Usability test plan January 2021

Background

The Maine Ballot website was created to help Mainers find information about ballot questions, but parts of it have never been tested with users.

Goals

• Understand how Mainers find information about what's on the ballot.
• Understand whether the current site helps participants answer questions they have about what's on the ballot and how to vote in Maine.
• Learn what improvements we can make to the site.

Interview Guide

Intro (5 min)

Introductions

Welcome, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. I’m here today along with a few people from my team who are taking notes. What we do on this team is talk with people about their tasks and observe them completing tasks, to learn about improvements we can make to the site. Have you ever participated in research like this before?

Finding ballot information (10 min)

• Have you ever voted in Maine before?
• Tell me about your last voting experience.
• How did you vote (in person, mail, early, etc.)?
• What questions did you have before you cast your ballot?
• Where did you find out what was going to be on the ballot?

Observation using the website (10 min)

About User Testing

• We’re going to be looking at a website that provides information to voters.
• We’re testing the design we’re not testing you.
• I’d like you to think out loud
• I want to know what you really think and how you would actually use it. You can’t hurt my feelings. We want honest feedback so we can make the designs better.

Tasks

1. You didn't like waiting in line the last time you went to vote in person. Find out what other options you have for voting.
2. You want to know what questions will be on your town ballot. Find that information.
3. You want to know what local candidates will be on your ballot. Where would you find that information?
4. How would you vote on this question?
5. Was there any information that was particularly helpful or unhelpful in deciding how to vote?
6. Overall, how useful do you find the information on this website?
7. Is there anything missing?
8. Is there anything you would remove?

Close (2 min)

• Is there anyone else you recommend we speak with to get more insight on this topic?
• Are you interested in participating in future studies?
• Thank you for your time. Your insights have been helpful to us in understanding how we might improve our website. If there is additional information that comes to mind that you think might be helpful please feel free to reach out to myself via email.