Hi,
In São Paulo in August, I also conducted moderated in-person usability
tests of first-time use as part of our work on Sponsor 03:
https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/tails/tails/-/issues/18784
I recruited 4 representative participants who were interested in privacy
tools but had never used Tails before. I asked them to:
1. Install Tails from macOS
2. Answer 2 questions related to the warnings
3. Start Tails and visit any website
4. Store the Wi-Fi password across reboots (only with P3 and P4)
5. Explain our Tor diagram (#18751)
I already tested first-time use in Mexico in December 2021:
https://lists.autistici.org/message/20211217.014522.68cdc460.en.html
Back then, the results were decent already but several participants got
very lost in the process and the navigation on the website. Also, none
of them verified their download.
In São Paulo, things were much better, with still some important issues.
The good stuff:
- Everybody verified their download!
- Everybody could start Tails and connect to a website fine.
- The warnings were well understood.
- Only 1 person got really lost in the installation, thanks to #16808!
The bad stuff:
- P1 still downloaded the USB image on the USB stick and then got very
confused about what to do (but not lost on the website anymore).
- Nobody really read the warnings while downloading. When prompted with
questions that were answered in the warnings, P3 and P4 looked for
answers outside of the installation instructions (where they were
already).
- Nobody figured out on their own how to store the Wi-Fi password.
- 3 participants wondered what balenaEtcher was and P4 was not super
clear about how to do the verification. There are a few confusing
things that we can still further improve on those pages.
I created 16 new GitLab issues for possible solutions:
- #19179: Remove /install/download from SERP
- #19180: Use inline to mention full file name in Step 5.2
- #19181: Instruct to download to the Downloads folder
- #19182: Clarify when to plug USB stick in infography
- #19183: Rephrase Step 4.4 to eject from the sidebar in Finder
- #19184: Don’t select “Hiding” in screenshot of consent question
- #19185: Use green buttons per OS on /install/download
- #19186: Redesign language button and add to footer
- #19187: Remove Godzilla glitch on /home
- #19188: Rename button as “Select your download to verify...”
- #19189: Add link from basic troubleshooting to Step 5
- #19190: Wrap “Security settings do not allow”
- #19191: Give feedback instantaneously on verification progress bar
- #19194: Put the whole Alt key in green on keyboard schema
- #19195: Explain what balenaEtcher is
- #19196: Add close button to `dd` alternative
- #19197: Move 2nd success note earlier in installation instructions
- #19198: Checkbox to "Configure a Tor bridge" can be confusing
- #19199: Have a background that feels less old-fashioned and nerdy
- #19200: Improve search in keyboard selection widget
- #19202: Preload upward caret for collapsible section
- #19203: Rethink the placement of warnings
- #19204: Wrap long labels on warning buttons
- #19205: Use green instead of yellow on warning buttons
- #19206: Mention MAT and metadata on /about
- #19207: Redesign visual of collapsible sections
For detailed results, see the rainbow table in attachment.
--
sajolida
Tails —
https://tails.boum.org/
UX · Fundraising · Technical Writing
