Background
From March 10 to March 14, a usability study was conducted to review some early concepts for browse paths and destination pages for topics (e.g. malaria, agriculture, education), regions, and grants. We met with 7 participants to capture initial impressions of page designs and expectations for how the browse feature works. A usability analyst reviewed the data and shared findings with the entire Web team.

What we learned
Study participants had a highly positive reaction to the use of photography, illustration, editorial, and variety of browse paths to content. There was consistency in areas for improvement, and clear direction for next steps.

Here are a few top findings:

• World and Regional Map – The map was a successful route to find information by region. We are creating more intuitive icons and text links which will allow users to view slideshows, video, and other editorial related to map views.
  
  
• Cross-links – The topics, regions, and grants browse paths have many cross-links, enabling users to view related content without having to "back out" of a path they originally chose.  We are working to make the links more obvious to users by increasing their visual prominence, using descriptive language, and consistent placement on each page.
  
  
• Simplify – Because of the variety of ways to browse, some pages felt overly complex. We are simplifying the layouts and functionality so that users can quickly find what they are looking for.

Our Next Steps
We are working on the next iteration of browse page templates, the map illustration and icons, related editorial and multi-media content, and cross-linking from story pages.

Get Involved
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