User Analysis:
User Personas
Single-use participants
These users will probably only use the site once; they care about the issue and want to be heard, but only if it doesn't interfere with their day-to-day activities. Their time is valued highly, so if your interface gives them an error, asks for too much information, or requires them to scroll through a page to find what they want, they will close the tab and never look back.
[Potential] Activists
These users are passionate about the issue; they need something to do (a protest to go to, a representative to call or write to, some code to write, some posters to design, etc.), and after that, they need the next thing to do. If you give them a place to start, a good estimate for the time commitment of each task, and the motivation to continue working at every step, these users will be very effective. They are willing to put up with more frustration than the single-use crowd, but don't let them get discouraged.
User Characteristics
Single-use participants
Threshold for giving up: Low
Percentage of users: Large
Likely to become a frequent user: No
Would create an account: No
Activists
Threshold for giving up: High
Percentage of users: Small
Likely to become a frequent user: Yes
Would create an account: Maybe
Task Analysis:
The overall goal in our program is to allow interested activists to contact their congressman by phone. This can be broken down into three main tasks:
Look up the representatives for your area
Goal: Create an easy, intuitive way to select congress-people relevant to your location and interests
Subtask: Allow search by location
Precondition: Provide a zip-code or street address
Subtask: Filter representatives by categories such as level of government and hours of availability
Schedule a phone call between you and a congressperson
Goal: Allow the user to plan a call to their representative (either now or in the future)
Subtask: Select one of the representative's offices to contact
Precondition: Selected representative must have more than one office
Subtask: Send a confirmation e-mail to the user containing a unique code they can use to modify or cancel their call
Record a voicemail to be sent to the congressperson's office
Goal: Enable the user to leave a voicemail directly, rather than go through the phone system
Subtask: Select a representative to receive your voicemail
Precondition: That representative needs to have a compatible voice mail system
Subtask: User records their message
Subtask: User can review their own message
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