One Time GNOME User Test [Outreachy Task Submittion]
Findings for [Task 17]( #17)
System Specifications
Operating System: Ubuntu Version 23.10
GNOME Version: 45.2
Participant Profiles.
Participant one:
Name: Tusiime Amutuhaire
Gender: Female
Profession: Writer
Tusiime Amutuhaire is a writer and creative artist in Uganda with basic Computing skills. She uses computers for her writing and more specifically Microsoft word on Windows. Her daily activities include writing, editing, linking, sharing work with colleagues. Prior to this interview, Tusiime had never heard of GNOME. She has heard of Linux and that is it. This is why Tusiime was an ideal participant for the First Time User Research Study.
Participant Two
Name: Kukunda Ndyamuhaki.
Gender: Female.
Profession: Geoscience Engineer.
Kukunda Ndyamuhaki is a professional geoscience Engineer with good Computing Skills. She uses a computer for her daily work more specifically excel spreadsheets on windows. Her daily activities include data analysis, data interpretation, pattern finding. Prior to this interview, Kukunda had never heard of GNOME. She has heard of Linux and that is it. This is why Kukunda was an ideal participant for the First Time User Research Study.
Research Methodology
The goal of this research was to asses usability of the participants' experience with the GNOME desktop environment as a first-time users. The study focused on level of ease, understanding user challenges, pain points, and areas for improvement.
The study relied heavily on the users' abilities to complete a series of tasks on GNOME desktop environment and observation for body language.
The tasks provided covered File management, navigation, readability, error handling and user control. A summary of the tasks and the entire interview plan can be accessed here: Interview_plan or user_interview or
NEW GNOME USER INTERVIEW SCRIPT.docx.pdf
Area Covered | Details |
---|---|
File Management | Folder creation, file creation, folder and file naming, typing and saving text in a text management file, closing folders, files. |
Navigation |
Finding 'show applications' , LibreOffice Writer, LibreOffice Calc. Maximising and minimising LibreOffice Writer, LibreOffice Calc. Closing folders and opening files |
Readability | Finding of fonts, Icons and tooltips legible and easy to understand |
Error Handling | Confirmation dialog boxes preventing a user from making a mistake |
User Control | Turning and editing text according to user's preference |
The study employed the use of recording devices for sound and screen video and observation from an outside room. The sound recordings were done on a sit down with the participants.
The observation was to majorly read into the participant's body language and during the task accomplishment phase the participant was encouraged to think out loud. The sound recordings detail the participant's sigh moments as well as achievement moments. A combination of these afforded the ability to understand slightly some of the mental models with each participant and draw conclusions.
Task Accomplishment Phase.
In general this phase was a success according to the success criteria detailed in the interview plan script.
However a the users detailed a few things about their experiences .
Participant one: Tusiime Amutuhaire
Liked Aspects
- The participant got excited about the general look and feel of the GNOME interface.
- The participant thought the experience was systematic and the ability to group her work with ease was very vital.
- The participant thought LibreOffice writer has an exciting look, it gave her an impression that perhaps she is writing in her notebook, a space close to her thoughts. She continues to detail that LibreOffice Writer was an attractive space more specifically the margin indent of the writing pad which helped her visually compose her thoughts.
Disliked Aspects
- The user disliked a popup that appeared while she wrote.
- The user also detailed that she couldn't locate the fonts she liked in the fonts list. She details that she couldn't find a lot of script writing fonts in the list of fonts.
Challenging Tasks
- The user found that the changing of the font was not what she is used to on her preferred Operating system
Conclusion
- The user gave a score of 8 out of 10 on her likelihood to continue using GNOME and more specifically LibreOffice Writer. She details that the software opened her mind creatively with the interesting different colors on the icons which makes them more visible and invited her to want to know what each does, the detailed tooltips on that icons detailing what each icon does even without using it.
- The user detailed that she very likely to recommend her colleagues to try GNOME more specifically LibreOffice.
- Some of the mental models were the use of short cuts such as ctrl + s to save her work.
- The idea that when she clicks save the document should close automatically.
Participant Two: Kukunda Ndyamuhaki
Liked Aspects
- The participant detailed that the GNOME interface more specificaly LibreOffice Calc was user friendly (not confusing, straightforward).
- The participant appreciated that the LibreOffice Calc interface had colorful visible icons.
- The participant thought the experience was good, folder creation and file creation. She described it to be smooth.
- The participant appreciated the fact that when you type in a method and press enter the software provides a format of that software automatically. Forex ample she typed =SUM and pressed Enter and the brackets appeared automatically.
- The participant got excited about the presence of a gallery in LibreOffice Calc and would like to explore it more.
- The participant also appreciated the presence of the help section and detailed that it is very helpful indeed to know that she can be helped in case she gets stuck
- The participant thought of the fonts to be new but okay , her preference though was Nimbus Roman
Disliked Aspects
- The participant did not like that she had to type the whole 'LibreOffice Calc' word to find the applications. She detailed that she had to be attentive and careful.
Challenging Tasks
- The user first struggled to save her file with the name draft. She clicked on the search icon and later realized that it was not the place to accommodate the file name
- The user found that she couldn't border her work in LibreOffice Calc to make her work stand out as a table from the background. Although this was no part of the tasks, the user wanted to include it in her work.
- She first struggled to do the summation of numbers.
Conclusion
- The user found the navigation to be clear and straight forward
- The detailed that she would want to take this on and know more about it especially the icons and what each one does.
- Some of the mental models were the use of short cuts such as ctrl + s to save her work.
Observations
The participants got attracted by the general feel and appearance of the applications, their colorfulness and visible ions.
Each participant was able to accomplish the tasks successfully regardless of the challenges in averagely 10 minutes and them being first time users it showed a willingness to learn and try something new. The fact that the participants even when past what the tasks required and started trying out their own things proves that interest was picked to explore these applications more.
I observed that the participants had to pay extra attention onto the tasks which they attributed to the newness of it . Even thought they have their preferred Operating System, Windows, the child-like excitement as one participant termed it and the drive to look for an alternative as another participant termed it, got them interested into exploring these application softwares more, that is, LibreOffice Calc and LibreOffice Writer.
Advise or Recommendation.
Tusiime wondered why her newly created folder was cast to the bottom right of the desktop and recommended that the folder should stay where she clicks to create it unless she moves it.
Improvement Area on Future First-time User Testing
Participants in this research are accustomed to using Windows as their preferred operating system. Most of their mental modals are from using Windows. In the future this study should be expanded to participants who have never used a computer and after a while determine what mental modals they come up with. I think by interviewing new to computer users, a deeper understanding of GNOME usability and it's support to user learning can be attained. I would also suggest interviewing of other operating system users such as Chrome Os , MacOs. This would avail a deeper look into user preferences and whys and could feed some improvement suggestions and creative decisions.
Attachements
Interview Script/Plan
Interview Script or Interview plan or
NEW GNOME USER INTERVIEW SCRIPT.docx.pdf
Participant One: Tusiime Amutuhaire.
Video Attachment
Miss Amutuhaire Tusiime Tutu.webm
Audio Attachements
Introduction of the research with Miss Tusiime.m4a
During task accomplishment by Miss Tusiime.m4a
Follow up assessment with Miss Tusiime.m4a
Participant Two: Kukunda Ndyamuhaki
Video Attachment
Audio Attachements
Introduction of interview with Miss Kukunda.m4a
During task accomplishment by Miss Kukunda.m4a
Follow up assessment with Miss Kukunda.m4a
Research by: Komuhangi Tumuhairwe