KINTAUNA MYLES

JUNE 18, 2017

USABILITY COMPARISON OF ALASKA &

IDAHO FISH AND GAME WEBSITES

PRESENTED BY: KINTAUNA MYLES

ENG 385
THOMPSON
Table of Contents:

Introduction...pg. 3

Methodspg. 3

Test Metrics.pg. 3-4

Evaluation.pg. 4

Testing.pg. 4

Results.........pg. 5

Locate Hunting Regulations..pg. 5

Locate Fishing Regulations...pg. 6

Locate Points of Contact.pg. 7

Locate Office Locationspg. 8

Find Employment Oppurtunites.pg. 9

Purchasing a Hunting License.pg. 10

Purchasing a Fishing Licensepg. 11

Reporting Roadkill..pg. 12

Reporting Criminal Activity..pg. 13

Identifying Invasive Species pg. 14

Conclusion & Recommendations.....pg. 15

Appendix- Raw Data..pg. 16-22

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Introduction:
The Alaska Fish and Game website, and the Idaho Fish and Game website, were analyized to
find how user friendly each website is. These websites are primarily frequented by hunters,
fishermen, and other outdoorsmen, who have a specified objective when accessing these
sites. These tests were designed and implemented with these types of people in mind, who
may have little experience with accessing websites to find information regarding the rules and
regulations of public lands in regards to hunting, fishing, and access to the lands in the state.

Methods:
Ten tasks were selected to be evaluated of user friendliness. These tasks are as follows:
Locate Hunting Regulations
Locate Fishing Regulations
Locate Points of Contact
Locate Office Locations
Find Employment Oppurtunites
Purchasing a Hunting License
Purchasing a Fishing License
Reporting Roadkill
Reporting Criminal Activity
Identifying Invasive Species

These tasks were selected by how usefulf the information would be for the average person to
use for real life application of these sites.

Test Metrics:
In this evaluation of the two websites, each website will be tested for the same tasks by using
the same testing perameters. These parameters are as follows:
Effective: The task was able to be completed.
Effiecient: The task was user friendly when accessing this specific task, and took minimal
amount of time and effort.
Engaging: The design decisions of the individual pages enhanced the users experience.
Error tolerant: The website pages allowed for backwards navigation without having to restart
from the websites homepage, and didnt take away from the users ability to locate complete
his/her task.
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Easy to Learn: The website was organized and well put together, making it simple to navigate
and fine what the user was looking for.

Evaluation:
Each test metric was evaluated using the Likert scale (fig 1.1). The higher the number awarded
will reflect the better the product did on each task. The lower the number awarded will reflect
how the product scored lower on its ability to complete the tasks. Each metric will be
evaluated with a 5 point scale, with 25 points possible for each task, with a total possible score
for each product being 250 points.
fig 1.1

Testing:
Testing occurred on a 2016 HP Envy laptop equiped with an Intel Core i7 processor. The
computer utilizes Windows 10, and runs on a 64-bit operating system. Both websites were
accessed on the Windows Edge web browser. Each website was opened at the same time but
on different tabs, while also recording data on a table designed using Microsoft Word. Images
were caputured by using the snipping tool so that they could be of use as visualizations of the
steps during the Results section of this document.

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RESULTS:
Locate Hunting Regulations:
AK: From the Alaska F&G homepage, the tab regulations is visable and easy to identify. Once
accessed, there is another set of tabs that populate the screen. Once I put my mouse over the
newly populated tabs, I quickly found hunting regulations under the Wildlife tab (fig 2.1).
Once accessed it opened to another page which had up to date regulations available via PDF
format.
fig 2.1

ID: From the Idaho F&G homepage, I had to access the hunting tab on the top of the page
and from there I went to the seasons and rules section. This opened up another page that
had large images of the regulation manuals (ex 2.2), which are linked to the PDF format
version of each regulation manual.
fig 2.2

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Locating Fishing Regulations:
AK: From the Alaska F&G homepage, I again used the regulations tab, which had the sub-tab
labeled fishing. When the fishing tab was highlighted a drop down menu appeared with
four different options; Sport Fishing Regulations, Commercial Fishing Regulations, Personal Use
Regulations, and Substinence Regulations. I clicked on all four options and found that when
accessed, each opens a page that had regulations that were related to each specific type of
fishing regulation.
ID: From the Idaho F&G homepage, I hovered over the fishing tab located at the top of the
page (fig 3.1), from there a drop down menu appeared in which I then clicked on the Seasons
and Rules tab. This selection took me directly to a page that had all fishing regulations
accessible through PDF format.
fig. 3.1

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Locate Points of Contact:
AK: The Alaska Fish and Game homepage has a link labeled, contact us right at the top of the
page. When highlighted, a few drop down options populate, I selected the Contact info by
office loaction option, because I felt that it would be the most relevant choice for an
outdoorsman. From there I choose Anchorage in order to see what sort of information would
come up. Different phone numbers and faxes came up, as well as tabs for contact through
email, and by topic (fig 4.1).
Fig 4.1

ID: When searching for the points of contact for the Idaho Fish and Game, I had to scroll to the
bottom of the homepage. From there I clicked on the link, which took me to a page that had
the numbers for the state hewadquarters and every regions headquarters, the poaching
reporting hotline, and the number for emergencies.

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 7
Locate Office Locations:
AK: From the Alaska F&G homepage, I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and found a
link that was labeled office locations, which was under the AK F&G address. Once I clicked
this link it took me to the same office loaction page that I was taken to when searching for
the points of contact. This time I chose Fairbanks and was taken to the information specific to
that location (fig 5.1)
Fig 5.1

ID: On the Idaho F&G homepage I found of the right side of the page a box that was labeled
Regions, from there I chose the Panhandle listing (fig 5.2). Once clicked it took me to a page
that had various bits of information specific to this region, as well as a address and map of the
Panhandle Regional Office.
Fig 5.2

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Find Empoyment Oppurtunities:
AK: On the home page there was a tab at the very top that was labeled join us, from there, a
popdown display had different options, one of those options was careers. I followed that link
to another page which had broad strokes of generalized information, and towards the bottom
was another link as seen in (fig 6.1). This link took me to Alaskan Department of Administration
website, which had a botton labeled Job Seekers. Once clicked, this took me to a third party
job anouncemnt website called, governmetjobs.com, in which I had to use the search bar, or
scroll through all of the state job listings to find a Fish and Game position opening.
Fig 6.1

ID: The Idaho F&G websites homepage, under the About tab, has a employment sub-tab.
Once clicked, it directs you to another page on the F&G site which has all of the current
openings in the state for Fish & Game employment (fig. 6.2).
Fig 6.2

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Purchasing a Hunting License:
AK: On the mainpage, under hunting, there is a tab for License and Permits, that drops down
another menu that has Buy Your License as its label. Once clicked it takes you to another
page that has two options, either Enter Store or Sign In. I clicked on Enter Store and was
taken to an information input page, which once complete, taks you to a purchasing selection
page. On this page I selected Sporting License and Stamps, which then gave me the option to
add a hunting license to my cart and check out.

ID: On the top of the F&G website page, there is a License tab, which drops down and has a
link labeled online, which is under the buying options catergory. Once selected it takes you
off site to id.outdoorcentral.us, which has the selection option to buy a tag for 2017 or 2018.
Once you choose the year, you click the buy license, tags, and permits button, which takes
you to a splash page that requires you to make an account before you can proceed. Once you
choose to create an account it requires personal information, as well as our license number for
any prior wildlife sporting license that you have held in ID (fig 7.1). I didnt have mine, so the
website wouldn let me proceed.
Fig 7.1

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 10
Purchasing a Fishing License:
AK: On the mainpage, under fishing, there is a tab for Buy Now!. Once clicked it takes you to
another page that has two options, either Enter Store or Sign In. I clicked on Enter Store
and was taken to an information input page, which once complete, taks you to a purchasing
selection page. On this page I selected License and Stamps, which then gave me the option to
add a fishing license to my cart and check out (fig 8.1).
Fig 8.1

ID: On the top of the F&G website page, there is a License tab, which drops down and has a
link labeled online, which is under the buying options catergory. Once selected it takes you
off site to id.outdoorcentral.us, which has the selection option to buy a tag for 2017 or 2018.
Once you choose the year, you click the buy license, tags, and permits button, which takes
you to a splash page that requires you to make an account before you can proceed. Once you
choose to create an account it requires personal information, as well as our license number for
any prior wildlife sporting license that you have held in ID. I didnt have mine, so again, the
website wouldn let me proceed.

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 11
Reporting Roadkill:
AK: Aftering combing through the different areas on the Alaska F&G site, I eventually found the
tab Living with Wildlife, which was under the Species tab. This then gave me the option
Stranded, Dead, or Orphaned, which then gave me another option to choose the type of
animal. I chose Moose, Beers, and other mammals, since they are the most likely roadkill
species. From that point it gave further instruction to contact my local ADF&G office to file a
report (fig 9.1).
Fig 9.1

ID: Under the wildlife tab on the homepage, there is an option that is labeled as report
roadkill & salvage. Once accessed, it takes you to a new page that has a big Report Roadkill
button. This button then takes you to a page in which you can file a report and giv any details
about the encounter, as well as giving you the option to salvage the animal if you so desire (fig
9.2).
Fig 9.2

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 12
Reporting Criminal Activity:
AK: Under the Regulations tab on the main page, I selected the enforcement option. This
took me to a page that stated to contact the nearest wildlife trooper office (fig 10.1).
Fig 10.1

ID: From the mainpage, I chose the enforcement tab, which had a drop down option Report
Wildlife Crimes- Report a Poacher. Once I clicked that option, it took me directly to a reporting
page, in which an individual could fill out details of observed illegal activity, and file it
anonymously (fig 10.2).
Fig 10.2

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 13
Identifying Invasive Species:
AK: From the options at the top of the F&G homepage, I looked under the Species tab, and
clicked on the invasive drop down selection. This lead me to a page that gave me a list of
invasive species (fig 11.1), in which most were able to be accessed to identify the different
invasive species.
Fig 11.1

ID: After scouring the Idaho F&G webpage, I was unable to find any means of identifying
invasive species that threaten the native species in the state.

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 14
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS:
At the end of my comparision between the Alaska Fish & Game website, and the Idaho Fish &
Game website, I found that the Alaska F&G site, was supperior to Idahos. This is mainly do to
the lack of information on the Idaho website in relation to the tasks that were being tested,
especially the Invasive Species task, in which the Idaho F&G website had no information to
offer at all on the subject. The Alaska F&G website could be designed differently in order to
give it a more welcoming and professional display, as well as adding a page to their site in
which you can see job openings in the department without having to go to another agency. The
Idaho F&G site looked very professional and was very handy when it came to reporting roadkill
and poachers, but ultimately it fell short, do to over-done cyber security for the wildlife
permits, and its failure to address the environmental issues that invasive species cause, and
how to identify and report these species.

References:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov
https://idfg.idaho.gov/

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 15
 USABILITY COMPARISON SURVEY RAW DATA

For the data below, each number marked represents how effective the websites are designed at achieving the
specified tasks. The numbers used will be marked by being bolded and underlined.

ALASKA FISH & GAME Total: IDAHO FISH & GAME Total:
226 207

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 1: Locate Hunting Regulations

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Notes: Both websites were easy to navigate to find the hunting regulations, but the design of the Idaho F&G site was more
engaging and captured the natural colors of the outdoors.

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 16
 Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 2: Locate Fishing Regulations

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Notes: Again, both sites were easy to access the regulations, but Idaho had less steps in order to get to the objective.

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 3: Locate Points of Contact

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 17
 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 4: Locate Office Locations

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 5: Find Employment Opportunities

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 18
 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 6: Purchase a Hunting License

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 7: Purchase a Fishing License

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 19
 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 8: Reporting Roadkill

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 9: Report Criminal Activity

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 20
 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Scale

E E
x x
Alaska Fish and Game c c
P Idaho Fish and Game Website P
Website e e
o o
Good l Good l
o o
l l
r r
e e
n n
t t

Task 10: Identify Invasive Species

Effective: 1 2 3 4 5 Effective: 1 2 3 4 5

Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5 Efficient: 1 2 3 4 5

Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5 Engaging: 1 2 3 4 5

Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5 Error Tolerant: 1 2 3 4 5

Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5 Easy to Learn: 1 2 3 4 5

ALASKA FISH & GAME Total: IDAHO FISH & GAME Total:
226 207

6/18/2017 Usability comparison of Alaska & Idaho Fish and Game Websites 21