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- What does the user need to know or have before doing the task? They need to be logged in, and know enough about the subset to describe it or pick a filter.
- Where is the task performed? Either on a desktop/laptop, or on a phone browser.
- What is the environment like? Noisy, dirty, dangerous? It could be, if the user is on the go with their smartphone or tablet.
- How often is the task performed? This depends on the user’s profile; some may do it all the time, others only once or twice per session.
- What are its time resource constraints? The feedback loop should ideally be less than a minute so refining the filter is easy.
- How is the task learned? The user can learn it by recognition; we plan to design the interface so its controls are very similar to Google Instant search or other similar mechanisms.
- What can go wrong? The filter could be incorrect (too broad or narrow), or it could have a typo. A fast feedback loop will improve safety by ameliorating these issues.
- Who else is involved in the task? No one else in this case.’
- What subtasks are there? Navigating to the textbox (or other form element used for filtering, entering the author name or topic to keep (or reusing an old filter), scanning the subset displayed, and revising the input if needed. Optionally, users could save the filter for future usage.
Saving News Items
Users will need to be able to
Initial Setup & Management of Information Sources
Users will need to be able to specify what information they want to manage using our interface, preferably as quickly and easily as their existing techniques. We . When discussing this task during GR1 feedback, it seems debatable whether or not this is an essential task. However, we consider this task essential, since the most an important aspect of our application how we will give users more control over the frequency and duration in which they see updates from their information sources (compared to their current information source managers).
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- Configuring the display
- Identity creation/authentication
- Initial setup/management of information sources
Interviews
Interview 1
- Twitter** Follows 600+ accounts** Keep general tabs on various groups of people/areas of interest* Phone interface is most natural** In the morning, scroll back as far as the client will go to catch up** Wouldn't want tweets going to e-mail because it's harder to Mark All as Read (don't want to miss out) than to be limited by Twitter's scroll-back history* Receives tweets from important people as text messages** Favorites tweets she wants to revisit** Occasionally would want a tweet via e-mail
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