Starchart User Testing

As we prepare to ship Starchart 1.0 in a few weeks, now is a good time to do some testing with real users. Our goal at this point is not to overhaul our app, or make big design changes. Rather, we'd like to smooth out any rough edges, and having real users (i.e., not our development team) try our product will hopefully help is identify them.

Instructions

This week, schedule a Teams calls with a friend at Seneca, explaining that you need help testing your project. Ideally, choose someone who is in your same program and represents our target market (developers).

Explain to them that you're looking to get insights into how real users encounter our app for the first time. Stress to them that you aren't assessing them, only our app (i.e., "If there's a problem, it's not you, it's us!"). It they can't make something work, or get confused, that's helpful information vs. a failure on their part.

Below is a set of steps to use during your call. Ask your friend to narrate their thinking as they do these steps and give their reactions and feedback. You should take notes on everything that happens and what they say.

Do NOT guide them. Let them do what seems natural to do based on our app. For example, don't say, "Oh, sorry, you're doing that wrong let me help..." If they get totally stuck and fail to do one of the steps, that's useful information.

Steps

Before you do your call, make sure your DNS Records and Certificate are both empty. Talk to Dave if you need help resetting the database.

1. Share your screen and present them with a browser open to https://mycustomdomain-dev.senecacollege.ca/ in a logged out state.
2. Ask them to "Request Control" so that they can control your screen as if they were you.
3. Ask them to Log in to the app
4. Ask them to create a new DNS A Record for the IP Address 52.86.68.46 named test1 and give it a description of httpbin.org and a port of 80
5. Ask them to try checking the status of their new test1 record
6. Ask them to try visiting http://test1.{your-name}.stage.mystudentproject.ca (which should show the httpbin.org site if it resolves and works properly)
7. Ask them to create a second DNS CNAME Record for the domain httpbin.org named test2
8. Get them to test that it works (i.e., go to http://test2.{your-name}.stage.mystudentproject.ca)
9. Ask them to create a new Certificate
10. Once it is created, ask them to download the Certificate to their local computer
11. Ask them to logout

Get any final thoughts or feedback from your user and thank them for helping the project.

Outcomes

Write detailed notes about the test:

1. What went well?
2. What went poorly?
3. Did you run into any bugs that we need to file and fix?
4. Did you run into any issues that we could solve with better UI?
5. Did you run into any confusion that we could clear up with better documentation?
6. What overall feedback did you receive? How can we act on it?