Skip to Main Content

Key findings from design concept testing

What we aimed to learn

Our goals were to:

  • Understand how well the proposed site structure (IA) aligned with participants’ mental models
  • Get feedback on the proposed page layout and sample content — ease of use and appeal
  • Begin to understand how participants would navigate the new site
  • See how appealing participants found the look and feel of the proposed site design

Who we talked to

Participants: 5 residents and 3 county employees — 8 total participants

Key demographics:

  • 4 older adults
  • 2 with disabilities (cognitive, hearing)
  • 3 multilingual — 2 spoke Spanish, 1 spoke Vietnamese
  • 3 low income — and 2 employees who work with low income residents

What we did

Methods: Tested 18 desktop and mobile mockups (design concepts) via 1-hour remote interviews

  • Participants “thought aloud” as they reviewed pages and indicated where they would go
  • Most participants saw either the desktop or mobile version — a few had time to review both

General findings and recommendations

How users navigate

Give users multiple ways to navigate to content via hub pages, featured items, and search.

  • Having multiple paths to find information made it easier for participants to find what they were looking for (e.g., Services and Departments, featured items and topic cards)
  • Participants easily identified the menus on mobile and desktop and preferred navigating to a whole page rather than to a drop down menu. Most didn’t use or point out the left nav on the content page
  • Many participants said they’d rely on search if they didn’t see what they needed right away
  • Participants liked the featured item buttons at the top of pages and identified many things they were looking for here

Where users looked for information

This table describes both where users found info and where they said they’d want to look.

[INSERT ACCESSIBLE VERSION OF THIS TABLE]

Page layout and site design

Simple, intuitive site organization and page design will help users find information fast.

  • Participants scanned pages quickly to identify what they were about and decide where they would want to go next
  • They used short content descriptions, like the service and department cards, to help them understand what a link was about
  • They commented that this design is “simpler”, “very user friendly and clear”, “easy to navigate”, “not overwhelming - my eye knows where to go”, “transparent”
  • On text, they said: “just the right size font”, “I like the bolded button text”, “easy to read”
  • Participants also complimented the site’s black, blue, and gold color scheme and “vivid”, “improved” pictures

Content in multiple languages

Making the site equally available in other languages supports communities.

  • Multilingual speakers noted that it was critical for content to be translated “by people” or “by a team” rather than via a translation service. Google Translate is often unreadable for their communities
  • They emphasized how important it was to make content accessible (easy to find and read) for non-English speakers in their communities
  • If not all content can be translated, they suggested translating key content like Board of Supervisors’ agendas and meetings, and emergency and assistance information
  • Some pointed out that it’s easier to find this content if they see words in that language, such as placing the names of the languages in the header or footer, or seeing content or buttons on the page

Content in multiple formats

Create access to Marin’s services via multiple formats.

  • Participants with cognitive disabilities or who work with limited readers noted that simple layouts, plain language, and short descriptions aid their ability to use the site
  • Participants with disabilities asked for access information to be prominently displayed — whether that’s wheels access to a physical building or closed captioning on a board meeting
  • One participant suggested adding short (Tiktok style) videos to give overviews of important info — such as how to get a business license, how does Marin’s government work — these videos can help those who can’t read or process written language well

Site building best practice recommendations

Center site content around:

  • Services residents need
  • What Marin County has to offer
  • How Marin government works — and how residents can get involved

Maintain simple, easy to scan pages

  • Limit the number of sections per page: 2-3 for index/navigation pages, 3-5 for content pages
  • Use featured item buttons to help users navigate quickly to content
  • Focus content on keywords and make it action / service oriented

Give users multiple ways to navigate to the same content, for example: via service hub and department pages, and via search

  • Ensure the search engine gives relevant, reliable results

Make the site equally accessible for all users

  • Prioritize human translations for key sections of content (rather than translation tools)
  • Make accessibility info prominent and consider alternate formats for content (e.g., videos)

Page-specific findings and recommendations

Homepage

Featured service buttons

Participants wanted to see (or keep):

  • Public assistance (housing, food, transportation, 211)
  • Emergency and safety info (such as wildfire info or road closures, depending on season)
  • Forms
  • Property taxes — some participants quipped that property taxes was so prominent that it must reflect the county’s priorities
  • How to attend a board meeting
  • Disability access — especially info on whether events are accessible
  • Election info (if an election is happening)

Page order

Participants noted what was important to them:

  • Alert banner — Once the Covid-19 banner was moved under the menu, participants noticed it (we moved this half way through testing)
  • Search and featured service buttons at the top — Most participants didn’t notice the popular search suggestions box
  • What’s going on in Marin — including the News and Calendar
  • A few participants wanted more info on what Marin has to offer and what you can do here, mentioning the beauty of Marin, parks, libraries, civic center, activities, and more
  • Board of supervisors info — Some participants said that BOS info could be lower, while a few wanted it higher. A few noted that “your representatives” or similar language may be more friendly and accessible.

Recommendations

  • Help users find services, quickly and easily — with featured service buttons:
    • Feature top tasks across different types of users and demographics
    • Include assistance information (for housing, food, transportation, etc.)
    • Include timely or seasonal info (e.g., wildfire, road closures, covid, elections) — note that these can also be displayed as an alert banner
  • Help users understand what Marin has to offer
  • Lead users to learn how their government works, who represents them, and how to get involved

How Do I page

  • Participants really liked the most popular links at the top of the page — saying that there were items here that they have trouble finding on the current site
  • Some weren’t sure what they’d find here, but said “How Do I…” was more clear
  • Participants noted important information they’d look for here:
    • Public assistance (CalFresh, CalWorks, MediCal, cash aid)
    • Emergency and safety info
    • Marriage licenses, death certificates
    • Tick testing, water testing
    • Jobs
    • Accessibility / disability services
    • Civic Center info and maps
    • Zoning info
    • Jail bookings
    • Animal control
    • Older adult services, family services

Recommendations

  • Use the page title “How do I…” — this phrase is easier to understand for some users than “Services”
  • Feature different popular services here than on the home page (some overlap is okay)
  • On service category cards, use plain language descriptions with specifics on what you can do — this helps users scan the page and find what they need

Departments page

  • Participants easily understood what this page would contain
  • Participants liked the ease of the alphabetical listing with the “Jump to” to skip down the page.
  • They liked the short descriptions of each office and noted that the page is “clear, not cluttered”
  • Most participants didn’t note the Staff Directory

Recommendations

  • Consider moving the Staff Directory elsewhere on the site
  • On department cards, use plain language descriptions with specifics on what you can do — this helps users scan the page and find what they need

Your Government page

  • Some participants weren’t sure what this page was about, but said it made sense after visiting
  • Participants appreciated the content on this page and wanted more info on:
    • How Marin’s government works
    • What ordinances and guidelines are in place
    • How to get involved
    • The next election
    • Upcoming BOS meeting talking points
  • A few noted that this page has the opportunity to educate residents about what Marin county is working on and how it functions

Recommendations

  • Include both services Marin offers and how to get involved (max of 8 featured cards)
  • Consider adding links to how Marin government works

Other pages

Topic page (Home & Property)

  • Participants liked the short descriptions and would use this page to navigate elsewhere on the site (as intended)
  • Participants wanted to know about:
    • Related departments
    • Marking utilities ahead of construction/digging
    • Getting building permits
    • What’s city vs county controlled
  • They liked having info here on emergency preparedness

Department page (Community Development Agency)

  • This page excited participants — they liked the photo banner, color, contact information, and featured item buttons
  • Some participants were confused about this agency’s charge and whether the page was missing info about people services
  • A few participants asked about ways to get involved or provide community input
  • A few participants responded positively to the Sustainability card and suggested adding the Resilient Neighborhoods program here

Division page (Housing resources)

  • Participants found this page less actionable than the CDA page, pointing to topic categories and descriptions — “I want to know ‘What do I do?’ What is an ADU? Why [build one]? How?”
  • For the Affordable housing card description in particular, participants were unsure what this content would be about — “Hard to tell if we’re getting housing assistance or building… seems like a mix of both?” 
  • Participants also wanted to see info on permits, related ordinances, and how to give community input

Content page (Affordable housing)

  • Participants said that the most important info for people seeking affordable housing was in the second section — they’d want to know how many units are available (or how long the waitlist is) and where units are located
  • Participants commented that 211 was helpful to know about and to make more prominent on the page. Some were unfamiliar with this service.
  • Page features
    • Left nav — participants didn’t point out or say they’d use this
    • In this page — participants didn’t point out or say they’d use this
    • Social media — participants said they would not use this
    • Subscribe — a few participants would use this 
    • Print — a few participants would use this

Recommendations

  • Orient content to get users the services they need and help them understand how Marin County works for them
  • Keep text descriptions (and pages) short, simple, and action-oriented
  • Create 2-way communications with residents: present contact information and ways to get involved or provide feedback, as relevant