Developing best practices for IOOS web portals

The Regional Associations (RAs) of IOOS have developed web portals to deliver oceanographic data and information to a diverse range of users. Our research task here is to discover ways of measuring how effectively IOOS web portals are delivering that data and information. Good measurement techniques can help the IOOS community improve its support to users through the development of best practices. In our examination of 10 RA web portals we found the main questions are: If IOOS is about getting data, how easy is it to locate, and then to use? We consider usability testing as a means for evaluating the effectiveness of web portals and discuss three exploratory assessments with regards to navigation, search, and content. The authors anticipate future, more in-depth research on how to maximize web portal usability for the diverse base of IOOS stakeholders.