Wikimedia Research/Design Research/Reading Team UX Research

Want to know more about what UX Research is currently happening on the Reading Team? You've come to the right place!

This page serves as a guide to what the UX/Design Research teams are planning, or in the process of conducting, for the Reading team. It started about one year after the Reading team was formed, so is not complete as of this writing.

Keep checking back for updates, links to other research done in the year before this page was created, and test results. We are striving for as much visibility into this part of the process as possible, and your feedback is welcome! Thanks!

Android

 * Android workflows: define the top workflows encountered with the Android app. Conduct remote, and potentially online, usability tests to understand which workflows work well and which don't work as well as they could. Still in planning phase, no deadline set yet.
 * Reading lists: a prototype for reading lists (a similar feature to Gather, RIP) exists. A usability test will be conducted in Prototype Labs once the prototype is ready. Still in planning phase.

Web

 * Hover cards: this beta feature is up for potentially extending to all wikis. First, it needs to have some design issues fixed, and then will be presented to researchers for building a protocol for usability testing. Still in planning phase.
 * Language Switching: Some design changes are being made with the language switching functionality. We have run a usability test on usertesting.com.
 * Related pages: this feature exists, but it has been flagged by the community as potentially not valuable. Type of testing still being discussed. No plans yet.
 * In-article navigation: it has been requested to possibly look in to testing how users interact with mobile web's non-expanded content sections. Type of testing still being discussed. No plans yet.

iOS

 * Feed: Assess the efficacy of the Feed in promoting ‘engaged browsing' behavior from our users. Still in planning phase.
 * Notifications: determine what research already exists on this, and from there decide what we need to do for the app. Still exploring existing research.
 * Search bar: based on user feedback from the last release, we are building a more prominent search bar. Still in design phase. Will run usability test when ready. Still in planning phase.
 * Text size change/accessibility: based on user feedback from the last release, we will be adding functionality to be able to change text size in the app. We are also working with accessibility experts/engineers to continue audits on the app in this area. We will be making improvements as these results come back, and test the results. Still in planning phase.

Language Switching
Research Question: ''Can multilingual users find and use the new language switcher interface? What is that experience like?''

Screening criteria:

Protocol/Tasks: Follow-up questions: Next steps: We are currently in the analysis/synthesis phase. Results will be posted once complete.
 * 1) Welcome! Before we get started, please opt in to using Wikipedia's beta features by clicking the hamburger menu (icon at top left), then click "Settings" in the popout menu, check "Beta," and then save.
 * 2) Please navigate to the Barack Obama page.
 * 3) You mentioned that you are fluent in more than one language. Please show us how you would find this Barack Obama page in another language that you know. Take some time to try to find this page in another language, and talk us through what you're seeing and thinking.
 * 4) If you were able to find the Barack Obama page in another language, that's good to hear!  From this page, how would you go back to the Barack Obama page in the original language (the language we started with)?
 * 5) If you weren't able to find the Barack Obama page in another language, click the language icon under the page title and give it another shot. Tell us what you're thinking as you explore this and try to find the Obama page in a different language. Skip ahead to step 7 if this doesn't apply to you.
 * 6) If you are now successful, show us how would you go back to the Barack Obama page in the original language (the language we started with).
 * 7) How did you feel about the process of finding a page in another language, and then switching back and forth?
 * 8) Now find the English page for Fides Bluff. How would you find this page in another language? Take a minute or so and then move to the next task.
 * 9) If you were successful, tell us how it went. if you weren't, tell us what you think happened.
 * 10) Fides Bluff is not available in other languages, so that was a trick question. Gotcha!! Thanks for showing us how you would handle that surprise.
 * 1) Do you have any thoughts on the process of switching page languages?
 * 2) How did you feel about the icon for switching languages?
 * 3) For the Fides Bluff page, the icon was dimmed out. How did you feel when you came across this dimmed out icon?
 * 4) Do you have any other feedback or suggestions for what you saw and experienced today?