July usability testing has completed for Gutenberg. I kept the same testing script as last month to be able to make a comparison over the course of these last two months. The users were mostly new to WordPress so expect a novice level of interaction.

Testing script

Imagine you’re writing a blog post about your favorite bakery. Your blog should have a title, some images of desserts, and a couple content sections. Please make sure to talk through everything out loud as you complete the tasks. Let’s get started.

1. Log in.
2. Create a new post.
3. Give your post a title.
4. Add a Cover block to your post with a message overlaying the image that reads, “The sweetest place on earth”.
5. Make the Cover block full-width.
6. Add a paragraph below that reads, “This bakery is committed to using the finest ingredients from all over the world ensuring that quality remains the cornerstone of their business. In fact, quality is the number one ingredient in everything they do.”
7. Now add a heading for the cupcakes section.
8. In this section, add an image of cupcakes with some text along the right side of it.
9. Add a sentence or two below to finish off the cupcake section.
10. Add a new heading about cookies.
11. In this section, add a Media+Text block with an image of cookies on the right, and some text on the left side. Make this area full width.
12. Below that, add a gallery of 5 more images.
13. Now add a quote you heard someone say about this bakery. Maybe something like, “This bakery is almost as good as Grandma’s house!”
14. At the bottom, add a horizontal divider.
15. Finally, include a link to the bakery site. Type the bakery name, and then link it to a website (any website is fine).
16. Publish your post.

Videos

Video 1 (July 4)

[User adds a Cover block] Okay, now I’m just going to begin typing in it. [completely skips the Cover block’s instructions in the placeholder]

The hardest part was having to figure out what part to click on to add the text.

I’m not really sure how I can add [a block at the bottom of the page]

Video 2 (July 10)

Oh, the text is here. I couldn’t even tell. I wish there was an indication. [referring to where to add text in the page]

So it’s kinda like a puzzle. I can move these elements around.

Video 3 (July 17)

I’m afraid you’re using terminology that doesn’t mean that much to me.

I’m going to give up on this. [referring to the Media Library and adding items to gallery]

This isn’t obvious or intuitive at all.

Video 4 (July 24)

Feedback

As with all the prior videos being shared, please leave some feedback! What are some patterns that pop out to you? What successes do these users have in navigating and creating a post? What challenges become evident in their flow?

As a reminder, if you’re interested in helping with usability testing, there’s a number of things you can try:

• Join the #research channel in slack.
• You can write a test script that can be usability tested for Gutenberg.
• Or simply watch the videos and leave some feedback below.

Thanks for watching and contributing anywhere you can.

#gutenberg, #usability-testing