Requirements (Delete before submitting):
Update your group's wiki page so that it contains a section GR3 Paper Prototyping, containing the following subsections:
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Briefing
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Briefing:
Thanks so much for helping us test our website.
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The task is for you to enter these five ballots. We will give you the tasks as you go, here is your first one.
Scenario Tasks
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Round 1
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Task 1:
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The users received the following list of tasks as they went along the prototype test:
- Begin entering votes. Go through one full ballot at a time.
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- Restart audit.
- Begin
Task 2: After 4 ballots have been entered:
- Reader: “Oops, we should have entered 5 ballots, but we’re only at 4. I think we need to start over”. -hands next task to them-
- Task: “Restart audit.
Task 3:
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- entering votes. Go through one full ballot at a time.
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Task 4: Enter 2 ballots correctly. On the second race of ballot #3:
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- Correct
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- the entry for the previous race to “Obama and
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Task 5: After 4 ballots have been entered, at any point:
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- Biden".
- Correct the presidential race on the
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- previous ballot to “Stein and Honkala”.
- Finish entering votes.
Round 2
The users received the following list of tasks as they went along the prototype test:
- Begin entering votes. Go through one full ballot at a time.
- Correct
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- the presidential race on the previous ballot to “Stein and
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- Honkala".
- Continue entering votes.
- Correct the entry for the previous race to “Obama and Biden”.
- Restart audit.
Observations
Round 1
For Round 1, we tested our main candidate button interface as well as different error detection. None of the users had difficulty with using the main button entering interface. Entering ballots seemed pretty intuitive and no major critical accidents were recorded with ballots that had names on them. Almost all users were confused by the write-in option. All selected the button correctly but then were confused that they did not have to enter the write-in name.
All of the users were confused with using the error menu. While most easily found the Fix Mistake menu, one tried to click on the candidate names in the sidebar to change them. Almost all of the users spent a very long time reading the menu, and not a single one pressed the help button for further instructions. Multiple users were also very confused by the difference between race and ballot and one user even chose the wrong option and ended up performing the incorrect task. The second user was also confused with what "previous ballot" referred to in the help menu. The first user was also very surprised that there was no confirmation popup when "Restart Audit" was clicked.
Round 2
In Round 2, we focused our testing on the "Fix Mistake" menu, so our critical incidents were centered on that part of the prototype.
Users liked the large "Fix Mistake" button and found it easy to enter that menu. After fixing one mistake, users were generally able to use the menu accurately and efficiently.
Even though the help menu was displayed constantly when the user went to the "Fix Mistake" menu, many users did not read it carefully. There was some confusion about the reset button next to the ballot heading; some users thought they would correct an error and then hit "Reset" to save their changes. Some users clicked the "Reset" button on the whole ballot instead of correcting one individual race. Users were also surprised by the sudden input mechanism on the left. Previously, they had been using the right panel to enter in the ballots. When that panel became informational and the user was expected to click on the left panel, there was some confusion. In addition, the help menu was written vertically and some users read the items sequentially, as if they had to complete every step in order to fix their mistake.
Prototype Iterations
Most users found the main screen easy and intuitive to use, but had lots of trouble understanding the "Fix Mistake" menu. As a result, we focused on changing that menu in our second iteration. The terminology of auditing is confusing, but our testers never chose the "Help" menu. As a result, we now just display the instructions on the right hand-panel to make sure all information is shown from the start. In addition, instead of lots of buttons requiring understanding of auditing terms, the edit button now shows up beside each ballot, and each race/candidate name becomes a clickable button. Now users can just click on what they need to edit without knowing the name for it. The bottom buttons of the left panel include "cancel" and "restart whole audit" to make these two items distinct. We also added a confirmation page so any choice informs the user what proceeding will do the audit, and gives them a chance to cancel. This improves the system safety.
Paper Prototype Photos
Task 6: After 4 ballots have been entered, at any point:
- “Finish entering votes”
Round 2:
(We changed the wording slightly to make the usability test process faster)
INSERT TASKS HERE!
Observations:
Round 1:
User 1:
- Asked if they were buttons
- No problem finding buttons
- Assumes race means same ballot -> strange because different levels of seriousness (could accidentally hit wrong help button)
- Knew restart previous ballot because it was in previous ballot summary
- Interesting - why fix mistake over back?
- Safety for restart all auditing? "Are you sure" button?
- Perhaps keep party lines for top/bottom over frequency
User 2:
- Wants candidates in a list to easily select
- "I don't actually say who the write-in was?"
- Hesitation restarting all audits
- Likes that the buttons are big and far apart
- Confused about what "previous" means
- Wants to be able to click left side of the screen to correct
User 3:
Wiki Markup \[\]- "Don't you have to write who the write-in was?"
- Lots of time reading the menu
- Lots of hesitation before selecting an option (bu didn't click 'Help')
- Chose "restart previous ballot" instead of "restart previous race" -> was confused about wording
- "Fix previous race" instead of "restart previous ballot"
- Then got "fix this ballot"
- Really likes the giant screen, easy to use and less chance for mistakes
- Why previous ballot summary? Could get confusing
- Confused between "race" and "ballot" in the menu
- What do you do with more candidates?
- Tradeoff between big screen and changing screens frequently, but good call
- How does this look on the screen?
User 4:
- Are these buttons or drag and drop?
- What happens if you make a mistake? -> jumped ahead in tasks
- Successfully fixed a mistake without hesitation
- "Prototype is very thorough"
- Restarted previous race without hesitation
- "Race" -> last race or previous ballot?
- Do you need to record who the write in was?
- "Does the progress bar measure races in a ballot or across all ballots?"
Round 2:
User 1:
- Where do you enter write-in?
- Doesn't see candidate names as buttons to click on
- Restarted previous ballot opposed to just clicking race/candidate name
- Understood the second time that you can click a name and not just reset whole ballot
- Like the fix mistake button.
User 2:
- Can tell that in the main screen, right is for selection and left is for verification
- "You have to reenter all information?" when going back to fix mistake
- Expected to change just one race and return to same location
- Expected to see the panel on the right - "You work on the left and see a review on the right"
Users 3 and 4:
- weird to click on the left panel after getting used to just using that as feedback
- confused about reset and clicking on a race
- wants to see animation of current moving down to previous
- wants heading to be at top, buttons closer together
- didn't read help menu carefully
- read help menu sequentially, as if things were in order
- wants to fix mistakes two ballots ago
- really doesn't understand what the reset ballot button does
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Images (Round 1) | Caption |
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| This is the first screen the user was shown - we skipped the log in screens, etc. |
| This is the menu that popped up when users selected "Fix Mistake" |
| If users chose "Help" on the "Fix Mistake" menu, they would see these instructions. This state was never encountered in user testing. |
Images (Round 2) | |
|---|---|
| The main screen didn't change since we got such good user feedback on it. |
| This is what the users see now when the select "Fix Mistake" |
| If the user chooses a specific candidate name or race, they get a confirmation screen. The screen confirms the element they selected, and also warns that all information from that point will be reentered (by system design). |
| There is a similar confirmation page for restarting a ballot. |
| This is the confirmation for restarting the full audit. Now users are informed that all information will be reentered. |
