Filter and homepage testing follow up

What we did

Over the course of three hours on March 28, 2018, Cydney and Robin interviewed and tested five State department employees. All five testers were CDOs and were a mix of specialists and generalists. Robin recruited the participants through her office networks.

Learning goals

We wanted to continue to test our search filters to ensure they meet users needs and the content inside the filters is organized in a way that is easily understood by users.

Action items for release candidate

• Move Bureau filter above Post filter.
• Redesign Post to allow users to select Domestic posts.
• On search results cards, if a position doesn't have language requirement, it should say "Language: None," instead of "Language: None listed."
• Add ability to select Skill code category to select all of the sub skills.
• Post should be by CITY. Sorted alphabetical by CITY.
• Add "Posted date" in Sort By to show how results are shown in the default view.
• Remove COLA
• Show top level Functional Bureaus.
• Add ETD to search results card.
• Remove OM positions. (Used to mean office manager and now it has a grade affiliated).

Action items for future

• Add lines between the year categories or shading to increase readability of the Tour of Duty filter.
• Add ability to add up Danger Pay and Post Differential to help users calculate fair share.
• Update Post design to show countries AND cities.
• Need to research different ways to represent 00 within Grade filter for better user understanding.
• Add date to the top of the search results to show when content was last updated. (More relevant for administrators when users edit a capsule description, show MODIFIED date)

What we learned - Filters closed

The general consensus on this task is that there are too many results shown but that users found the information on the results cards to be clear.

"I find the number overwhelming. I like the filters. Bureau should be first. Can I select Domestic or only overseas or both? I'd search by Skill code, Grade, Bureau, Post"

"Cards are perfect, they show what I've chosen!"

Takeaways:

• Two users mentioned they wanted to see transfer eligibility date on the results card. (We should add this to the cards.)
• One user mentioned that "Language: None listed" appeared as an incomplete data point and suggested it just say, "Language: None" to show that a language was not required for that position. (We should consider this change.)
• One user wanted to know how to up to date the results were. (We should add "Last updated: MM/DD/YYY" to the top of the results.)

What we learned - Skill code

People reiteratated how important Skill code was to them when they got to this task. The majority of users were pleased with this filters.

"All here."

"I would select more than one Skill code."

Takeaways:

• Some users expressed interest in selecting the entire category.

What we learned - Grade

Users easily understood this filter.

"This is my first interest."

Takeaways:

• One person said we may want to revisit order, however each had no trouble finding their own grade in the list.
• Many were confused by 00, and thought to just skip it. (May want to consider other language alternatives to better define for users.)

What we learned - Post

This task was one of two that spurred a lot of discussion. The majority of users preferred the view of cities over countries.

"Search bar! That's great I didn't like dragging."

"I'd like to see all domestic or all overseas."

Takeaways

• While the majority of users more readily understood cities in this filter, many expressed interest in countries. (Go with cities for RC, explore more design options involving country for the future.)
• Three users expressed interest in choosing Domestic immediately. Further conversation revealed that the domestic city was not important. (Add the Domestic radial button back into design).

What we learned - Bureau

The majority of people found the Functional Bureau as a feature they would not use, though some said it was good to know.

"Regional - this looks great. Functional - I would hardly ever use this, probably anything domestic not that specific, may be used by some."

"This should be relocated before post."

Takeaways

• Consider re-arranging to appear before Post filter.
• Discuss the removal of Functional Bureaus or, only show to top level Functional Bureau, rather than the departments within.

What we learned - Tour of duty

People readily understood this filter.

"Self-explanatory."

Takeaways

• No changes necessary.
• One user did ask where special R&Rs would go. Consider researching and including in a future version.

What we learned - Language

Everyone found this clear and easy to understand.

Takeaways

• Spell out all language (ex. Chinese-Ma should be Chinese-Mandarin).

What we learned - Post differential

Everyone thought this was clear and easy to understand.

What we learned - Danger pay

Everyone thought this was clear and easy to understand.

What we learned - COLA

Users didn't find this filter as helpful as others.

"Possibly eliminate COLA."