Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my first steps on this project. I started an analysis of the installation flow, since it's the first flow users go through and small enough to get a sense of whether this type of analysis is a good approach before moving forward to more complex flows.
My work can be found in this file: OpenRefine Heuristic Analysis. It has two screens; more can be added if/when we continue the analysis on different flows:
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Heuristics Matrix Template: the starting point for the analysis. It's organized by heuristic (rows) and issue severity (columns).
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Heuristics Matrix: Installation: my analysis for the installation flow. One sticky per issue, color-coded by location (e.g. website, documentation, operating system, application), grouped by severity. I've also included possible solutions, which I'd love to discuss with the community, and linked open GitHub issues where I could find them.
A quick summary of the findings: the biggest issue I found was the need to circumvent security warnings to open the app, which I know is a known issue. This could be improved by fixing developer certificates or, barring that, improving guidance on security circumvention on the website and in the documentation. I also found a handful of ways the installation guidance on the website and in the documentation could be improved. Full details are on the stickies.
I think it'd be great to discuss the findings on a call with whoever is interested, then make GitHub issues based on community consensus. Here's a when2meet for scheduling: OpenRefine UX Audit: Installation Flow - When2meet
Tangentially, for my own clarity, I documented the installation flow I followed here: OpenRefine User Flows: Installation Flow (Mac). After I mentioned this to @Martin, we talked about how flow documentation itself might be a worthwhile project, as it could support UX and development workflows and, possibly, be used as a resource for end users. It would be interesting to hear others' thoughts on this!