[KDE Usability] Mini Usability Testing Ideas?

[Celeste Lyn Paul]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
year (~ Feb).

I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!

~ Celeste

[1] http://www.obso1337.org/2009/amarok-playlist-usability-testing/

--
Celeste Lyn Paul
KDE Usability Project
KDE e.V. Board of Directors
www.kde.org
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Onur - Hayri Bakici]

Am Montag 19 Oktober 2009 21:08:10 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> year (~ Feb).
>
> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>
> ~ Celeste
>
> [1] http://www.obso1337.org/2009/amarok-playlist-usability-testing/
>
>

Do you need ideas for amarok or general ideas?
Sorry i dont quite get your announcement :(

greetings
Hayri
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Celeste Lyn Paul]

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 3:37 PM, Onur - Hayri Bakici <thehayro@...> wrote:

> Am Montag 19 Oktober 2009 21:08:10 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:
>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
>> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
>> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
>> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
>> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
>> year (~ Feb).
>>
>> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
>> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>>
>> ~ Celeste
>>
>> [1] http://www.obso1337.org/2009/amarok-playlist-usability-testing/
>>
>>
>
>
> Do you need ideas for amarok or general ideas?
> Sorry i dont quite get your announcement :(

General ideas, Amarok is just an example. I'm looking for anything we
could test in KDE that would be small enough to fit in 20 minutes but
also have some value to it like the Amarok testing did.


--
Celeste Lyn Paul
KDE Usability Project
KDE e.V. Board of Directors
www.kde.org
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Onur - Hayri Bakici]

I have an idea!
Its more an issue, but nevertheless...
some toolbuttons on a toolbar have an arrow next to them. if you click on it with a single click, it does the operation (whatever you wanted to. e.g. button "new mail"). But if you click and hold the mousebutton, after 500 ms or so, the optional stuff appears as a popup menu.

so that would be a test idea. e.g. let the user compare the operation as i described above vs. having the arrow next to the button, so the user can choose wheather he wants to click on it or not.
because for me, when i first started to use kde i had some problem in accessing the optional things on a popup menu.

greetings
Hayri

Am Montag 19 Oktober 2009 21:41:45 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:

> On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 3:37 PM, Onur - Hayri Bakici <thehayro@...> wrote:
> > Am Montag 19 Oktober 2009 21:08:10 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:
> >> Hi Everyone,
> >>
> >> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> >> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> >> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> >> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> >> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> >> year (~ Feb).
> >>
> >> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> >> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
> >>
> >> ~ Celeste
> >>
> >> [1] http://www.obso1337.org/2009/amarok-playlist-usability-testing/
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > Do you need ideas for amarok or general ideas?
> > Sorry i dont quite get your announcement :(
>
>
> General ideas, Amarok is just an example. I'm looking for anything we
> could test in KDE that would be small enough to fit in 20 minutes but
> also have some value to it like the Amarok testing did.
>
>
>

_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 8:08 AM, Celeste Lyn Paul <celeste@...> wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> year (~ Feb).
>
> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!

I have no idea how long usability testing takes.....

Some of the configuration modules could benefit from this, such as the
Hardware, Action Editor ( 4.4 version is quite different to 4.3
version ), Audio CD or CDDB retrieval modules for instance. I don't
know if anything System Settings itself could be done in 20 minutes
though, but it could also be a candidate for testing ( either the
layout, or general concept of how everything is laid out ).

>
> ~ Celeste
>
> [1] http://www.obso1337.org/2009/amarok-playlist-usability-testing/
>
> --
> Celeste Lyn Paul
> KDE Usability Project
> KDE e.V. Board of Directors
> www.kde.org
> _______________________________________________
> Plasma-devel mailing list
> Plasma-devel@...
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/plasma-devel
>

Ben Cooksley
KDE Community Forums Administrator
System Settings and Device Actions KCM maintainer
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Artur Souza(MoRpHeUz)]

On Monday 19 October 2009, 16:08 Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:
> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!

Maybe do some usability tests with the new Plasma's "Add Widgets" would be a
nice idea ?

Cheers,

--------------------------------------------------------------
Artur Duque de Souza
openBossa
INdT - Instituto Nokia de Tecnologia
--------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: http://blog.morpheuz.cc
PGP: 0xDBEEAAC3 @ wwwkeys.pgp.net
--------------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

Am Montag, 19. Oktober 2009 21:08:10 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:

> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!

Well, a few ideas:
- Buddy list management in Kopete (example tasks: merging buddy accounts,
sending messages via a specific protocol, etc.).

- Plasma Widget management (example tasks: adding/removing/updating widgets)
(would require KDE 4.4 with its new widget manager)

- Adressbook management (would require KDE 4.4 with its KAdressBook rewrite)

- PGP-related tasks (generating keys, importing keys, sending encrypted mails,
etc.)

That are a few cases that I came up with.

Markus
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Celeste Lyn Paul]

On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 7:27 AM, Artur Souza (MoRpHeUz)
<morpheuz@...> wrote:
> On Monday 19 October 2009, 16:08 Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:
>> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
>> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>
> Maybe do some usability tests with the new Plasma's "Add Widgets" would be a
> nice idea ?

Yes, AnnieC mentioned this on IRC yesterday. It could be part of a
Customize Your Desktop activity.

Although we wouldnt be able to get any feedback done in time for 4.4,
we should be able to test before the February Tokamak.

>
> Cheers,
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Artur Duque de Souza
> openBossa
> INdT - Instituto Nokia de Tecnologia
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Blog: http://blog.morpheuz.cc
> PGP: 0xDBEEAAC3 @ wwwkeys.pgp.net
> --------------------------------------------------------------
>

--
Celeste Lyn Paul
KDE Usability Project
KDE e.V. Board of Directors
www.kde.org
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[macias]

On Tuesday 20 October 2009 13:58:21 Markus wrote:

> - Plasma Widget management (example tasks: adding/removing/updating
> widgets) (would require KDE 4.4 with its new widget manager)

__Resizing__, moving (both tasks: predicting placement), accessing
properties.

Cheers,
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Onur - Hayri Bakici]

Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:

> On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 7:27 AM, Artur Souza (MoRpHeUz)
> <morpheuz@...> wrote:
>  
>> On Monday 19 October 2009, 16:08 Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:
>>    
>>> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
>>> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>>>      
>> Maybe do some usability tests with the new Plasma's "Add Widgets" would be a
>> nice idea ?
>>    
>
> Yes, AnnieC mentioned this on IRC yesterday. It could be part of a
> Customize Your Desktop activity.
>
>  

Thats a great idea!
i would like extend this: The cashew confuses users (on the panel and on
the desktop). It is not really self descriptive. i see a possibilty to
merge a test with this "issue" and with the Plasma's widget management.

greetz

> Although we wouldnt be able to get any feedback done in time for 4.4,
> we should be able to test before the February Tokamak.
>
>  
>> Cheers,
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>> Artur Duque de Souza
>> openBossa
>> INdT - Instituto Nokia de Tecnologia
>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>> Blog: http://blog.morpheuz.cc
>> PGP: 0xDBEEAAC3 @ wwwkeys.pgp.net
>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>    
>
>
>
>  

_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 8:58 AM, Markus <kamikazow@...> wrote:

> Am Montag, 19. Oktober 2009 21:08:10 schrieb Celeste Lyn Paul:
>
>> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
>> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>
> Well, a few ideas:
> - Buddy list management in Kopete (example tasks: merging buddy accounts,
> sending messages via a specific protocol, etc.).
>
> - Plasma Widget management (example tasks: adding/removing/updating widgets)
> (would require KDE 4.4 with its new widget manager)
>
> - Adressbook management (would require KDE 4.4 with its KAdressBook rewrite)
>
> - PGP-related tasks (generating keys, importing keys, sending encrypted mails,
> etc.)
>
> That are a few cases that I came up with.
>
> Markus

Although the current design seems to come from a previous usability
study someone has done quite some time ago, there are some bug reports
related to Ark's Dolphin context menu entries that might be worth
looking at.
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Parker Coates]

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 15:08, Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> year (~ Feb).
>
> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!

I think "Ending a user session" is a topic worthy of a little
investigation. The steps required to
shutdown/reboot/logout/hibernate/lock a session in KDE4 have never
"felt quite right" to me.

Of course, this may be a PITA to test as one wouldn't want to have to
wait for the computer to restart between every test.

Parker
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

Am Dienstag 20 Oktober 2009 16:30:02 schrieb Parker Coates:
> Of course, this may be a PITA to test as one wouldn't want to have to
> wait for the computer to restart between every test.

If you kill the X session before it terminates itself, the shutdown will be
aborted.

Greetings
Stefan

--
Die Zukunft wird nicht gemeistert von denen, die an der Vergangenheit kleben.


_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

2009/10/19 Celeste Lyn Paul <celeste@...>:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> year (~ Feb).
>
> I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>

You might want to revisit the idea of promoting "Panel Options" to
top-level status:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=205402

In my opinion Aaron closed the bug without fully understanding the issue.

Thanks Celeste.

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

>> - Plasma Widget management (example tasks: adding/removing/updating
>> widgets) (would require KDE 4.4 with its new widget manager)
>
> __Resizing__, moving (both tasks: predicting placement), accessing
> properties.
>

Yes, see these bugs:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=164355
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=151662

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

Other issues that could be tested:

'Full Screen' option should really be in the 'View' menu
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=106807

Ability to place a toolbar on the right of the menu bar
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=169043

Lancelot menu not closing on panel click
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=196140

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

There is a severe issue with setting Desktop Details:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=182823
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=205330

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[Anne Wilson-5]

On Tuesday 20 October 2009 15:30:02 Parker Coates wrote:

> On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 15:08, Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > I would like to plan another community-based usability test similar to
> > the one I did for Amarok last spring [1]. This time, I am trying to
> > involve my university's LUG and will have access to a usability lab.
> > Depending on how well I can organize this new group, we would like to
> > try a test later this year (end of November/beg Dec) or early next
> > year (~ Feb).
> >
> > I am looking for ideas of small tasks or processes we could test, such
> > as the playlist editing task we did for Amarok. Any ideas are welcome!
>
> I think "Ending a user session" is a topic worthy of a little
> investigation. The steps required to
> shutdown/reboot/logout/hibernate/lock a session in KDE4 have never
> "felt quite right" to me.
>

I'd second that suggestion.  I gave KDE4 to two completely non-tech users,

without any instruction, to see what their problems would be.  The only
'complaint' I had from either was that they couldn't find how to shut down.  
One had to call me and ask.  The other found shutdown on a desktop context
menu.  Both apparently thought that Leave in kickoff referred to leaving the
menu.

Anne
--
New to KDE4? - get help from http://userbase.kde.org
Just found a cool new feature?  Add it to UserBase


_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

> I'd second that suggestion.  I gave KDE4 to two completely non-tech users,
> without any instruction, to see what their problems would be.  The only
> 'complaint' I had from either was that they couldn't find how to shut down.
> One had to call me and ask.  The other found shutdown on a desktop context
> menu.  Both apparently thought that Leave in kickoff referred to leaving the
> menu.
>

Another complaint that I've heard about the standard Kmenu is that the
user needs to click too many redundant buttons to log off, and choices
are repeated. I put the Lancelot menu in KDE 4 systems that I install,
and I haven't heard of any logoff issues since I've started doing
that.

I think there is a bug open on this, should I dig it up?

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

[dotancohen]

> i would like extend this: The cashew confuses users (on the panel and on
> the desktop). It is not really self descriptive. i see a possibilty to
> merge a test with this "issue" and with the Plasma's widget management.
>

The cashew would be fine if it were integrated into the rest of KDE,
not just on the desktop and the panel. Something like the Orb menu in
MS Office 2007. System Settings has already done away with the "File
Edit View ... Help" menu structure, and could adopt the "Cashew" menu
structure. See this bug:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=211304

--
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability