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Below is the original drafting work carried out and coordinated by the UX Interest Group in 2021.
The final USE Design Principles are located here, USE Design Principles
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Samvera community packages run the gamut from Ruby gems, to generators, to Rails and Elixir applications, Node modules, JavaScript UI components and more. Thinking about a meaningful purpose the UX Interest Group could serve the community in 2021, the following questions have surfaced.
What does such a wide variety of Samvera code have in common, besides serving the digital repository needs of the Library/cultural heritage community?
What does it mean to be a “Samvera application”?
What if general criteria existed which Samverians (developers, product owners, managers, designers), could reference when designing and developing an app or module?
Mission
The UX Interest Group proposes crafting a set of Design Principles, which reflect the values and goals of the Samvera Community. In addition, perhaps these Design Principles could:
Serve as a guide for application design before development begins.
For example, when creating wire-frames for a new feature, does the wire-framed content meet Design Principles standards?
Act as a reference point for applications in active development.
Be a tool to evaluate existing Samvera applications, such as:
Identify areas which might fall short of meeting Samvera Design Principles, thus becoming opportunities for improvement.
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Interpreting these Principles from Different Audience Perspectives
Do we consider all or specific audiences for these principles? Let’s debate!
Backend Developers (current & future)
Front End Developers (current & future)
Administrative Users
End Users / Patrons (students, faculty, research, general public, etc.)
***We want to put in questions with each principle we settle on to help people think thru how they are/arent' reaching those principles. **
Samvera Design Principles (working draft)
Samvera is a vibrant and welcoming community of information and technology professionals who share challenges, build expertise, and create sustainable, best-in-class solutions, making the world’s digital collections accessible now and into the future.
What are the Principles?
Human-Centered. Efficient. Unified. Sustainable. Ethical.
Human-Centered
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Inclusive & Equitable | Accessible & Universal | Engaging & Unambiguous |
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Does the app feel welcoming?
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Efficient
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Modular while functioning as a whole | Minimal (in design & latency) | Intuitive & Predictable |
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Controlled Flexibility
Configurability Balanced with Efficiency |
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Unified
Standards & Best-Practices | Consistent behavior patterns & functionality | Clearly documented (for designers and users) |
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Sustainable
Mindful of Trends | Maintenance Demands Match Resourcing Realities | Forward Thinking |
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Are bug issues outweighing new feature issues?
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Are there any trends in design you are considering encorporating reliant on Proprietary systems?
Ethical
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Transparency
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Mindful of Unintended Favouritism
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Digital Safety & Wellbeing
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Is the app’s codebase open source (for ease of Adoption & Integration)
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Is the app Community driven/managed
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1. Human-Centered
Inclusive & Equitable
Q: Does the app feel welcoming?
Q: Does the app (unintentionally) leave any users out (culturally, language, eye-sight conditions, etc)?
Q: Is it obvious where to request help? Report a problem?
Accessible & Universal
Q: Is the app “approachable”?
Q: Does the app feel cluttered?
Q: Is the app responsive across viewport sizes?
Q: Does the app follow WCAG requirements? At what level?
Q: Easy to find and manipulate any accessibility features?
Engaging & Unambiguous
Q: How does the app actively engage/empower users?
Unassuming
Q: How does the app use simple language (Ie. Explains all accronyms)?
Q: Are used icons universally recognized for desired function?
Q: Does the design translate well to multiple communities and account for cultural/institutional differences?
2. Efficient
Modular while functioning as a whole
Q: Does the app take advantage of DRY principles and is logically separated?
Minimal (in design & latency)
Q: Does the UI display more than is needed?
Intuitive
Q: Is it easy to understand and follow with minimal to no training needed?
Q: Is it easy for users to avoid and correct errors?
Predictable, uncomplicated and precise
Q: Ex. Does the app use consistent breadcrumbs & buttons placement? Consistent color and icons usage?
Flexibility balanced with Friction
Q: Does the application create endless flexibility to the detriment of the workflow?
Ie. Endless top folder creation instead of applying information architecture/minimum rules for information organization/categorization.
Ie. Endless choice typically doesn’t lead to efficiency
3. Unified
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Follow standards, guidelines, conventions and best practices.
Q: Does the app use popular open-source libraries/packages?
Q: If core developers left the app, could its maintenance continue?
4. Sustainable
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Prioritise Sustainability over Trends
Q: Is the app built upon technologies less than 2 years old?
Maintenance demands should match organizational commitment to a resource.
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Does the app rely heavily on 3rd party modules (FB/Google/etc)?
Does the app assume the user has access to specific 3rd party modules?
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Does the app prioritize security in code?
What risks are there of the app being used as an entry point for ransomware and other cybersecurity threats?
How does the application interface with other applications that may hold or process personal/high security/restricted data and what risks, if any, are introduced through that integration?
What does the user need to know about how the application acquires, uses, and stores personal/high security data before they use the application?
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Design (visual, technical, etc.) should be forward-looking, taking into account likely future scenarios, and avoid short-term trends.
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Ethical
Transparent |
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Mindful of Unintended Favouritism | Digital Safety & Wellbeing | |
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Contribution Acknowledgements for the Samvera Design Principles:
Source:
https://principles.design/examples/the-ten-principles-of-inclusive-design
University of Virginia Library Design Principles
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People/Members:
UX Interest Group
@Christina Chortaria
Norm Orstad
Dananji Withana
April Rieger