GR6 : User Testing
Design
Overall, we finished our design and implementation since GR4.
TODO: Design in gory detail with screenshots
Overall, we decided to focus on presentation of the timeline. The view and edit functions are functional, but we have not innovated in that area.
We decided to disable selection of the map markers - It is a little practical because the touch screen has so many markers, and the arrow partially obscures them.
TODO: talk about the color choices and arrow design (taper).
We made the following design changes in response to user feedback:
Map/Journal view mode:
- Map is now interactive
- Map icons are now positioned at the center of locations, not right above them
- There is now a direct mapping between entries in the list and entries on the map, using colors
Entry View Mode:
- View now displays a location hint ("near <city>")
- User can make swipe gestures to navigate between consecutive entries
Entry Edit Mode:
- When exiting the edit mode with unsaved changes, user is asked to save or discard the entry. Entries are no longer automatically saved.
Implementation
TODO: talk about what is missing from a complete app.
TODO: talk about the main challenges.
TODO: ??
Evaluation
User Test Scenario
First, we told users about the purpose of our application. We also explained that it will be on an Android device, and mentioned that using the back button, menu button, and the context menus are standard for Android applications.
Our tasks have not changed since the paper prototyping phase. We asked users to perform the following:
Task 1 - View a previous entry on your timeline.
Task 2 - You are traveling in Siberia. You see a beautiful view of some snow-capped mountains. Create a new entry that includes 1) a small textual description, and 2) a photo (that you will be taking).
Task 3 - You realize that your photo is blurry. Edit the post to replace the photo with a new one.
Task 4 - Share your entry online.
Finally, we asked each user to explore the app and give general feedback.
User Test Feedback and Observations
All our users are in their early 20s and are very technologically capable. They like to travel and experience new things. Although they are usually quite busy, they find time to make occasional weekend trips. Because of these traits, they are good representatives of our target user population.
User 1
The only difficulty User 1 had was with deleting a photo. Although it was possible to delete a photo by holding down and triggering the context menu, this was not obvious to User 1. She claims that it is because she is an iPhone user. We can fix this by adding a small "Edit" button to the entry view mode, as this is more similar to how edits are done on iPhones.
Other Feedback:
- User 1 would like the star map markers to be tappable - she thinks it would be cool if tapping a specific star will bring you to the corresponding entry.
- User 1 also suggests to start the user testing with a few pre-made entries in the journal view. This is make it more obvious to the user that the stars/arrow will change as you scroll through the entries list.
* user 2
Bla
* user 3
TODO: write up the user tests.
Reflection
TODO