Welcome to Labs -Demonstration Work

Feedback Review on Main Page and Getting Started Page
Feedback review on
 * Main Page
 * Help : Getting Started

From following perspectives :

1) Random helpful volunteer who just shows up out of nowhere wondering 'what is this and what is this good for'?

2) Specific user on a mission who shows up with a particular project in mind (e.g. an edit-bot that they want to write.)

Main Page
1. Upon accessing the page, a new volunteer would initially see the description under Production, followed by Labs and Tool Labs sections. At first glance, the page seems overcrowded. As a first time user, the he/she might search for a highlighted section that provides a brief essence of the page.

suggestion :
 * 1) Preferred if a gist / introduction is added to page as this will be one of the main pages even a clueless person would navigate into.

2. When reading the section under “Production” a user might want to know what Wikimedia is, but there is no hyperlink.

suggestion :
 * 1) Adding a hyperlink to Wikimedia will facilitate the reader to get further info if needed.

3. Moving onto the navigable section under Production, the “Get involved” link provides useful information to a user inorder to proceed. However as this link is not highlighted or given priority among other links, user may not correctly identify it as a useful link.

suggestion :
 * 1) Highlight links such as “Get Involved” that provide concise useful information to a first time user.

4. The table under Production seems to be cluttered and could overwhelm the user, but at the same time it gives an idea about the technologies used.

suggestion :
 * 1) Provide a graphically enhanced solution instead of current design.

Help : Getting Started
1. It is mentioned that Labs contain many projects, but it doesn't state what kind of projects. In my opinion it should be mentioned that these projects are experiments of Wikimedia-related technologies.

2. Help : Getting Started page has no direct link on the left side pane and can only be found as a navigable link under Help -> Contents page.

suggestion :
 * 1) As this page provides useful information on getting started, it is recommended to add a sublink under Help tag on the left side pane, so as to user can easily navigate as and when needed.

3. At first glance, image titled Labs does not provide a clear description so as to what the image depicts.

suggestion : 
 * 1) Preferred if images (if any) provide a concise description better explaining the purpose of it so that especially a new comer can easily understand. A random image floating in the documentation will only tend to get ignored by the reader and not serve the image’s purpose.

Main Page
1. If we assume that this user has prior experience, he/she would be focusing on a list of projects in order to explore if there are similar project ideas. At first glance, there is no highlighted link to navigate to projects.

suggestion :
 * 1) It is recommended to add a highlighted link to navigate to list of available projects.

2. Clicking on “Number of projects” link under Usage tab will navigate the user to semantic search page which lists all available projects, respective members and description of each (if available).

3. The projects page lists all the projects in alphabetical order. But most of the rows are occupied by names of members, and less space is used by the project name and description. It is frustrating to scroll down.

suggestion :  4. Search area on the right of semantic search page doesn't search for related projects, it’s a general search.
 * 1) Preferred if member names can be moved on to respective project pages as currently they take up most of the space expanding each row unnecessarily.
 * 2) Descriptions must be added to all projects, as currently only some contain descriptions.
 * 3) Tags could be added for each project so a user could get a brief idea what the project is about without reading the description or checking further details.
 * 4) Tags or flags to keep track of each project's status (such as new, In progress, Completed, Paused etc) can be of benefit for the user. For eg : If a particular project of interest is currently on hold (paused),  user can contact responsible members in order to discuss the possibility of reviving the project with his/her contribution to it.
 * 5) Table data also should also be sortable from project status so the user can easily sort by column.

suggestion : it is beneficial to implement a separate search tool for projects including advanced options such as 5. Since projects are not grouped into similar clusters, currently a user with a specific idea in mind, may find it dificult to search for similar project
 * 1) search by project criteria
 * 2) search by tags/key words
 * 3) project status
 * 4) contributors etc.

in the same category.

suggestion : 
 * 1) A mechanism to group all existing projects into several abstract categories so that all projects will fall into a category. Abstract groups can be further sub-categorized so that a project may fall into atleast one specific group.
 * 2) Implementation of a chart (for example a pie chart) with abstract categories and percentage or number of active projects under each category will serve as a better depiction of current projects in Main Page.
 * 3) Similarly an illustration can be done to visualize the percentage of projects in each status.
 * 4) As further improvement, user can be navigated to projects in particular categories / statuses upon clicking of a particular percentage in charts. In other words, user is navigated to a refined search of projects so he/she can directly jump into area of interest.

Help : Getting Started
1. As a specific user, his/her main area of interest will be Projects section. Although link to projects are facilitated under this section, the "Labs : List Projects" section as mentioned is not available on the left sub-menu.

suggestion : 
 * 1) a link to project list must be added to sub-menu so the user can access it regardless of which page he/she is in.
 * 2) Refactored project list page with previously suggested changes should be page the link should navigate to from this section.

General Perspective
From general perspective common to both types of users, identified the below mentioned need for improvements as well.

1. FAQ Page ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Having an FAQ page for most general questions that are highly likely to be asked by a new comer, will save the new comer from navigating back and forth through the site in search of answers for simple questions such as
 * 1) What is Wikimedia
 * 2) How can I help etc.

More over relevant links can be attached to FAQs for further information eg : How can I help can also link Get Involved page so the user can get further info if needed.

Link can be added to the left side pane for easy access.

2. Further Info at Account Sign up ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Following successful account sign up,

1. links to support pages such as FAQ and Help should be provided in the page

2. facilitate above links in the confirmation email, so the user can access them as and when needed even later on.