Brandon S. Perelman Department 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 app  Questionnaire 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

ItemMeanStandard Dev. Hobby Interest42.37 Use app to support hobby? Citizen Science Interest Intuitiveness Aesthetics42.37 Legibility52.10 Simplicity Usability Use the app again? Enjoyment

 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