The question I want answered is: “Will users be able to understand the button concepts easily enough to efficiently navigate the chat feature?”
Our paper prototype will help answer this question by presenting the potential user with an interface very similar to the product. When the user tests the interface, text bubbles display what each button concept is. By setting up these display bubbles, I believe the user is overwhelmed with information and repetitive tasks of confirming and ‘hovering’ will ultimately drive users away from daily use. To help counter this we took design concepts from existing chat messaging systems. If a user has had an experience with a number of popular (at least in the US) messaging systems then the user would be using their pre-existing bias to help navigate through the site before they are bombarded with pop-up windows and repetitive tasks. Using the user’ s own bias to allows the user to more efficiently and effectively navigate the site.
Finally, the most direct way of finding an answer to this question is by comparing what the user was able to recognize before the bubbles/windows pop-up. With the use of a camera and observation notes we can record each test with data to interpret where each user hesitated/messed up.
