During June and July 2023, user testing of the DABAR system was carried out due to the development of a new version of the Digital Academic Archives and Repositories system. The purpose of conducting user experience testing was done with the aim to improve the DABAR system, and it is based on the method of observing the actual way of using the product, in this case, the repositories in the DABAR system. The testing was conducted by the UX testing manager from SRCE, who guided users through the tasks they performed during the testing of the DABAR system. The users who participated in the user testing were students, repository managers, and users of the DABAR system. The testing covered two areas, data search and the process of archiving and self-archiving objects. Due to time constraints, the upload of four types of objects was tested, a data set, an educational content, a journal paper, and an evaluation paper.
The testing provided insight into how users interacted with the DABAR system before the redesign and development of a new version of the DABAR system. Data was obtained on what needs to be improved as well as what is good and should be kept in DABAR.
The results of testing the DABAR system show a positive subjective impression of the users, who successfully performed the tasks, but there were certain dilemmas and the need for improvement. Some of the improvements relate to the development of a visual design that must be more user-friendly. The test results showed that the informativeness of the system should be improved in order to make it easier for users to understand, e.g. which form fields are mandatory and which are optional, and considering removing redundant fields, which could facilitate data entry.
The entire report about the results of user testing of the DABAR system is available in the Digital Repository of the SRCE.
