Brandon S. PerelmanDepartment of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Michigan

Technological University

Application to support amateur maple syrup production as a hobby

Log data

Provide information to new hobbyists

Collect data useful to the U.S. Department of Agriculture

n = 6 MTU Undergraduates Relatively inexperienced smart phone

users M = 1.2 years of experience Range = 0 to 2 years of experience

Moderate interest in testing the app 2.5 / 5 where 1 = most interested, 3 = neutral

None of the subjects had any experience with amateur maple syrup production

1. Consent Form

2. Pre-Test Questionnaire

3. Scenario 1: Tapping Guide

4. Scenario 2: Documentation

5. Scenario 3: Usability Test

6. Debriefing

Observational Measures Fatal Errors – did the user give up?

Non-fatal Errors – Did the user make errors while navigating?

Help Requests Time to complete

Questionnaire Items (7 pt Likert Scale, 7 is “highest”) Hobby Interest Would you use this app to support the hobby? Citizen science project interest App Questions▪ Intuitiveness▪ Aesthetics▪ Legibility▪ Simplicity▪ Usability (reverse coded; normalized)▪ Would you use the app again? (reverse coded; normalized)▪ Enjoyment (reverse coded; normalized)

In what situations were subjects confused? Subject demeanor while using the appQuestionnaire Items: Describe whether or

not you like the app’s… Structure Interface Data Logging Data Display Efficiency

Observational Results (M, SD) Fatal Errors: .2, .44 Non-Fatal Errors: .2, .44 Time to complete: 6.7 m, 2.02 m Help Requests: 0, 0

Item Mean Standard Dev.

Hobby Interest 4 2.37

Use app to support hobby?

5.50 1.64

Citizen Science Interest 4.17 1.94

Intuitiveness 4.33 1.37

Aesthetics 4 2.37

Legibility 5 2.10

Simplicity 4.33 1.86

Usability 4.67 0.82

Use the app again? 4.5 1.38

Enjoyment 4.17 1.33

Structure Participants generally liked the basic structure

Interface Legibility Button font generally considered good Data entry field size insufficient Font too small elsewhere in the app, especially

regarding the weather data and records pages

Data Logging Universal confusion regarding multiple / single tree entry Universal confusion regarding units of measurement for

“sap yield” Diameter field is absent and would presumably also lack

unit of measurement Plot name is insufficient. Subjects stated that ideally plot

location would autofill based on GPS coordinates.

Data Display Functionality currently missing

Efficiency Participants were frustrated by inefficient data

entry (i.e., how to enter multiple trees? What if they are generally the same but differ in some small way?)

1. All data fields must contain units of measurement where appropriate

2. Increase font size and data entry field size across the entire app

3. Remove functionality for allowing user to input multiple trees at a time. Instead…

4. Allow users to aggregate multiple trees, entered individually, into single plots