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• User had a different iPad with a different resolution: the "end of day" pull down was not on the screen and there was no indication of where it was supposed to be. (minor)
  • Possible Solution: set default day to be sufficiently small so that the entire (default) schedule fits on one screen with high guarantee (easy fix).  OR adjust based on dynamic iPad resolution (more difficult).
• As described in the list of tasks, finding the specific locations on the map was difficult.  It was confusing to have to constantly zoom in and out of the map to pinpoint locations. (major)
  • Possible Solution: allow the users to input street addresses to locate places, as opposed to pinning the location down on the map itself.
• User complained that activities disappeared all of a sudden (the user had accidentally clicked the X button for that activity).  Fortunately, there is an undo button but the user did not see it (the facilitator had to give a hint).  (major)
  • Possible solution: ask for confirmation when an activity is to be moved from the List of Activities column to the trash.
• There was no way to specify "end of day" when setting the latest start time---one can only specify exact times. (minor)
  • Possible solution: add both "end of day" and "beginning of day" to the start time/end time pull-downs.
• There is no way to make an activity with no location.  User wanted to have lunch anywhere around 12p-2p (minor)

  Usability successes:

  • What does the drag me button do?  While this caused confusion for a few seconds, the user quickly realized that the currently selected activity corresponded to drag me.
  • The user correctly discovered how to drag and resize activities.
  • • Possible solution: if the user specifies no location for an activity, that activity will still take up space in the schedule column but not appear on the map for distance routing purposes
  • User did not use the lock button for the opera. (minor)
    • Possible solution: add an element in the "Add Activity" flow for specifying specific starting times.
  • User did not use the auto-schedule button. (minor)
    • Possible solution: Couple the auto-schedule button more tightly with the schedule column (see below for details).

  Usability successes:

  • What does the drag me button do?  While this caused confusion for a few seconds, the user quickly realized that the currently selected activity corresponded to drag me.
  • The user correctly discovered how to drag and resize activities.

  The biggest issue with this user was that he did not use the lock or auto-schedule button.  In the debriefing he said that their purpose wasn't clear when he could just manually create the schedule by moving activities around (i.e. what does it mean to "Lock" something if you don't know about the auto-schedule button?).  As a broad solution to this, the user suggested eliminating the auto-schedule button, and letting users fill up the schedule as they please.  Then, the user can say "finished" at which point the app pops up a dialogue that says "thank you for scheduling.  would you like SMaK to try to optimize your schedule for you?"  This flow would make the auto-schedule button take more of a center stageeach should take 1 hour... ok.  so I need to zoom in oh no I don't nvm... so let's see breakfast gets dragged over and ooh ok I can resize the breakfast icon to make it take longer (I was hoping it would do something like that!)  let's schedule lunch over here.  ok so now I need to zoom in (I can't see shit).  wait where did my breakfast go... it seems to have dissapeared completely (the user accidentally pressed the X delete button).  user doesn't see how to get breakfast back or how to undo.  <observer tells the user about undo>; gets breakfast back.  typed in eat breakfast vs. breakfast---user got confused about defaults.  it is confusing that activities are on top of one another by default (i.e. you can't see how many are really there).  what are the grey blocks?  oh I see they enforce the latest end time?  that's good.  now, I guess we don't care where lunch is eaten so lunch is .... so dinner doesn't have a latest time but there doesn't seem to be a way to specify that?  why can't I just say "none" or end of day?  hm I can't find C.  C was dinner where did C go?  C has dissapeared (ONLY C has dissapeared on the map--probably a bug).  User tries to undo to fix the problem, but then progress is lost.  lost C again... right after scheduled dinner.  C dissapeared again.
  Now scheduling the opera.  C showed up again!  Showed up in the wrong spot (southeast of where it was supposed to be).  where is the medici chapel?  ok found it.  it marked dinner at centro storico and then it appeared at ... can't read where (icons are in the way).  when I added the opera.  did not use the locked button.  did not use the auto-schedule button.
  <post-briefing>
  would have been nice to just have the schedule column to have a sense for the schedule; and then there should be an optimize button.

  Report

  Design

  Structure and flow

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