navigate to find what you're looking for o Justification for Violation: . Making the options available visible; user would have to remember that it is accessible after the search has begun o Suggestions for Improvement: . Put a link to the Advanced Search Box on the homepage and add more limiting fields such as file type, image size, phrase searching, and Boolean Operators (like AND, OR, NOT) . Set up separate links within the Knowledge Base to bring the user directly to the questions they’re looking for  For example, one link for Search help, another for Lycos Mail, another for Angelfire, etc  Also include instructions for how to use the Knowledge Base since it is not very user-friendly  Flexibility and efficiency of use o Description of Violation: Rachel Steiner, Hannah Parris, Jeremy Scott and Lauren Russell IS 587 Project 2: Heuristic Evaluation Page 4 of 5 . Unpredictable searching with quotation marks . General searching does not transfer into multiple fields, like in "People Search" Database . Help section is hard to get to, and even harder to navigate to find what you're looking for o Justification for Violation: o Suggestions for Improvement: . Quotation marks should select only that phrase; limit criteria to more relevant results . For databases that have more than one search field, do not allow search term to transfer . Make the Help link more specific, such as “Need help? Check out our Knowledge Base” so the user knows the Knowledge Base IS the help section . Set up separate links within the Knowledge Base to bring the user directly to the questions they’re looking for  For example, one link for Search help, another for Lycos Mail, another for Angelfire, etc  Also include instructions for how to use the Knowledge Base since it is not very user-friendly  Aesthetic and minimalist design o Description of Violation: . "Need a second opinion? Try Hot Bot." (HotBot pulls results from MSN and Ask.com) . "Latest News" images on homepage are often fuzzy (aesthetic issue) o Justification for Violation: . HotBot function does not improve upon current search or add more relevant results . Images should appear crisp in the “Latest News” section o Suggestions for Improvement: . Remove HotBot option because it is not effective . Either fix the display or upload photos at a higher resolution (depending on what the root of the problem is)  Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors o Description of Violation: o Justification for Violation: o Suggestions for Improvement:  Help and documentation o Description of Violation: . Broken links in Knowledge Base . Help section is hard to get to, and even harder to navigate to find what you're looking for o Justification for Violation: . Help “Knowledge Base” should connect users to answers and provide feedback for user inquiries o Suggestions for Improvement: . Check and update help section more regularly to fix broken links if they are found Rachel Steiner, Hannah Parris, Jeremy Scott and Lauren Russell IS 587 Project 2: Heuristic Evaluation Page 5 of 5  Add a “report a problem with this page” link so that the user can let Lycos know about broken links when they are found  Jeremy will try to contact them using the “Ask a Question” form to see if he gets a response about the broken links . Set up separate links within the Knowledge Base to bring the user directly to the questions they’re looking for  For example, one link for Search help, another for Lycos Mail, another for Angelfire, etc  Also include instructions for how to use the Knowledge Base since it is not very user-friendly

Experience Summary:

References:  Nielson, Jacob. “Severity Ratings for Usability Problems.” http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/severityrating.html  Nielson, Jacob. “Ten Usability Heuristics.” http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html