Question Marks on Label Buttons

[jonfroehlich]

I think it's important that users can easily view examples of what constitutes an accessibility problem for each label along with ratings. And, while we are moving in the right direction on this, we're not there yet. I find the current implementation with '?' overlays to be highly distracting. I think we need to find a better way of allowing users to quickly see examples.

As now, the '?' are given too much attention. Compared to the label buttons themselves, which are the number one interactive objects in our design, the '?' will be much less used and, thus, does not deserve its position in the interface or its salience.

[nguyenist-zz]

Possible ways to reduce the attention to the ?s:

• Use 1 accent color instead of 4, or make them not neon
• Use word examples in gray below the button, make it clickable to the example
• Move ? to top right instead of bottom left, it clashes with the text and makes the button seem busy

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotarohara hey i'm having trouble with my dev environment. do you mind screenshotting the current interaction? what does the screen look like when you tap on the question mark vs tap on the button?

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist

When you click the button, the interface looks like:

The interface opens the window with examples when you click the "?":

[nguyenist-zz]

the user flow/interaction that seems likely / intuitive:

• user does tutorial
• after completing tutorial, user gets placed into a random area. s/he sort of remembers all of the steps of what to do but will get into the labeling groove by actually doing it multiple times on their own.
• user double taps to "move" down the street. thoughts: "i don't know what i'm going to see. so i'm not going to be in a mode all the time." -- "i don't want to have to choose from 4-5 different options before labeling. i want to tap and label very quickly so i can get points / help out the community / [insert whatever incentive they have for being on this site]"

have been researching. here are some preliminary ideas that could be helpful to make the user interactions simpler and more smooth. will sketch to have these make more sense.

1. - icons w/ text -- change to a single word where possible. (1) Ramp (2) No ramp (3) Obstacle (4) Surface (5) Other -- sidenote: how likely is "surface problem" going to be chosen as an option? 5 options is quite a lot for a user to have to choose every single time they label something. ideally-- reduce # of options for quicker labeling. can surface problem be in "other"?
2. - list that is vertical with a question mark next to each item
3. - select category "curb ramp mode". then on the interface of streetview, it says "curb ramp mode" and a help button next to it that allows you to see more infromation.
4. - when you first select the item for the first time, the help menu comes up anyway so the user is forced to see it and can come back to it if they want.
5. - one single button. it might be called "Label" when you click on street view image somewhere, you see a menu of items (ramp, no ramp, obstacle) and can choose what that component is. Allows user to move more quickly through versus memorizing button placement, then tapping the streetview area, etc.
6. - when you click on a point in street view, a menu pops up under your mouse with options. you keep your mouse click held down and move through the menu of options "curb ramp, missing curb ramp, obstacle, etc." and when you let go it makes the selection. the last selected option is the default. Say you chose Obstacles for the last component you found in streetview. You would see a menu that says"

"Redo last (Obstacles)"
---
Ramp
No Ramp
Obstacles
Other

[nguyenist-zz]

Sketches representing concepts above. Note: Components from the sketches can be combined / mixed / matched. They do not have to be viewed in isolation of each other. I tried to add a different spin on each of the layouts so we had options. Would love to discuss! @kotarohara Let me know if a call / skype may be easier to explain.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8zu4lx84k39vhbm/IMG_2115.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cdkrffge4f02c6y/IMG_2116.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5wg2szde8bqyzj7/IMG_2117.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/afhc8xm23otx2cv/IMG_2118.JPG?dl=0

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist This is great. Reply inline:

• User double taps to "move" down the street. thoughts: "i don't know what i'm going to see. so i'm not going to be in a mode all the time." -- "i don't want to have to choose from 4-5 different options before labeling. i want to tap and label very quickly so i can get points / help out the community / [insert whatever incentive they have for being on this site]"
• One single button. it might be called "Label" when you click on street view image somewhere, you see a menu of items (ramp, no ramp, obstacle) and can choose what that component is. Allows user to move more quickly through versus memorizing button placement, then tapping the streetview area, etc.

Having label options at the top has a benefit of constantly reminding people what they have to find in Street View imagery, whereas context menu (which our very first interface had originally) hides what needs to be labeled from the users. So we should keep the options always visible to the users. Not sure what you proposed would allow people to move more quickly; why you think so?

icons w/ text -- change to a single word where possible. (1) Ramp (2) No ramp (3) Obstacle (4) Surface (5) Other -- sidenote: how likely is "surface problem" going to be chosen as an option? 5 options is quite a lot for a user to have to choose every single time they label something. ideally-- reduce # of options for quicker labeling. can surface problem be in "other"?

Hmm, I agree I'd like to shorten as much as possible, but "Ramp" and "Surface" don't really make sense. Maybe "Obstacle" is fine. Surface problems happen time to time (e.g., tree root breaking sidewalk surface). I think we should keep it.

• list that is vertical with a question mark next to each item
• select category "curb ramp mode". then on the interface of streetview, it says "curb ramp mode" and a help button next to it that allows you to see more infromation.
• when you first select the item for the first time, the help menu comes up anyway so the user is forced to see it and can come back to it if they want.
• when you click on a point in street view, a menu pops up under your mouse with options. you keep your mouse click held down and move through the menu of options "curb ramp, missing curb ramp, obstacle, etc." and when you let go it makes the selection. the last selected option is the default. Say you chose Obstacles for the last component you found in streetview. You would see a menu that says"

I like these 👍 Let me take a look at mock ups you drew and comment.

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist Actually I like the following ideas.

• select category "curb ramp mode". then on the interface of streetview, it says "curb ramp mode" and a help button next to it that allows you to see more infromation.
• when you first select the item for the first time, the help menu comes up anyway so the user is forced to see it and can come back to it if they want.

I like having "Explain This!" on the overlay message box when you click label type. It's kind of hidden from the user, but I guess that can be mitigated when we combine the second idea (i.e., show the examples when the user click label for the first time.)

Also, thank you for also brainstorming the design of what we show after clicking the help buttons :) Should we chat? Maybe tonight or tomorrow night.

[nguyenist-zz]

Usability study 1: Observed user click through current dashboard to understand what information they gathered from the current buttons + "?" buttons.

what do these buttons represent? (pointing to the top 5 at the top) I would click on one of those buttons then click on something on the street image

what do each of the buttons mean? curb ramp = there is a curb ramp missing curb ramp = no curb ramp. the crosswalk drops right down. obstacle in path = might be a curb ramp but cant use it bc obstacle in path surface problem = cracked or too bumpy or something other = something that's not those 4

what do you imagine would happen if you clicked "?" "it would bring up a tooltip that explains what it was. a text based one that explains what this button means."

what would be in the tool tip? "example images. it was part of the tutorial so it foreshadowed what i thought i might see."

action: actually clicked on it: confused because text is quality 1: good // rating 4: very hard to pass. "what does quality versus rating mean? words seem to not be consistent."

could you explain what the numbers mean? a 1 means the best top quality. a 4 means the worst. not sure what the scale is. 1 = "these are the qualities i would be looking for. the ramp dump right into the crosswalk." 4 = "not usable i guess but wait it doesn't make sense. it seems like the rating should go the other way because it's not rankings. its rating. a 5 is good and a 1 is bad."

clicked on missing curb ramp "?"

• why is it severity? quality? rating? why is it different for everything?
• to me it would be a 2-3. a 3 would be better than 2 but the 1 would be the worst. not passable would be 0. the numbers need to be flipped because to me, a 5 is the best. like 5 stars.

clicked on obstacle in path "?"

• i thought we were just rating the end of a sidewalk and here i realize we are now rating the entire sidewalk.
• again here, the 1 to 5 should be the other way around.
• this makes sense, completely passable would be a 5. completely impassible would be a 1.

clicked on surface problem "?"

• i don't understand why cobblestone would be a 2-4 and vegetation in that photo would be a 5. vegetation is worse than cobblestone? why? this logic doesn't make sense.
• severity 2-4... what does this mean? i need an example of a 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. because you give me an example of a 2 and a 5. for example-- it's kind of worse than a 5... but not quite as bad as that 2? is it a 3 or 4? feels too ambiguous and i wouldn't know how to rank this

Could you label a curb ramp?

• user double tapped the ramp on google streetview multiple times but screen kept zooming in and distorting the streetview
• after about 45 seconds, finally found the "curb ramp button" and "dropped the green pin" on the ramp. labeled it as passable.
• labeled a missing curb ramp. "this is pretty cool" -- user then got the hang of labeling.
• NOTE: user did not complete the tutorial / walk through but figured out how to drop the labels after about 45-60 seconds.

Takeaways for user 1:

• Understood what the buttons mean (regarding words: curb ramp, missing curb ramp, etc.)
• Believes the scale is backwards and not intuitive. "These are ratings not rankings. A 5 should be the best. Like 5 stars."
• Was confused about the verbs used to describe the ratings "why is it severity? quality? rating? why is it different for every button?"
• Photos are helpful, but not intuitive when you provide an image of a "2-3" rating vs a "5" rating. Need to either include all 5 images to show how you define each number or explain how someone would differentiate between a "2" vs. "4" for example.

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist

This is awesome! Can you do the same thing with 2 more people? It would be awesome if you can combines the takeaways for user 1, 2, and 3 and come up with a high priority task.

Did they have any comments on the mocks you sketched? I wonder how they felt about the design of "?".

[jonfroehlich]

@nguyenist: I agree, awesome job. Very interesting. Like Kotaro suggests, would be great to get feedback from a few more people, then triangulate on common problems to inform our design update.

You rock!

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotarohara @jonfroehlich Thanks for the feedback. Yes, definitely planning on doing a few more :) Will update the transcribed interview as I go along / grab folks to get more thoughts.

We worked a little backwards and it is important to first observe how people currently use the dashboard. Then note the pain points / problems around those buttons before deciding the best way to fix them.

My proposed method:

1. Observe a few people using the current solution (for this case, specifically the "?" buttons on the dashboard)
2. Note the top takeaways / problems from those interactions (no biased questions, mainly observing)
3. Prototype / design potential fixes to those problems (2-5)
4. Observe people using the new (2-5) prototypes / designs
5. Narrow down to the best designs that would allow user to achieve desired effect (in this case, the desired effect is having people learn how to properly rate items: curb ramp, no curb ramp, surface problems, etc., possibly using some sort of help trigger)
6. Iterate designs to incorporate feedback.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 if needed.
8. Present solution to Kotaro / Jon while documenting the process in the meantime

Obviously because of time constraints, we don't have forever to go through these steps in micro-detail, but I can go through what I can to learn as much as possible with the resources we have. Any user research and perspective is helpful / better than none and the product will be more user friendly for it :) Would love any thoughts as we go along.

Yay team!

[nguyenist-zz]

Usability study 2: Observed user click through current dashboard to understand what information they gathered from the current buttons + "?" buttons.

what do these buttons represent? (pointing to the top 5 at the top)

• so here's what i see: streetview. pins. sidewalks. understand particular sidewalks
• collectively, labels are supposed to place then on the map
• place on map

the user's natural interactions regarding the button // without being asked

• user initially clicked and dragged the button onto the streetview
• user then clicked into the map
• realized how to click the button and then drop the tool after about 30 seconds
• after user placed the green label, they tried to drag the label but couldn't. found the hover + delete option and then deleted it and replaced the green label onto the streetview map.

what does each of the buttons mean to you?

• curb ramp: for a wheelchair accessible ramp
• missing curb ramp: area that someone can't reach
• obstacle in path: not sure. maybe this means fire hydrant. not a clear path.
• surface problem: i would guess potholes?
• other: oh when i hover more information comes up. so i would use this when you can't see any sidewalk i guess? that's interesting.

started clicking on the ?'s

• curb ramp ?: so this shows me how to consider it good or not good. 1 means sidewalk is clear. 4 means it is hard to pass. water accumulation counts for that.
• wasn't immediately clear to click on auto-hover. make more explicit?

How do you rate?

• Judgement calls for each
• I don't know how to determine if these are temporary

action: clicked on curb ramp "?"

• i don't know. i guess the range goes from 1 to 4
• what is a 2 or a 3 mean?

action: clicked on missing curb ramp "?"

• 2-3 means there isn't a curb ramp
• why would i rate it a 2 or a 3?
• 5 means not passable -- confused
• what's a 4?
• 1 = perfect i guess. closer to perfect...but if i'm putting a 1 wouldn't i just use the curb ramp button?

action: clicked on obstacle in path "?"

• system explained better or simplified pictures + arrows useful

• so this means even leaves and branches would be a 2 or a 3
• i don't know what a 4 or 1 would be. if there's no obstacle, do I use 1? If it's a flat road with no problems would I just put 1's everywhere?

action: clicked on surface problem "?"

• like pictures. mapping ratings to the real world
• i don't know what 2-4 would be
• \ If the surface is 1, why even put anything at all?**

action: clicked other

• clicked other > other first. "this means annotate something"
• if you can't see... this means based on streetview, you can't make a judgment

Thoughts reflecting on experience thus far

• The ratings / rankings are inconsistent. I have different paradigms than someone else.
• It took me a few seconds to understand it wasn't a tool tip
• Buttons link with some sort of color. Nice. Slightly helpful context. It seems to be like a tab model. Where you tap on a tab and the content below changes.
• Click on button allows me to place labels on the streetview. User originally expected it to be a drag and drop method. It's frustrating because I added with a score and comment and now I have to x it instead of just being able to drag and move it elsewhere.
• Regarding tabs, binary would be easier to reduce feedback.
• Data doesn't seem useful because I would use my own arbitrary way of scoring these.
• It would be cool if you could give me words to categorize labels. "this is a: fire hydrant, tree/plant, immovable object" instead of rating. Some categories seem like it would make more sense to do categories instead of a number rating system.

Takeaways

• The 1-5 rating system is counter intuitive to what this user expected. 1 should be bad. 5 should be good.
• The current method of explaining the different scoring = inconsistent and confusing.
• User thought the buttons were meant to click and drag, but then later found out you need to tap + drop a pin/label. This tells me that users may be able to figure it out.

[nguyenist-zz]

Usability Study 3:

At first glance, what is happening?

• Oh cool! So it’s providing information about the accessibility of routes to people who have any kind of disability or any type of issue or if there is something blocking the street.
• Starts panning the google street view
• Oh I get to… is this a game? I tell you when there’s an obstacle and you crowdsource info bc that’s cool.

What do these buttons means

• curb ramp: label any curb ramp. slope down to the street level
• missing curb ramp: any missing curb ramps
• obstacle in path: any place there is an obstacle
• surface problem: or if there is a surface problem
• other: or if there is anything you would want to note

User interacts with sidewalk interface. Started playing with the labels

• click on "curb ramp" button and locate one. i would say its a 1. 4 is not passable. 1 would be good. i would hit enter to submit the label
• i thought i labeled it but i lost it. panned around and couldn’t find it again because she pressed enter and it didn’t submit.
• which way is straight? confused about orientation. “hard to see some of the problems because of the cars."
• i’m only 1% complete?!?! i would have to play around with this for a long time. now its 0% now it’s started over.
• theres something here it wants me to do.
• clicking around on white arrows on the street
• "manhole covers like objects in the sidewalk” — categorized that as a surface problem. not really an obstacle because you have to go over it but it would be weird for people to go over it.
• i can’t really tell… i would label this (a tree) as obstacle in path. labeled as 1 “narrow sidewalk due to tree"

? on buttons - do you see that? is it A? because you’re asking me to label things. those are the ways you are signaling me these are labeled and color coded

• clicked on it. it explains things. the popup was surprising.
• “the quality rating. so what it means for something to be good and bad.
• why is this labeled quality and rating. i think of it as one scale. is it a quality scale or rating scale?
• is there a good ramp to no ramp. the middle = annoying spot but not kept up ramp. is it well kept or not?
• 1 = really nice curb ramp.
• 5 = there is a curb ramp but broken down or small or not labeled.
• i do think its confusing that 1 is better than 5. 5 is better than 1. what is really good? i want to give better things higher numbers. whats worse? lower numbers?

missing curb ramp ?:

• the middle is sort of hard to pass but still passable versus 5 because you couldn’t use that crosswalk at all.
• is it missing? yes. how poorly is it missing. a 1 = you’re at an intersection and there’s one ramp in the middle of a section but the crosswalks are not aligned to it. you have to be in the street before the crosswalk versus 5 = there’s literally nothing else you can do. you have to go much out or your way.

obstacle ?:

• that one you can get around the bush. but this one (5) you can’t get past.
• 1: obstacle thats annoying but you can get around it. a bush. you can get past it but would get hit in the face.
• 2-3 tree kind of blocking the sidewalk
• 5: you’re stuck. theres nothing you can do. a tree fully blocking the sidewalk.

surface problem ?:

• basically it gives me info about how to define that problem and the severity levels of that problem.
• would not have thought to click on them unless you pointed them out.
• 1: how bad is a surface problem. annoying but doable
• 5: seriously really problematic.
• hardest for me to define. i don’t think of having pushed a stroller. i don’t understand how surfaces are problematic unless they’re really bad. i would flag anything with a problem with a sidewalk with a 1-2 unless it was really bad. i don’t have a personal scale for what it means for a sidewalk to be bad.
• i would assume that mothers or fathers who are pushing children strollers would have different surface problems than what i would.

other:

• i have no idea. i have no idea what i would tag as other. what else would i use as this? you have no sidewalk and can’t see sidewalk. yeah. i’m sure there are other things people might think about but i don’t know what it is.

what are the labels called? tags, labels or markers.

asked question again. what does this website allow you to do? you could give someone who needed the information the accessible paths for them so they would know if there was a problem. best way to get there.

Takeaways:

• Ratings logic is confusing and hard to remember. Should be opposite. 5 is best. 1 is worst. "i do think its confusing that 1 is better than 5. 5 is better than 1. what is really good? i want to give better things higher numbers. whats worse? lower numbers?"
• Task feels strenuous and boring. Need to think about ways to engage user to care about labeling. Perhaps: shorter tasks, positive feedback sooner. "Wait i’m only 1% complete?!?! I would have to play around with this for a long time. Oh. Now its 0% now it’s started over."
• The help "?" on the buttons need to stand out more / be more obvious: "I would not have thought to click on them unless you pointed them out."
• Once user finds the help "?s", the ratings need to be clearly explained. User struggled to remember / understand the logic for each of the categories (curb ramp, surface area, etc.) because there are various verbs being used
• Rating something 2-4 seems arbitrary and random. Once they explained each of the ratings, she was able to explain 1 = good. 5 = bad. But everything in between was muddy / couldn't articulate what the differences were between 2, 3, 4. If user doesn't understand, they will make a random guess-- potentially skewing your data.
• Also: "Surface problem = hardest for me to define. i don’t think of having pushed a stroller. i don’t understand how surfaces are problematic unless they’re really bad. i would flag anything with a problem with a sidewalk with a 1-2 unless it was really bad. i don’t have a personal scale for what it means for a sidewalk to be bad."

[nguyenist-zz]

Overall takeaways by priority: 1 2 3

Will add here later.

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist Are you going to summarize the takeaways? It would be great if you could separate (a) the design of the "?" marks and (b) other things that you've found out (e.g., it seems like you've got good feedback on how to design the actual help window).

[nguyenist-zz]

Yes I will. Haven't forgotten. More soon.

On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, Kotaro Hara notifications@github.com wrote:

@nguyenist https://github.com/nguyenist Are you going to summarize the takeaways? It would be great if you could separate (a) the design of the "?" marks and (b) other things you've found out (e.g., it seems like you've got good feedback on how to design the actual help window).

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ProjectSidewalk/SidewalkWebpage/issues/78#issuecomment-227539669, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe/AERsLb2gOuooCui-PkTWvYvJ-GARbjVOks5qODX1gaJpZM4IKRn5 .

Sent via mobile device

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotarohara

Takeaways for ? marks:

1. Number one takeaway: Design "?s" to stand out. Right now, people don't seem to know you can click on them until I point them out. Notes for me-- consider using words like "read more" or "learn more" -- think about ways to do this for all buttons w/o looking redundant.

Takeaways for other things on help page:

1. Change ratings logic. 1 = worst. 5 = best.
2. Lower the task length. Need feedback sooner to reduce shock of being so far from done (relates to #66)
3. Clearly explain ratings once you actually click on the "?" -- make language consistent (severity, quality rating), give reasons for why something should be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. For example) Think about how to rate Surfaces. Smooth (5) vs bumpy (1)?
4. Redesign the "help" screen to include the ratings bar so people can easily see the correlation when they have to rate.

[nguyenist-zz]

Here is what I will ask / test:

• What is happening in this screen?
• Observe to see if anyone notices / is inclined to tap the help options on their own without guidance. Ask a series of questions to probe what stands out first. Where they would explore next.
• What do you expect will happen when you tap ["?" in a bubble, "Explain this!", etc]

Option A: Horizontal buttons -- note: here I simplified the screen to try and create some button hierarchy. Want to see what buttons people want to click first and right now there are many.

Option B: "Explain this!" -- will appear upon clicking a labeling button. The overlay will be thicker, the font will be larger to accentuate the task + help option.

Option C: Plain text option -- UX researchers suggests sometimes people just need clear language prompts instead of non-universal iconography / images. See this Nielsen Norman article for context. Perhaps one link could bring up ALL of the button labeling explanations in a different window so they don't have to be dispersed on each button.

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist

Takeaways for ? marks:

1. Number one takeaway: Design "?s" to stand out. Right now, people don't seem to know you can click on them until I point them out. Notes for me-- consider using words like "read more" or "learn more" -- think about ways to do this for all buttons w/o looking redundant.

Great! But I don't think we will go though a massive interface redesign, so Option A would not happen. I like both B and C. For C, probably we don't need parenthesis. Also for C, are you envisioning a single help window that opens up after clicking "click here to ..."? Do we have enough space to explan all the accessibility feature types?

Are you going to see which one (B or C) people prefer?

Takeaways for other things on help page:

1. Change ratings logic. 1 = worst. 5 = best.
2. Lower the task length. Need feedback sooner to reduce shock of being so far from done (relates to #66)
3. Clearly explain ratings once you actually click on the "?" -- make language consistent (severity, quality rating), give reasons for why something should be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. For example) Think about how to rate Surfaces. Smooth (5) vs bumpy (1)?
4. Redesign the "help" screen to include the ratings bar so people can easily see the correlation when they have to rate.

I feel like (1) keeps coming up all the time (not only the last few month but since long time ago). We'll decide this week. (2) Ok. Sounds good. I'll make them shorter. (3 & 4) I'll get descriptions and try to get pictures. Once that's ready, I'll probably ask you to design the help window.

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotaro sounds great.

Re ? (1) Yes I think it's possible to design a single page. There is a ton of text and if we can condense it down to a simple page concept that will resonate w users that would be ideal. Based on tests they will start rating based on what is in their head vs reading a ? help page 5 times which may skew results otherwise.

Re other (2) no need to gather all photos just yet. Want to see how much info is necessary for someone to understand how to do rankings for each. Would be great to get a better understanding for what counts as 1, 3, 5 for each category to start.

[nguyenist-zz]

Feedback based on 3 usability studies:

User 1 takeaways:

• Did not see "Explain this" partly because my design didn't have an overlay
• Saw the "Click here... etc." but only after a long time.
• Would consider both versions a failure (didn't convey the point well)

User 2 takeaways:

• Tried to drag and drop multiple times and realized you needed to tap the button + drop
• Noticed the "Explain this!" and didn't notice the "Click here..." in Version C

User 3 takeaways:

• "Explain Sidewalk problems" instead of "Explain this!" -- saw this very quickly.
• Doesn't like "click to learn how" -- would prefer "Learn how"
• This seems like it is for people in wheelchairs but I have children. What about kids in strollers? Is this for moms too? (Good point about branding / audience)

User 4 takeaways:

• "?" was easily identifiable for help.
• What would you expect? "It would explain what a curb ramp is."
• The "click here..." was harder to find, took longer.

Overall takeaways:

• Would like to go with the overlay with "Explain [insert button titles: sidewalk problems]"

[kotarohara]

/cc @nguyenist

Scale

I gave thoughts on this. We are not going to flip the scale. 1 means accessible and 5 means inaccessible. This scale will be consistent across all the features. Meaning of scale 1, 3, and 5 are: (1) Passable: Not an accessibility problem. Wheelchair users can navigate without a problem. (3) Could be a problem: The problem could pose an accessibility problem for some people with mobility impairments. (5) Not passable: The problem is a major obstruction for people with mobility impairments to use the sidewalk.

Curb ramp

• (1) A well-maintained, large curb ramp that everyone can pass.
• (3) Narrow curb ramps and curb ramps without enough clearing space could pose accessibility problems for people who are using big electric wheelchairs.
• (5) A curb ramp that is not usable because of, for instance, major cracks and water accumulation.

Missin Curb Ramp

• (1) N/A
• (3) Even there isn't a curb ramp at the end of a crosswalk, the problem could be less severe when there are curb ramps or driveways nearby to help people get on/off the sidewalk.
• (5) There are no ways for wheelchair users to get on/off the sidewalk.

Obstacle

• (1) N/A
• (3) An obstacle makes a path narrow and could obstruct the way for some people who use large electric wheelchairs.
• (5) A major obstacle that makes sidewalk not traversable for wheelchair users.

Surface Problem

• (1) A slightly bumpy surface that makes rolling the sidewalk uncomfortable (but passable).
• (3) A sidewalk surface that could pose a problem for some people; e.g., sandy surface, cobblestone pavement with shallow ridge.
• (5) Poorly paved surface that cannot be traversed by wheelchair users, or cobblestone pavement with deep ridge.

[kotarohara]

\cc @nguyenist

Feedback based on 3 usability studies:

This is awesome, but I was a bit confused by 'Would like to go with the overlay with "Explain [insert button titles: sidewalk problems]"' Could you explain this a bit more or show a design mock?

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotarohara

Screenshot / Option B. Instead of "Explain this" it would say "Explain Sidewalk Problems" / "Explain Curb Ramp" / "Explain Obstacle in Path" etc.

[nguyenist-zz]

@kotarohara Cool! Can people define any of the categories by using just this high level explanation? Expecting users to know / learn 5 separate categories with slightly different definitions might be asking a lot. I like being able to embed the concept 1 = good, 5 = bad throughout the categories.

A few questions:

Missing Curb Ramp

• When would someone mark "Missing Curb Ramp: N/A"? If N/A why even allow this to be an option?
• When would someone mark "Missing Curb Ramp: (5) There are no ways for wheelchair users to get on/off the sidewalk." -- wouldn't that be every single part of a sidewalk that doesn't have a ramp? This is something someone asked me during the usability study.

Obstacle

• When would someone mark "Obstacle: N/A"? Isn't that every part of a street where something is not obstructed? -- this is another question an interviewee asked. If N/A why allow this to be an option?

Surface Problem

• (1) A slightly bumpy surface that makes rolling the sidewalk uncomfortable (but passable). Does not match your other definition:
• (1) Passable: Not an accessibility problem. Wheelchair users can navigate without a problem.

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist

Yeah, what do you think? I'll welcome your opinion! I would put 1-5 scale issue aside for now though :) First, it's an optional information people can provide, so I wouldn't worry to much about it. And regarding "If N/A why allow this as an option," (a) you'll never know if it's obsolete or not, so collect as much data as possible; (b) we are just trying to provide as much instruction as possible, there isn't even a guarantee people will follow our instruction so why don't we just do our best and not bother any more? (c) Once we have data, we can conclude this. We don't even know if this rating is reliable (What is the "reliable" rating anyway?)

It's great that we settled on the Design B. As you move on to building it, you'll probably need my help navigating the code base. So I think it's a good idea for us to sit together and code for 2-3 hours this weekend and knock it out of our way. It would be great if you can come to College Park, but if not I can come to DC. Either way, can you (i) refresh your memory and set up your dev environment, and (ii) polish the design of B and make sure we can focus on coding when we meet?

[nguyenist-zz]

Would totally try to meet you but I'm out of town until Tuesday. Happy to chat with you via Skype and parallel work on this. We can chat more details so I make sure I'm understanding everything as you'd like.

Does that work? How about Friday?

On Thursday, June 30, 2016, Kotaro Hara notifications@github.com wrote:

@nguyenist https://github.com/nguyenist

Yeah, what do you think? I'll welcome your opinion! I would put 1-5 scale issue aside for now though :) First, it's an optional information people can provide, so I wouldn't worry to much about it. And regarding "If N/A why allow this as an option," (a) you'll never know if it's obsolete or not, so collect as much data as possible; (b) we are just trying to provide as much instruction as possible, there isn't even a guarantee people will follow our instruction so why don't we just do our best and not bother any more? (c) Once we have data, we can conclude this. We don't even know if this rating is reliable (What is the "reliable" rating anyway?)

It's great that we settled on the Design B. As you move on to building it, you'll probably need my help navigating the code base. So I think it's a good idea for us to sit together and code for 2-3 hours this weekend and knock it out of our way. It would be great if you can come to College Park, but if not I can come to DC. Either way, can you (i) refresh your memory and set up your dev environment, and (ii) polish the design of B and make sure we can focus on coding when we meet?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ProjectSidewalk/SidewalkWebpage/issues/78#issuecomment-229571422, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe/AERsLf9qBddksx4Co0HF13viRY3AAofZks5qQ2JXgaJpZM4IKRn5 .

Sent via mobile device

[kotarohara]

You mean tomorrow, right? Sure! I'll be working all day, so call me whenever you want :) So my understanding is you'll spend time tomorrow and finish the design and implementation of the question buttons tomorrow?

[nguyenist-zz]

Just texted you. Will keep you posted after I get back in town.

On Thursday, June 30, 2016, Kotaro Hara notifications@github.com wrote:

You mean tomorrow, right? Sure! I'll be working all day, so call me whenever you want :) So my understanding is you'll spend time tomorrow and finish the design and implementation of the question buttons tomorrow?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ProjectSidewalk/SidewalkWebpage/issues/78#issuecomment-229822312, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe/AERsLUh9zogtCz4jiLErrbmS9ldnNG8gks5qRFpggaJpZM4IKRn5 .

Sent via mobile device

[kotarohara]

@nguyenist Do you have updates?

[kotarohara]

Done

[jonfroehlich]

Great, can I test it out? When can you deploy this to production?