Talk pages project/Replying/Prototype testing
Throughout the course of this project, the Editing team will be developing a series of prototypes.
These prototypes are intended to help answer questions like:
- How does the prototype work compared to how contributors expect it to work?
- What enhancements could be made to improve the prototype?
- What edge cases have not yet been considered that need to be designed for before this version can be deployed?
This page is where you test the different prototypes the team is developing and help answer the questions listed above.
Reply tool version 2.0
This is a usability test of Version 2.0 of the Reply tool. We appreciate the effort you are putting in to help improve how the tool looks and functions.
Below you will find information about:
- The purpose of this usability test: Test goals.
- How to participate in the test: Test instructions.
Test goals
The purpose of this test is to answer these questions:
- For people who have experience using Wikipedia talk pages, what are their impressions of Version 2.0 of the Reply tool?
- Are the tool's features easy to discover?
- Are the tool's features intuitive to use?
Test instructions
- Complete the tasks described in the table below titled, Testing Reply tool version 2.0.
- Post the feedback you have to the Replying tool's project talk page here: https://w.wiki/RZf (this link may take longer than expected to load).
Testing Reply tool version 2.0
| Task # | Task description | Feedback questions* |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | On a desktop computer, go to this talk page: https://en.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/wiki/Talk:Dogs?dtvisual=1 | - |
| 2. | Find the section heading, "How can we make this article better?" | - |
| 3 | Click any one of the "Reply" links that appear in this section. | - |
| 4. | Pause and take a minute to look at the Reply tool. | What are your initial impressions of the tool? What stands out to you? Do you find something particularly eye-catching? Confusing? |
| 5. | Type a comment using the Reply tool's visual mode and format (bold, italicize, etc.) some portion of the text you have just written.
|
Can you figure out how to do so? What do you think of this experience? |
| 6. | In visual mode, ping someone who has already commented in this section.
|
Can you figure out how to do so? What do you think of this experience? |
| 7. | Next, ping another person. This time, ping someone who has not already commented in this section. | Can you figure out how to ping someone who has not already commented in this section? What do you think of this experience? |
| 8. | Delete the ping you created in Task 7. | Can you figure out how to delete the ping you created in Task 7? What do you think of this experience? |
| 9. | Now, imagine you want to see how the comment you have just written will appear in wikitext. | Can you figure out how to see the comment you were writing in the visual mode, in the source mode before posting it to the talk page? Does the wikitext look how you expected?
|
| 10. | Imagine you are satisfied with the comment you've written. Go ahead and post it in the discussion. | Can you figure out how to do so? |
| 11. | Check to see the comment was posted. | Does the comment appear on the talk page as you expected? |
| 12. | Go to the talk page's history, and inspect the diff you just created. | Does the diff look as you expected? |
- Please post the feedback you have to the Replying tool's project talk page by clicking here: https://w.wiki/RZf
Reply tool version 1.0
This is the first structured test of version of 1.0 of the prototype for replying to specific comments on talk pages. The team is thankful for the effort you are putting in to try an early version of this software.
Below you will find information about:
- Why tests like these matter: Test goals
- How to participate in the test: Test instructions
- What the feedback you share will be used for: Your feedback
Test goals
This is a structured tested designed to answer questions like:
- How does the prototype work compared to how contributors expect it to work?
- What enhancements could be made to improve the prototype in future versions?
- What uses have not yet been considered that need to be designed for before this version can be deployed?
Test instructions
Step 1: Read through the Before you start and Test sections.
Step 2: Complete the tasks listed in the Tasks to complete section.
Step 3: Review the questions listed in the Your feedback section.
Step 4: Share your thoughts (in any language) about the prototype here: Topic:Vcwvt3bq03o5gv8h
Before you start
Before getting started, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- All of the steps below will take place in a test environment, so you will not actually be editing or vandalizing Wikipedia.
- This test may seem simple. This is because we are trying to keep the test consistent for contributors across experience levels.
- Feel free to experiment in ways not described in the "Tasks" section. Although, if you encounter an error or something unexpected, please provide enough context for us to be able to recreate the issue/experience.
Test
Imagine that you come to an article on Wikipedia about dogs. You wonder, "What could be controversial about this topic?" and click on the "Talk" tab to view conversations about this article. There, you notice a comment from someone else that you want to respond to...
Once you've completed the tasks below, please review the "Questions" and share your experience on the project talk page here: LINK
Tasks to complete
- On a desktop computer, go to this talk page:
https://en.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/wiki/Talk:Dogs - Find the section heading, "How can we make this article better?"
- Within this section, there is a discussion happening. Reply to any comment in the discussion (you can write anything for the purpose of this test).
- Publish your response.
- Find your published response on the page.
- Imagine that you notice an error in the response that you wrote. Go back in, fix it, and publish the changes.
- Find your published response on the page.
- Start typing another short reply, but this time imagine that you changed your mind mid-reply and decided that you don’t want to write a reply. Try to cancel out.
- Now click to view the page history tab.
- Find your reply.
Your feedback
When you are finished testing out the prototype, please go to the Replying talk page and post your answers to the questions below in this thread: Topic:Vcwvt3bq03o5gv8h.
- Do you think that you completed the Tasks above correctly?
- Was there anything painful or not obvious about this experience?
- How does replying with the replying prototype compare with the current experience for replying to comments on talk pages on desktop?
- What other additional comments, concerns, or ideas would you like to make known?
- How do you typically use talk pages (across namespaces)?
- How often do you typically participate on/edit talk pages? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
The feedback you share as part of this test will be used to refine the existing version of this feature and help set the requirements for future versions of this feature and others.