Table of Contents

Intro

<aside> ⏱️ 5 Minutes

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Reminder for Tester: Think of this protocol like a series of modules rather than a script. Sometimes, a user will complete two tasks in one, or inadvertently answer a question before you can ask it. It is often useful to rearrange questions or tasks on the go. Keep this in mind as you conduct your usability test.

I'll start off by telling you a little bit about myself and my team, and then lay out our session today so you know what to expect.

I am working as a user experience researcher on a team of product designers. I conduct interviews and usability tests, like the one we are doing right now, on different problem spaces in order to gather data and inform creative digital design solutions.

Today we will be doing a usability test. In this 'test', you will be given a simple digital prototype and a set of tasks to complete. The session will be structured like this:

• Pretest Questions
• Usability Test
• Posttest Questions
• Debrief

I will not be giving you too much information on our problem area at the beginning of the test in an effort to keep your responses free of any influence. Any questions before we begin?

Again, this should feel more like a conversation than a 'test'. Feel free to stop me at any time, ask questions, and share criticisms. All of your feedback is extremely valuable to us.

Pretest Questions

• Demographics
  1. Age, Gender, Occupation
  2. Education
  3. Family Composition
• Psychographics
  1. Domain expertise (here, politics)
  2. How politically active are you? How often do you engage in political discussion with friends/family/strangers?
  3. How do you stay informed regarding politics?
  4. How many times have you voted in US elections (any)?
     1. How did you cast that vote? (in person/mail/etc.)
  5. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is Nothing at all, and 5 is Very much, how would you rate your confidence/comfort using your mobile phone for engaging in political discussion?
  6. What other kinds of technology do you use in your everyday life?
  7. How do you usually communicate digitally? (e.g., messenger, messages, slack, etc.)
     1. When/How/Where/Other resources used
  8. Social Media
     1. When/How/Where
  9. What do you like or dislike about social media?
     1. Messenger apps?
  10. Do you often interact with strangers online? Why and how (in what form)?
      1. When was the last time you interacted with a stranger online?
      2. What tasks did you do?
      3. What devices do/did you use for that?
      4. How was your experience? Did you encounter any difficulties?
      5. What about, specifically, interacting with a stranger regarding politics?