Self-Guided UX Scenarios
This guide is a walkthrough of some of the core areas of the BetterVoting.com experience.
This guide can be used in a “playtesting” session, where a team member can take notes while the user shares their screen, but it can also be used by a new team member to learn more about the tool and identify the areas of friction for themselves. Having new team members is particularly helpful since they still have a fresh perspective on the project.
Recording (Recommended)
It helps to have these session recorded. Then team members can look back at any areas of friction as they improve the platform.
If you’re recording, start off by sharing the following. This helps contextulaize the playtest for anyone viewing the recording.
- What is your prior knowledge with STAR Voting and voting reform in general?
- Do you have previous experience with web development or anything web adjacent?
General Instructions
- If you find bugs please report them using the feedback widget in the bottom corner (or if you’re a team member developer, this is a good opportunity to practice writing issues in GitHub)
- Viewers of the session (if present) will mostly be silent
- Please vocalize your thoughts as much as possible
- If you have questions please ask those as well (the viewers might not answer them, but it’s good to know any questions you may have)
- The scenario instructions are intentionally vague in order to better test if these features are discoverable through the website
- Each scenario will end with a video this is a sample of what the scenario is expected to look like.
Proceed to execute the following scenarios to the best of your ability.
Scenario #1: Voting in an open poll
Your friend just shared a poll with you: bettervoting.com/meta_pets . Give it a try!
Scenario #2: Creating a basic poll
Now you’d like to try making a poll of your own. Do the following:
Navigate to BetterVoting.com
Create a quick poll for “What’s your favorite fruit” (or whatever you like)
Then find the sharable link and share it with the viewer (if present)
Scenario #3 - 1: Creating a advanced election
Your town is hosting an election, and your city clerk asks you to create an election on bettervoting.com . Here’s their specifications:
There are two races, 1 for mayor, and 1 for a high speed rail ballot initiative.
The mayor race should use star voting.
The ballot initiative should use Choose One and only have options for Yes and No in response to “Should we spend 1 billion dollars to add high speed rail in our town?”.
Only registered voters can vote in this election.
The election should start on the first day of the following month (ex. January 1st 2025).
The options on each ballot should be randomized.
Mayor Candidates
| Names | Campaign Website |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Republican | https://www.gop.gov/ |
| Danny Democrat | https://democrats.org/ |
| Gary Green | https://katieporter.com/ |
Registered Voters
| Emails |
|---|
| your email |
| [email protected] |
Final steps
You cast a test ballot as a final check.
Finalize the election
Draft an email to all registered voters inviting them to vote
Scenario #3 - 2: Voting from an email invite
Now you’re assuming the role of a voter.
You’ve just received a ballot in your inbox. Vote in the election (and thank you for being civically engaged!!)
The End
That’s the end of the user scenarios! Be sure to report any feedback or comments from the process.
If you’d like to learn more about what the tool has to offer checkout the docs at docs.bettervoting.com . We’re always working on adding more docs, so let us know if we’re missing anything.