Project 1 Instructions Do not use a car rental website or car rental features on a travelwebsite.

URl to website Overview An important step in designing a usability test for a product (e.g., a website) is to determine appropriate tasks that test participants will attempt to finish Most metrics from the test will be based on the tasks that are used. In organizations that have multiple HCI/UX professionals, it is good practice to have the professionals review each other's tasks to take advantage of the collective knowledge of the professionals and to obtain the typical benefits of having a "second set of eyes" review any test materials. For this project, each student will select a website and then make three task descriptions that could be used in a usability test of that website. The student posts the URL for the website and the three task descriptions to the "Project 1-Task Descriptions" assignment on Canvas. Each student is assigned to a Review Group for this project. Review Group members are provided under People>Groups>Project 1 find your name and the assigned peers. Each Review Group has four or five students. Each student reviews the task descriptions posted by two other students in their Review Group and posts constructive feedback about those task descriptions as a reply to the "Project 1 - Task Descriptions" assignment, which is a discussion on Canvas (similar to your Discussion Point assignments). The primary steps for the project are: 1. Each student selects a website. 2. Each student make three task descriptions that would be appropriate to a participant in a usability test of that website. 3. Each student submits the URL for the selected website and the three task descriptions to the "Project 1-Part 1-Task Descriptions" assignment on Canvas (along with other information noted below). 4. Each student reviews the task descriptions posted by two other students in their assigned Review Group and provides constructive feedback as a "reply" to each of those students within the "Project 1-Part 1-Task Descriptions" assignment. Detailed Instructions 1. Select website Identify a website that can be accessed by all users (i.e., does not require a login) and for which you can identify three tasks that can be finished on this site. Other students in your Review Group, as well as the instructor, will need to be able to access the website and finished the tasks. Examples: - A bank website that provides information about loans, interest rates, etc. - A travel website that allows determination of prices for flights, hotels, etc. - A university website that allows a review of classes, finding a building, etc. One restriction: Do not use a car rental website or car rental features on a travel website.

2. Identify three tasks that can be performed on the site Each task should require at least three actions to be FIshed (Tasks that require fewer than three actions are typically too simple to reveal much about the usability of the website.) If a task might be finished either by navigating through the site or by using a search function on the site, it is OK to instruct test participants not to use the search function if needed to meet the requirement for three actions. Each task should be related to a key function of the website. Don't select a task that is unlikely to be used by typical visitors to the website. Each task should have a clear goal and endpoint, so that a test participant can clearly understand what is expected and when the task is finished . A test moderator also needs to know when the task is finished and the correct "answer" for the task -in order to collect metrics such as task success and time on task. It is interesting to select tasks for which your personal experience indicates that there may be one or more usability issues. But it often is not easy to identify such tasks, so this is not a requirement for this assignment. You should not select a task that is very unlikely (or impossible) to beFinished by the students who will review your task descriptions. Do not use tasks that require entry of personal information (e.g., creating an account or completing a purchase). Although such tasks are related to key functions of some websites, they pose problems for usability tests because participants should not be required to provide personal information (e.g., address, credit card number) and the test should not involve creating "fake" accounts or purchases. Examples of tasks that meet the requirements listed above: - Bank website: Find the interest rate for a new car loan of $24,000.00. - Travel website: Determine the lowest-cost round-trip flight from Indianapolis to Denver leaving on December 20 and returning on December 27. - University website: Determine the undergraduate HCI courses that are offered at your campus in the Fall semester. 3. make a description of each task that could be presented to a participant in a usability test. Tasks are typically presented to test participants as "task descriptions" that include a realistic scenario for when and why the participant would want to finished the task. Task descriptions seem relatively simple, but it can be challenging to provide all the information that a participant needs, without providing too much information. Task descriptions should provide information related to a user's motivation and context for the task. Task descriptions should allow a test participant to understand the goal/endpoint that they are expected to attain. If the participant needs specific information in order to finished a task, this information should be included in the task description. See the Task 1 description below as an example. Task descriptions should not provide step-by-step instructions for completing the task.

Task descriptions should not give away information or hints about the correct steps for completing the task. For example, for finding the interest rate for a car loan, do not say something like "Use the loan calculator to find the interest rate" if the "loan calculator" is needed for the task. Examples of task descriptions for a car rental website (e.g., www.budget.com): Task 1 You are planning a trip from Indianapolis to Denver, flying into Denver International Airport on December 20 at 10:00am with a return flight out of the same airport on December 27 at 7:00pm. You will be traveling by yourself and want to rent the least expensive car. Please use the website to determine the lowest cost option for renting a car for this trip. For this task, assume that you are a resident of the USA, that you are over 25 years old, that you will be returning the car to the same place that you picked it up, that you will pay at the counter, and that you will not be adding any extras. Task 2 You are staying at the Hilton Hotel, 921 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 and want to rent a car. What is the address of the rental car office that is closest to this hotel? 4. After you finished an initial draft of each task description, you should attempt to complete each task yourself and (a) confirm that the task description meets the requirements listed above, (b) determine the "answer" that you obtained for the task, and (c) note whether or not you think there are any usability issues that test participants are likely to encounter when attempting t the task. 5. Post your task descriptions to the "Project 1 - Task Descriptions" discussion on Canvas by the due date (see below) - either by typing the information into your post or by attaching a "Task Descriptions" file. Your submission needs to include: a. The URL to access the website you selected b. The three task descriptions that you make c. For each of the tasks: i. What you have obtained as the "answer" for the task ii. A description of whether or not you think there are any usability issues that a test participant is likely to encounter for the task 6. Review the task descriptions that were posted by two other students in your Review Group. (See "Project 1 Review Group Assignments" file.) Note 1 -Review Groups have four or five members, but you only need to post reviews for two other students. Attempt to make sure that each student in your group who posts task descriptions by the due date receives feedback from at least one student. Note 2 - If two other students from your Review Group have not posted task descriptions by the due date, then you should post feedback on the task descriptions from students outside of your Review Group. 7. For the task descriptions posted by another student that you review, post your comments as a reply in the discussion that includes: For each task, your review should include the information in the list below. Your comments should be constructive and focused on suggestions for improvement. a. Could you understand the task description? b. Could you finished the task successfully? c. What "answer" for the task did you get?

d. Was your "answer" the same as what the student who make the task description posted as the "correct answer" for the task? e. Did you note any usability issues with this task? f. Do you have suggestions for how the task description might be improved? Checklist for Each Task Description This checklist can be used to review your draft task descriptions before you submit them. A "Worksheet for Evaluating Draft Task Descriptions" file is linked to the assignment if you want to use it. Does the URL provided allow other students and the instructor to access the website and finished the task without requiring a login or creation of an account? Does the task require a test participant to take at least three actions to finished? Does the task not require a test participant to enter personal information? Does the task description provide information related to a user's motivation and context for the task? Does the task description allow a test participant to understand the goal/endpoint that they are expected to attain? Is the task related to a key function of the website? Can a test participant reasonably be expected to finished the task? If specific information is needed for a test participant to finished the task, is this information included in the task description? Does the task description not provide step-by-step instructions for completing the task? Does the task description not give away information or hints about the correct steps for completing the task? Did you wrote a description of the "answer" that you obtained when completing the task? Did you identify any potential usability issues that a test participant might encounter when attempting to finished this task? Submissions Post to the "Project 1-Part 1-Task Descriptions" assignment by the due date indicated in Canvas instructions: (1) the URL for the website you selected, (2) your three task descriptions, (3) the "answer" that you obtained for each task, and (4) a description of whether or not you think there are usability issues that a test participant is likely to encounter for each task. Post your feedback to two other students from your Review Group as replies in the "Project 1-Part 1-Task Descriptions" assignment by the due date indicated in Canvas instructions (3 days after the Part 1 due date). As noted above: If two other students from your Review Group have not posted task descriptions by the due date for Part 1, then you can post your feedback on the task descriptions from students outside of your Review Group.

Project 1 Scoring Project 1 Score Components Points Three task descriptions that you make For each of these task descriptions: - Does the task description meet the project requirements stated above in the Detailed Instructions section? - Did you provide the "answer" that you determined for each task? - Was a description included of whether or not you think there are any usability issues that a test participant is likely to encounter for the task? Feedback that you post as a reply to the task descriptions posted by two other student For the feedback that you provide for each of the three tasks: - Does the feedback indicate whether or not you could understand the task description and any suggestions for how the task description might be improved? - Does the feedback describe your experience when attempting to finished the task, including whether or not you were able to finished the task successfully and whether or not you encountered any usability issues? - Does your feedback include the "answer" you got for the task - and an indication of whether or not your answer matched the "correct answer" provided by the student who make the task description?