Overview
Founded in 1998, American Philharmonic - Sonoma County is a full size symphonic orchestra conceived from and supported by the communities of Sonoma County. Created by a group of musicians dedicated to reinventing the American symphony orchestra based on sustainable democratic principles, has grown from its modest beginnings as the Cotati Philharmonic, to become the premier professional volunteer orchestra in the North Bay Area. We have a very unique and unusual audience for a classical orchestra organization. All of our musicians and staff are completely volunteers and all of our concerts are free of charge. Therefore, we're extremely inclusive and as a result, all people from all walks of life, rich or poor, young and old, are musicians, donors, attendees, etc. No snobs here! We want an inclusive message that reaches to a broad spectrum of people, while being professional and not looking too "folksy" or lowbrow "community" so that big donors (who are often motivated by prestige and looking good) are not enticed.
SRJC Students Testing
There were twelve student testers used in the evaluation of the site. These were fellow classmates that developed web sites within their teams. This group looked for navigation, colors, grammer, spelling, and other problems just as they tested their own site. Overall, the feedback has been positive with few changes to make. The testers were given a working form to write notes and add comments as they evaluated the web site. At the completion they were able to transcript the notes into a online form. Upon submission, the form was send to the server where it was downloaded into the results page. The SRJC Student Questions used were from a composite of questions generally asked of anyone that browses the internet without necessarily having an interest in the subjet manner. The testers have a high working knowledge of computers as well as being technically savvy in working with html, CSS, and Dreamweaver.
Summary
An overwhelming majority of the students used PC (92%) and Firefox (83%) to perform the testing. Of the eighteen questions asked there were only two that had answers that were slightly different. Does the site use standard link colors was answered no by 16%. Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site was answered no by 25%.
In the comments section 81% said they liked the site while 19% did not voice any opinion. Overall the comments did not group together as major issues. A few pointed out that the same color was used for links and text on the same page. Another said loading images with dial-up was very slow. And one pointed out that having a link to SRJC and Wells Fargo Center would have been nice.
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Tester: SRJC Student #1
Hardware: PC
Browser: IE7
Screen Size: 1024x916
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: No
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments:
I really like the color scheme - it's very rich and accessible. I was a
bit confused at first that the same color is used both for links and other text on
the same page, but that's not a real problem. Also noticed that some links are
black instead of the prevailing link color (see "Click Here" on the Support our
Mission page).
I'm on a dialup connection, so the number and size of pictures on each page caused
the pages to take awhile to load for me. Dialup also prevents me from listening to
audio, and video is spotty.
Good job on a really large and complex site!
Barbara Vallauri
Saturday Afternoon Club
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Tester: SRJC Student #2
Hardware: PC
Browser: IE6 IE7 IE8 Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: No
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments: Larry L. Roberts- Tested using Windows XP, Vista, Windows7 MSIE V6, V7,
V8, FF, Safari.
MSIE v6 showed column alignment problem, right column was below left col. on most
pages with multi-columns, IE 6 forms showed cut off of top and bottom text and box
on list.
MSIE v8 showed about 5 pixels of space below all pages except: membership.html,
media.html, plaudits2php, support.html, how-to-volunteer.html ---- Your "Install
Flash Player" worked for IE without Flash.
CONTACT.HTML page, I can't view email address, so cannot send an email because I only use webmail, it probably works if I
had outlook installed.
TYPO on plaudits2.php on CuteNew__ in center of page next to News Item American Philharmonic Pull... Should say CuteNews. LOVE YOUR SITE,
great job.
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Tester: SRJC Student #3
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox, Other
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: No
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: No
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: No
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments:
The site looks great. My main concern is that the links and headers look alike. I
keep wanting to click on the headers as links. Maybe consider a second text color
besides maroon?--Randy Jaillet (FANHS group)
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Tester: SRJC Student #4
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: 1024
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: No
Comments:
I notice that on the What's new page, at the bottom there is a link to srjc. This is not a working link and requires me to copy paste it into the browser. Nice site- lots of maroon and peach. Perhaps a link to the wells fargo center would be useful. No clear logo or fav.icon used. Nice job--
Nichelle (socofoso)
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student Tester#5
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments:
I disabled images incase someone was running on dial up or had that
disabled for some reason and noticed that at that point your navigation is not
friendly because you loose your background image and all the links hover white on a
white background. --Grant Brott
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student Tester#6
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: No
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments:
My screen resolution is 1280x800.
The site is very beautiful and very impressive. Clearly a lot of thought and work
went into the design and execution. The colors are rich and warm and match the
subject and content very well. The photos tie the pages together.
I thought that the left and top navigation would have been more effective if the
current tab/link had a different color to indicate that it was the currently
displayed page as I wasn't always sure what page I was on. Also some of the longer
pages could have used "Back to Top" jumps to avoid scrolling back up. Some of the
links opened in the same page and some opened in a new page so I had to pay
attention to determine how to get back to the previous page.
However, the site is very nicely laid out and the information is easily accessible.
Anna Narbutovskih - Team Sonoma County Folk Society
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student Tester#7
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: 1024x916
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Comments:
Hi there tester Antonio Ventura from Filiphino Association (FANHS)
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student #8
Hardware: MAC
Browser: Other
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: Yes
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments:
Overall, a very attractive and usable website. I notice that there aren't
links from content within a specific page to other pages -- that is, no links
embedded in text. Also the two nav areas do take up a lot or page real estate, but
it does allow all nav to be based on "top level" navigation -- no looking for links
in sub menus.
FYI I used Safari with resolution of 1440 x 900
Doane Atwood, WGLI, 4/27/09
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student #9
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: No
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: No
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments: Stefan Fanslow
As for the "No" in Navigation, that's because the left nav bar appears in each page
just as the top menu. While the text region provides the information about the page
you're at, it doesn't identify which page within either menu. Having such an
identifier could prevent a user from going to the same page twice, if they stay on
it long enough.
Also, in Accessibility, I couldn't answer the modem/dialin question directly because
I'm using Cable, but after looking at the filesize of the header image, I have to
say that it won't load very quickly when using dialup, since 56k modems (the
standard at this point) only download at 5k per second, which means a 100k file will
take 20 seconds.
Design/Maintenance: nothing failed that I found. *Technically, I have a couple Flash
blocking programs, so when I went to the Downloads/Media page, the popup that
appeared didn't show anything except the Flashblock icon. it isn't possible to
detect the presence of a blocker (to my knowledge) so I wouldn't worry about it.
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student #10
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: No
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments: I love the banner! I feel like I am almost actually there. I loved the
simplicity and ease of getting around the site. Excellent Job.
Sincerely,
Dusty Dwyer (UASA team)
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student #11
Hardware: PC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: 1024x916
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments: I very much liked the header banner, and the color scheme gives a rich
theatre feeling. I was surprised that the are no active states on the links but I
guess they aren't really necessary since you really don't ever drill down into
sublevels. The videos in small windows is a very nice touch but they do take a bit
of time to load. Overall I really liked both the design and content execution of the
site. It is inviting, exciting and informative. -Rebecca Farrell
(Sonoma County Folk Society)
SRJC Testing Feedback Form
Testor: SRJC Student #12
Hardware: MAC
Browser: Firefox
Screen Size: Other
Did you use any adaptive devices?: No
Does the site convey a clear sense of its intended audience?: Yes
Does it use language in a way that is familiar to and comfortable for its readers?: Yes
Does this website match the expectations and experiences you've had for American
Philharmonic?: Yes
Is load time appropriate to content, even on a slow dial-in connection?: Yes
Is it accessible to readers with physical impairments?: Yes
Is there an easily discoverable means of communicating with the author or
administrator?: Yes
Does the site have a consistent, clearly recognizable 'look-and-feel'?: Yes
Does it make effective use of repeating visual themes to unify the site?: Yes
Does the site use (approximately) standard link colors?: Yes
Are the links obvious in their intent and destination?: Yes
Is the navigation easy to use and do you always know where you are in the site?: Yes
When you look for a specific item in the site are you able to quickly navigate to
it?: Yes
Does the site make effective use of hyperlinks to tie related items together?: Yes
Are there dead links? Broken CGI scripts? Functionless forms?: No
Is page length appropriate to site content?: Yes
Is the site moderate in its use of color?: Yes
Does it provide feedback whenever possible?: Yes
Comments: I really enjoyed looking through this site. I loved the use of the colors
which are simple and warm an inviting as well. I think the maroon paired with the
gold and wonderful accent colors. Great work! Jennifer James - Global Leadership