Be prepared for 2012.

2011 is history. At the start of 2011, I wrote this blog post:
http://enjoytesting.blogspot.com/2011/01/peek-into-future-bold-attempt.html

2011 was a great year for me. Here is the mindmap for 2011:

Year 2011

Its time for new goals, new plans and new expectations.
Here is the mindmap for the year 2012.

I have not planned 2012 like the last year. I have learnt that new opportunities come up from nowhere and old goals give way to new goals.

It is better to be well prepared than well planned. I am prepared for 2012. Bring it on :)

Wish you all a very happy new year. May you create all the opportunities you need to make 2012 the best year so far. And once you create the opportunity, just grab it :)

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Four Quick Questions While Testing

This is a quick post in between a testing session. Right now I am testing www.ibibo.com and they have a 'Friend Suggest' feature where ibibo suggests friends for you.
Here is the screenshot from ibibo.com

Friend Suggest

I assume that friends are suggested based on some algorithm. The number of mutual friends is also highlighted.

I clicked on 'Add as a friend' against one of the profiles displayed. A popup was displayed.

Once you click on 'Add as Friend' link

While it is good to inform the user about an action he performed, as a user I was not able to perform any other action till I dismissed the popup by clicking on the OK or close button.

Compare that to what Facebook does. Even Facebook has the Friend Suggest feature by another name: 'People you may know'.

Facebook Friend Suggest

Once I clicked on 'Add Friend' link, the particular profile slowly disappeared after displaying 'Friend request sent'.
                                                          
Do you see the difference? Is there a problem here?

After this observation, I made some notes. Few questions which helped me find a problem were:

* What is the purpose of the feature?
* How will the users use it?
* Are there any problems in what you observe? Primarily any inconsistency or usability issues?
* Have you seen such a feature elsewhere? Comparable products heuristic?

Let us go through each of the questions in detail.
Purpose of the feature
As a tester, do you understand the purpose of the feature. What problem does the feature try to solve? As the product is a social networking site, more the friends, the better. The feature is trying to help you add friends. In the case of ibibo, does it really help?

Users using the feature
As a user, is it easy to understand the feature? Is there help available? Is it user-friendly? Can the user use all the feature's functionality? How is the first impression? Is the feature easily visible or hidden behind a lot of junk?

Usability Issues
This morning, I read the latest blog post by Michael Bolton - http://www.developsense.com/blog/2011/12/why-checking-is-not-enough/ on why checking is not enough.
I am not sure how a check might find the level of user's frustration or happiness.
When I was not able to click on any other link till I dismissed the confirmation popup, I was slightly frustrated.
Confusion, frustration, delight and other emotions - how will a check handle it?
As a tester, are you aware of your emotions when you test, after the tests?

Comparable with similar products heuristic
Finally, as a tester make use of the similar products heuristic if given a chance. Just as I write this post, I hear the dialogue from 'First Blood II' - Mind is the best weapon.  So true.

Maybe, next time too - I will use the four questions as a quick heuristic.
What is the purpose, who will use it, any usability issues, how the competitor handles it?

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