The Test Team helps manage testing and triage across the WordPress ecosystem. They focus on user testing of the editing experience and WordPress dashboard, replicating and documenting bug reports, and supporting a culture of review and triage across the project.
Please drop by any time in SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. with questions or to help out.
July usability testing has completed for GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/. I kept the same testing script as last month to be able to make a comparison over the course of these last two months. The users were mostly new to WordPress so expect a novice level of interaction.
Testing script
Imagine you’re writing a blog post about your favorite bakery.
Your blog should have a title, some images of desserts, and a couple
content sections. Please make sure to talk through everything out loud
as you complete the tasks. Let’s get started.
Log in.
Create a new post.
Give your post a title.
Add a Cover blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. to your post with a message overlaying the image that reads, “The sweetest place on earth”.
Make the Cover block full-width.
Add a paragraph below that reads, “This bakery is committed to
using the finest ingredients from all over the world ensuring that
quality remains the cornerstone of their business. In fact, quality is
the number one ingredient in everything they do.”
Now add a heading for the cupcakes section.
In this section, add an image of cupcakes with some text along the right side of it.
Add a sentence or two below to finish off the cupcake section.
Add a new heading about cookies.
In this section, add a Media+Text block with an image of cookies
on the right, and some text on the left side. Make this area full
width.
Below that, add a gallery of 5 more images.
Now add a quote you heard someone say about this bakery. Maybe
something like, “This bakery is almost as good as Grandma’s house!”
At the bottom, add a horizontal divider.
Finally, include a link to the bakery site. Type the bakery name, and then link it to a website (any website is fine).
Publish your post.
Videos
Video 1 (July 4)
[User adds a Cover block] Okay, now I’m just going to begin typing in it. [completely skips the Cover block’s instructions in the placeholder]
The hardest part was having to figure out what part to click on to add the text.
I’m not really sure how I can add [a block at the bottom of the page]
Video 2 (July 10)
Oh, the text is here. I couldn’t even tell. I wish there was an indication. [referring to where to add text in the page]
So it’s kinda like a puzzle. I can move these elements around.
Video 3 (July 17)
I’m afraid you’re using terminology that doesn’t mean that much to me.
I’m going to give up on this. [referring to the Media Library and adding items to gallery]
This isn’t obvious or intuitive at all.
Video 4 (July 24)
Feedback
As with all the prior videos being shared, please leave some
feedback! What are some patterns that pop out to you? What successes do
these users have in navigating and creating a post? What challenges
become evident in their flowFlowFlow is the path of screens and interactions taken to accomplish a task. It’s an experience vector. Flow is also a feeling. It’s being unselfconscious and in the zone. Flow is what happens when difficulties are removed and you are freed to pursue an activity without forming intentions. You just do it.
Flow is the actual user experience, in many ways. If you like, you can think of flow as a really comprehensive set of user stories. When you think about user flow, you’re thinking about exactly how a user will perform the tasks allowed by your product.Flow and Context
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As a reminder, if you’re interested in helping with usability testing, there’s a number of things you can try: