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Based on feedback from testing we fixed several issues with RScanVP
- We redesigned the homepage to better fit on narrower devices
- We added a drop down for times to the event details page
- We added a poster to the event details page to communicate the poster metaphor.
- We decided to take away the "Download" button altogether. This makes it a little harder for users to acquire the QR code that has been generated. We made this decision so that the user was not redirected away from the site at any time because we could not figure out any other way to do it.
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Usability Problems and Solutions
- User did not know what a QR code was - Major - We could add more information about what a QR code is to the homepage.
- Download Obscurity - Catastrophic - Users were unsure of how to actually download the QR code. There was a note saying to right-click and download the image, but users got stuck because the term "download" was not consistent with the supplied option of "Save Image As...". In order to fix this, we could simply change the line of text telling the user how to download and make the syntax consistent. Further, we could simply email the image to the user when we email them the Admin link so that they do not have to worry about downloading it. However, this means that supplying an email would not longer be optional.
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- Error Text - Minor - As noted by the TA, error text was far from the fields that had the error. This was not mentioned in the user testing because the screen that we used for user testing happened to be larger than the one used for GR5 demoing. Thus, it was clear to users when the text appeared that it had appeared.
- User did not know if they had a QR code scanner - Roadblock - We could ask poster makers to insert instructions on how to download a QR scanner. We could ask poster makers to also provide a text URL for them to enter.
Reflection
- The main thing that we learned over the course of the semester is that we are not our user. That is, even if we think something is simple, obvious, or clear, this does not mean that the user will feel the same way. We have a lot of preconceived notions about what things should do because we actually created them, the users of our system will not be in that position and are thus much more likely to be confused.
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