Run usability tests on drupal admin

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Run usability tests on drupal admin

Run at least three sessions to test the usability of drupal's customization
and configuration admin user-interfaces.

To do this you will need 3 or more volunteers who will evaluate drupal.  It
is important that everyone understands that Drupal is being tested, not the
evaluator (your volunteers).  The evaluator can not pass or fail.

Ask each of the volunteers to do some basic configuring and customizing on
a newly installed Drupal site.  Give them a scenario that will inspire them
to do it realistically.  e.g. "Your soccer club needs a web site with about
pages and news articles or a blog".

You might like to give them more detailed instructions and/or specific
tasks.  See the UMN formal usability testing plan [1] for ideas on how to
do this.  Your tasks and instructions need not be as detailed or complex,
but they should give the evaluator a clear goal and help inspire creative
things like colors, setting the site name and slogan.

To familiarize yourself with the tasks and usability tests, it is useful to
do you're own test and report, before running the tests with evaluators. 
This will help you gain confidence with finding issues and taking notes on
them.  The evaluator must be able to do all the tasks through drupal's UI
and not need to write any code or change files.

While observing new users, take note of:

*  what the evaluator wants to do first
*  where the evaluator gets lost or confused
*  what the user expected
*  where the evaluator spends their time in the first 30 minutes of the session
*  where the evaluator spends their time in the first few seconds of each
new UI / page
*  when and where they search for help
*  where they search for help

Perhaps the most valuable information from a usability test is knowing what
the user expected.  This makes it easier to discover usability bugs and
suggest solutions.  You should spend some time immediately after each test
(while it's still fresh in the evaluator's mind) debriefing the evaluator
to find out THEIR answers to the above questions.  You might find that you
misinterpreted their behavior.  Some evaluators find this difficult and
begin to feel like THEY are being tested.  If this is the case, don't
pressure them to give you better feedback but help them to relax, remind
them NO answer is right or wrong and ask simpler questions about how they
felt emotionally about the tasks they found difficult.  If the evaluator
can't give you good feedback then don't persist.  You still have notes from
watching their behavior, right?

Write a report that summarizes your findings. We're looking for a level of
detail and format similar to Factory Joe's Usability report [2] on drupal 6
beta 1.  See also the reports from GHOP tasks #8 [3] and #7 [4].

There are two completed GHOP tasks that are usability tests like this one;
#7 [5] (d.o [6]), and #8 [7] (d.o [8]).  Those tasks focussed on drupal
installation.  This task focuses on site configuration and customization.

Before planning your usability tests read about how to do usability testing:

*  http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000183.php
*  http://openusability.org/
*  http://keycontent.org/tiki-index.php?page=Usability+Tools
*  http://factoryjoe.pbwiki.com/FeedbackForDrupal6

Deliverables: This task is complete when the report has been submitted to
by the student, and reviewed and approved by the mentor or other
appropriate drupal community member.  The report should be made available
in a widely available format like plain text, html or PDF.  

You can include screenshots for bonus points.  These could be annotated
using flickr's annotate tool.  (Tag them with drupalui if using flickr.)

Bevan is the owner / mentor of this task.

[1] UMN formal usability testing plan http://groups.drupal.org/node/7929
[2] Factory Joe's Usability report
http://factoryjoe.pbwiki.com/FeedbackForDrupal6
[3] #8 report http://swizzy.frih.net/projects/52/drupal-usability-test-report
[4] #7 report http://ijailbreak.com/drupal.html
[5] GHOP #7
http://code.google.com/p/google-highly-open-participation-drupal/issues/detail?i
d=7
[6] d.o #7 http://drupal.org/node/197219
[7] GHOP #8
http://code.google.com/p/google-highly-open-participation-drupal/issues/detail?i
d=8
[8] d.o #8 http://drupal.org/node/197221
[9] drupalui tag on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/drupalui/
[10] Bevan http://drupal.org/user/49989

Original issue reported on code.google.com by b.ru...@gmail.com on 17 Jan 2008 at 9:38

[GoogleCodeExporter]

The issue node where student does the work: http://drupal.org/node/211072
The issue node where this task was forged: http://drupal.org/node/209372

Original comment by b.ru...@gmail.com on 17 Jan 2008 at 9:42

• Added labels: DrupalIssue-211072

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I claim this task

Original comment by ronsne...@gmail.com on 17 Jan 2008 at 6:17

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Ok r...@ronsnexus.com, this task is yours.  Please post your work and any 
questions
to the drupal.org issue for this task at http://drupal.org/node/211072

Original comment by acli...@gmail.com on 17 Jan 2008 at 6:23

• Changed state: Claimed
• Added labels: ClaimedBy-r...ronsnexus.com, DueDate-2008-01-24

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Dear student, please see my comment at 
http://drupal.org/node/211072#comment-695551

Original comment by b.ru...@gmail.com on 17 Jan 2008 at 7:15

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I just wanted to check in and see how this task is coming along.  Could you 
please
post the progress you've made so far to the issue for this task on drupal.org 
please,
so we can make sure you're on the right track.

Now that it's too late to claim another issue, we'll allow you to work on this 
task
until the final deadline of midnight PST on Feb. 4, 2008.  However, tasks must 
be
*reviewed* by this deadline as well, so it would be great if you could get your 
work
to us as soon as possible so we can start the review process.

Thanks

Original comment by acli...@gmail.com on 26 Jan 2008 at 3:50

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Still waiting to hear from you on this. There are 3 days left to go to get this 
work
completed, reviewed, and marked complete. Unless you submit something in the 
next 24
hours, that's not likely to happen. :(

Original comment by webchick...@gmail.com on 31 Jan 2008 at 10:47

• Changed state: ActionNeeded

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I will not be completing this for submission as a GHOP task, I will however 
continue
working on the projects as time allows. Semester changed for me earlier this 
week and
with all the finals the week before, I simply haven't had time to complete the 
task. 

Original comment by ronsne...@gmail.com on 1 Feb 2008 at 9:42

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Ok, thanks for letting us know.  I'll leave the status as is for now just in 
case you
suddenly have a lot of free time over the weekend :)

Original comment by acli...@gmail.com on 1 Feb 2008 at 9:50

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Setting the status to TimeWarpNeeded since the student has told us that the 
task is
unlikely to be finished.  This way we don't keep checking it but if by some 
chance a
time warp opens up the student might be able to submit before the deadline. :)

Original comment by acli...@gmail.com on 3 Feb 2008 at 4:03

• Changed state: TimeWarpNeeded