[Sugar-devel] Test protocol for "Resume" vs. "Start new"

[Gary C Martin]

Hi Christian,

On 23 Jan 2010, at 15:01, Christian Marc Schmidt wrote:

> Hi all:
> 
> For our meeting at 10:30pm EST today, I put together a draft of a test protocol (in email body below). Please look it over and feel free to edit or add to. Thanks,
> 
> Christian
> 
> --
> Sugar Home View Concept Testing
> Draft 01/23/10
> 
> Goal: Evaluate the Home view for "Resume activity" and "Start new activity" functionality.
> Protocol: Alternate between two builds, one per student: The current build [Build A], which makes "Resume" the default action, and a test build [Build B] making "Start new" the default action.
> Duration: 5 mins per student
> Student Profile: Should be a current user (not a first-time user). Age and grade should be recorded, along with duration of overall Sugar experience.
> 
> 1. Begin at Home screen after boot up
> 
> 2. Test cognitive model
> 	• "Describe what you see in this view."
> 	• "What are the symbols in the ring?"
> 	• "Describe what each symbol in the ring is."
> 	• "Do you know why the symbols are different colors?"
> 	• "What activity did you last work on?"
> 3. Test pathways
> [Alternate between two pathways, one per student]
> 
> Pathway 1:
> 	• "Show how you would go back to the activity you last worked on. Describe what you are doing." [Student shows pathway to resume activity.]
> 	• "Now, show what you would do if you wanted to start a new [Write/Draw/Browse, etc.; should be of the same kind] activity. Describe what you are doing." [Student shows pathway to start a new activity of the same kind.]
> 	• "Now, show what you would do if you wanted to start a new [Write/Draw/Browse, etc.; should be a different activity than the current one] activity." [Student shows pathway to start a new activity different from the current activity.]
> Pathway 2:
> 	• "Show how you would start a new activity. Describe what you are doing." [Student opens a new activity.]
> 	• "Now, show what you would do if you wanted to go back to the activity you last worked on. Describe what you are doing." [Student shows pathway to resume a previous activity.]
> 	• "Now, show what you would do if you wanted to start a new [Write/Draw/Browse, etc.; should be of the same kind] activity. Describe what you are doing."[Student shows pathway to start a new activity of the same kind.]
> 4. General questions
> "If you could change anything about Sugar, what would make it easier for you to go back to a previous activity?"
> "What would make it easier for you to start a new activity?"
> "Is there anything else about Sugar that you would change?"

I know we've drifted from a usability study model, to a focus group model for practical classroom reasons – but I though Jakob Nielson's latest article was a timely piece worth a quick read through given we are going to be getting feedback from existing Sugar users.

"Summary: It's more difficult to conduct usability studies with experienced users than with novices, and the improvements are usually smaller. Still, improving expert performance is often worth the effort."

	http://www.useit.com/alertbox/experienced-users.html

Regards,
--Gary