Testing Results

Typical Users Provided by Sonoma County Film Office


SCFO supplied us with 10 names of what they consider to be typical users. 4 responded successfully; a potential 5th respondent oddly claimed the link did not work for her and, after she received considerate and detailed instructions about activating the link, went on to complete the SCFO registration form, not once but thrice.

Below are the actual questions and tallied results. Each "1" represents a choice from among possible responses in each of the two tables below. The final section provides actual text answers to the subjective questions.

TARGET MARKET:
SCFO Mission: "The Sonoma County Film Office promotes Sonoma County as a location destination for film production companies worldwide and creates a "film friendly" environment through work with local government, business and residents. "
Project Vision:
To create a "User friendly, photo and information rich site, with an updated look and feel (in contrast to the existing SCFO web site). New features include a Location of the Month page, a county map of images with rollovers naming past films and their locations and a. new photo gallery that displays about 100 new photos.
Our objective for the Tone and Message of the site: Professional, information rich, a visual feast for the eyes of what Sonoma County is as a backdrop for professional film makers and photographers. There are four pages shown as "currently under construction", awaiting county ASP links, which are not part of the testing that you will be doing. They are: Visitor's links, Related Links, Service listings, and Lodging.

Equipment and Systems Used to View Sonoma County Film Office Web Site
Monitor size
15"
17"
19"
21"
111 1    
Monitor colors
216 256 millions 165
1 1 1 1
Operating system
Mac Mac 10 windows 98 windows me windows 95
    111   1


Browser (include version)

NN NN 6 IE IE 6.0
    111 1

Internet connection & Modem Speed:

28k 56k dsl t1
  1 11 1
Please evaluate the web site, selecting one response per statement:

Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD)
Statements about the web site
SA
A
D
SD
My first impression of the opening screen was positive and I wanted to explore the site   11 1 1
Pls go to the introduction page : The text links to the sub navigation links are not necessary 1 1   1 1
The registration form on the "send us your info" page worked (Pls go to right side navigation bar, place your cursor on "How we can help" link, and then click on "send us your info" link.) 111   1  
In the Photo Gallery, the images of Sonoma County's landscape and scenery loaded quickly on my browser 111 1    
Visit the Permits page: The PDF Application form loads quickly and auto-updates on my browser 1 1 11  
The website gave me new information regarding the Film Office and their mission than I had before I visited this site 11 1 1
The site held my interest. 11 11  
The organization and sequencing of information is appropriate. 11 1 1
The site is easy to navigate and the navigation graphics were adequate identification for each page or section 11   1 1
The Photo Gallery images are a unique feature and an excellent representation for Sonoma County as a backdrop for films and photography 11 11
All page appearances follow Design Rules for: Consistency, Proximity, Contrast, Balance, Focal Point, and Readability.... etc. 1111
The large arrays of pictures and site layout could attract more moviemakers to Sonoma County 11 11  

Just a few more questions…

1. On the Movie Map page, does the image map work? YES:4 NO: 0

What do you see after clicking links under the word "Key"?Do you have any comments on our slide show?

moviemapkey: Same thing as clicking the map.
slideshow: Nice. Any way to automate it?

moviemapkey: Pulled up another box with the movies shot for that particular area.
slideshow: Thought it was a good display, but that section is a little confusing initially. Some verbiage should be listed above the map giving the user some direction on how to use that site and what they will get out of it. Left as it is, a user might just think it's a general map of the county.

moviemapkey: Movies and their filming locations
slideshow: Drop down titles of the following movie are annoying

moviemapkey: A cox pops up and tells me what movie was made in that area and the names of locations used
slideshow: It's not clear to me what part you are referring to as "slide Show" I traveled throughout the web sit and found it all to work well, informative. Complete the links that are still being built and So. Co. will have a web site they can be proud of.

2. What did you like best about the site?

best: images and colors are pleasing

best: The photo gallery. With more pictures it could be very useful to people virtually scouting the area.

best: Photo Gallery

best: Location of the Month and the Photo Gallery, image map.

3. What did you like least about the site?

least: NavBar pop up menus were distracting. They remain displayed if mouse leaves the NavBar in any direction but left (and sometimes even then). Also, why are they there on some pages but not on others?

least: Didn't like the picture on the front page. The toolbar on the right is confusing. The submenus should pop up on the front page, not just when you are in that particular area. Also, when you go to a particular page it would be helpful to have the page you're on labeled at the top (stand out) rather than bolded on the side toolbar.

least: The opening collage

least: Introduction letter from supervisor is too canned and the employees awards in this section don't say how these people assisted film makers

4. Any additional comments or critique?

additionalcomments: 1. NavBar on the right? Some people still use 640x480; won't it be cut off?
2. Right NavBar: When I mouse right to scroll, the menus pop up and remain visible.
3. Movie Map could use a reverse directory (a listing of films made here).
4. General logic. E.g., why isn't "Permits" under "How We Can Help"?
5. On your Q#2 (re text links): Unless you'd asked the question it would *never* have occurred to me to re-MouseOver the word "Introduction" after the page loaded.
6. On your Q#3: After submitting my info, I wasn't directed back to the site.

additionalcomments:
It would be helpful to have a search function limited to the Film page (vs. all of Sonoma County).

additionalcomments: Having a web site for this information is great. Movie making in Sonoma County should continue to be recognized as important to our economy and supported in every way.