User Testing

Design:

LocaShare is an app that allows users to share their location data automatically, according to rules about who to share with, at what locations, and at what times. It also allows users to view such information that their friends are sharing with them.

In the final design, the user begins on a home screen which contains four interactive elements. First, there is an interactive google map that displays the locations of friends who are sharing with you. Clicking on one of the friends displays an infobox with the name of the friend, and links to the Friend’s Share page with that friend. Second, the current user’s profile photo is displayed in the lower left of the screen (we’ll call her Katrina). It is a link to the user’s profile page. Finally, there are two buttons -- the first leads to the Friends page, and the second is used to initiate the creation of a new LocaShare.

The Friends page page displays two lists in succession -- the first is the list of friends who are sharing with Katrina, and next is the list of friends Katrina is sharing with. Clicking on a friend in the first list links to the Friend’s Share page with that friend. Clicking on a friend in the second list leads to the My Share page with that friend.

The Friend’s Share page contains several interactive elements. At the top right is a link to the My Share page with the same friend. Proceeding down the page, there is a drop-down menu from which one share can be selected. Selecting the share modifies the History sentence to reflect how many times the user has been to the specified location recently. Finally, at the bottom of the screen is a map that shows the user’s current or last-known location.

The My Share pages with a friend is analogous to the Friend’s Share page, except that the information shown is about the current user Katrina instead of about the friend. There is a link to the Friend’s Share page at the upper right, and there is a drop-down list of shares. There is also a map showing Katrina’s current or last-known location. In contrast to the Friend’s Share page, the My Share page also contains Edit and Delete buttons for the currently selected share.

Design decisions for viewing friends:

...

Creating a new LocaShare is a four-step sequential process. Buttons at the bottom of the screen allow the user to navigate forwards or backwards in this process. The first page has a cancel button in lieu of a back button, and the final page has a submit button in lieu of a next button. On the first page, multiple friends can be selected to share with. On the second page, a location can be selected, with the assistance of auto-completion. On the third page, time parameters are selected -- times of day, time of week, and starting/end dates. A datepicker assists users when selecting dates. Finally, the fourth page allows the users to select whether to share history, and if so over what time period it will be aggregated. A confirmation screen shows a summary, and allows the user to go back if anything isn’t right.

Design decisions for creating a new LocaShare:

...

6. System provides a summary page at the end of creation to prevent user from recalling.

When editing a LocaShare, there are four tabs that can be navigated independently. They allow you to modify, respectively, the friends, location, time, or history properties of the share. These tabs are analogous to corresponding pages in the create process.

Design decisions for editing a LocaShare:

...

2. While editing, we automatically save users modification. 

Katrina’s profile page has several interactive elements. At the upper right, It links to her overview page. Next, it allows her to turn on or off sharing of her current location. When she turns it off, it overrides the settings of any individual LocaShares for the current location. When the toggle is on, there is a list below it of friends who can see Katrina in her current location. 

The Overview page has tabs for State, City, and Location-level shares. At the selected level, a list is shown of locations shared -- each element of the list shows the number of people who can see Katrina at that location, and clicking the link goes to an Overview Location page, which shows which people those are.

On the Overview Location pages, it shows who can see Katrina at the Stata Center. Each friend shown links to their My Shares page.

Design decisions for LocaShare overview:

...