├── ACCEPTABLE-USE-POLICY.md ├── CONTRIBUTING.md ├── LICENSE.md ├── OPEN-SOURCE-POLICY.md ├── README.md ├── ROADMAP.md ├── TERMS-OF-SERVICE.md ├── release_notes └── release_notes.md ├── research ├── 18fresearchparticipantconsentform.pdf ├── Design Research Participant Agreement (Consent).pdf ├── directional_research │ ├── assets │ │ └── Initial research affinity mapping.png │ ├── dashboard_summary.md │ ├── legal_research_highlights_presentation.pdf │ ├── legal_resources_analytics_read_out.pdf │ ├── legal_resources_workshop_notes.pdf │ └── personas_v2.md ├── feature_sets │ ├── AO_search.md │ ├── advanced_data_tables.md │ ├── assets │ │ ├── advanced-data-tables-key.png │ │ ├── advanced-data-tables.png │ │ ├── advanced_data_tables-20899.png │ │ ├── advanced_data_tables-2f888.png │ │ ├── beta-home-all.png │ │ ├── calendar-all.png │ │ ├── calendar-key.png │ │ ├── dashboard-key.png │ │ ├── dashboardv1-all.png │ │ ├── fec-feature-key.png │ │ ├── fec-feature-key.sketch │ │ ├── gates-sample.gif │ │ ├── legal_resources_landing.png │ │ ├── megamega.gif │ │ ├── menu-open.png │ │ ├── nav.png │ │ ├── receipts.png │ │ └── right_to_rise.gif │ ├── calendar.md │ ├── dashboard.md │ ├── data_overview.md │ ├── ia_primary_nav_menu.md │ ├── legal_resources.md │ ├── template.md │ └── zz-old-advanced_data_tables_bak.md └── test_scripts │ ├── 00-template.md │ ├── 2015-7-30.md │ ├── 2016-06-23.md │ ├── 2016-06-30.md │ ├── 2016-07-07.md │ ├── 2016-08-04.md │ ├── 2016-08-18.md │ ├── 2016-09-08.md │ ├── 2016-10-06.md │ ├── 2016-4-26-test.md │ ├── 2016-5-19.md │ ├── 2016-5-26.md │ ├── 2016-6-9.md │ └── assets │ ├── committee-7-30-2015.png │ └── home-7-30-2015.png └── system_diagram └── fec_system_diagram.graffle /ACCEPTABLE-USE-POLICY.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # openFEC API acceptable use 2 | The Federal Election Commission (FEC) offers some of its public data in machine readable format via an Application Programming Interface (API). The FEC API is a RESTful web service supporting full-text and field-specific searches on FEC data. The FEC operates openFEC. 3 | 4 | We encourage you to consume and use the API to discover new and innovative uses for FEC data. To maintain the availability of openFEC to serve FEC.gov and API users, we must place restrictions on how this data is accessed and used. 5 | 6 | This acceptable use policy sets out a list of acceptable and unacceptable conduct for using openFEC, in addition to the restrictions imposed by the [terms of service](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/TERMS-OF-SERVICE.md). If we believe a violation of the policy is deliberate, repeated or presents a credible risk of harm to other users, the API or any third parties, we may suspend or terminate your access. If there is any inconsistency between this acceptable use policy and the terms of service, the terms of service will take priority to the extent of the inconsistency. 7 | 8 | ## Changes to this acceptable use policy 9 | The FEC may update this acceptable use policy at any time. Updates will be made available on FEC.gov. 10 | 11 | ## Acceptable and unacceptable conduct 12 | 13 | ### Do: 14 | - comply with terms of service, including the terms of this acceptable use policy; 15 | - comply with all applicable laws and governmental regulations; 16 | - keep keys and all other login information confidential; 17 | - monitor and control all activity conducted through your key in connection with openAPI; and 18 | - promptly notify us if you become aware of or reasonably suspect any illegal or unauthorized activity involving your keys. 19 | 20 | ### Don’t: 21 | - prevent other users, including but not limited to FEC.gov, from accessing openFEC; 22 | - overload openFEC; 23 | - materially reduce the speed of openFEC for other users, including but not limited to FEC.gov; 24 | - share, transfer or otherwise provide access to key designated for you to another person; 25 | - attempt to gain unauthorized access to openFEC or related systems or networks or to defeat, avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or otherwise circumvent any software protection or monitoring mechanisms of the API; 26 | - engage in activity that incites or encourages violence or hatred against individuals or groups; 27 | - impersonate any person or entity; 28 | - create keys in bulk; 29 | - send unsolicited communications, promotions or advertisements, or spam; 30 | - send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information, including "spoofing" or "phishing"; 31 | - use campaign finance information disclosed on fec.gov or through openFEC, the FEC's API, for commercial purposes including, but not limited to training data for large language models, machine learning models or artificial intelligence models, including generative artificial intelligence models; or 32 | - authorize, permit, enable, induce or encourage any third party to do any of the above. 33 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /CONTRIBUTING.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Default Contributor License Agreement 2 | 3 | ## Welcome 4 | We're glad you're thinking about contributing to an FEC open source project! If you're unsure about anything, ask us — or submit the issue or pull request anyway. The worst that can happen is that we’ll politely ask you to change something. 5 | 6 | We love all friendly contributions, and we welcome your ideas about how to make the FEC's online presence more user friendly, accessible and elegant. 7 | 8 | To ensure a welcoming environment for our projects, our staff follows the FEC Code of Conduct [pending]; contributors should do the same. Please also check out the [FEC Open Source Policy](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/OPEN-SOURCE-POLICY.md). 9 | 10 | If you’d prefer, you can also reach us by [email](mailto:opensource@fec.gov). 11 | 12 | ## Public domain 13 | By submitting a pull request, you agree to comply with the policies on our license page. 14 | 15 | This document is about how to contribute to FEC projects. This process looks a bit different depending on whether you’re a member of the public, an FEC employee, or a member of a specific team. Here’s what you can find in this doc: 16 | 17 | - Public contributions 18 | - FEC contributions 19 | - Branches 20 | - Front end architecture 21 | - Standards and benchmarks 22 | - Public domain 23 | 24 | ### Issues 25 | We use GitHub issues to track user issues and team tasks. Whenever possible, we follow this outline: 26 | 27 | 1. Goal: a quick blurb explaining the bug or what the issue should accomplish. What is the user need? 28 | 2. Completion criteria: how we’ll know that this issue has been completed 29 | 3. Tasks to completion: 30 | - [ ] Use 31 | - [ ] Markdown 32 | - [ ] Checklists 33 | 4. Dependencies (optional): What other issues out there need to be completed before you can do this one? Include links to tickets with the dependency. 34 | 5. For development issues, include: 35 | Unknown tasks or dependencies that need investigation 36 | [The boilerplate tasks for each development issue](https://gist.github.com/theresaanna/86be7e29214a7f31ab73) 37 | 38 | ### Commit messages 39 | - Good commit messages start with a verb, like “adds” or “changes” or “removes.” 40 | - Be sure to talk about the nature of the change you're making. Explain why the change is needed, rather than simply describing the bug or task it addresses. 41 | - If your commit resolves an issue, reference it in the commit messages. For example “fixes #555.” Read more GitHub guidance on [closing issues via commit messages](https://help.github.com/articles/closing-issues-via-commit-messages/). 42 | - We encourage you to follow the [50/72 format](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2290016/git-commit-messages-50-72-formatting). 43 | 44 | ### Pull requests 45 | - Anyone may informally review a pull request and make comments or suggestions. 46 | - When a pull request is ready for review, label it `plz-review`. 47 | - Include a summary of all work and changes. 48 | - Use `cc @username` to notify a specific team member to review a pull request. 49 | 50 | 51 | ## Public contributions 52 | Thank you for contributing to an FEC open source project. If you're unsure about anything, just send us an [email](mailto:opensource@fec.gov) with your question or submit an issue https://github.com/fecgov/FEC. 53 | 54 | We want to ensure a welcoming environment for all of our projects. Our staff follow the FEC Code of Conduct [pending] and all contributors should do the same. 55 | 56 | We encourage you to read the project's contribution agreement (you are here), its [license](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/LICENSE.md) and its [readme](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md). 57 | 58 | If you see an error or have feedback, the best way to let us know is to file an issue. 59 | - To contribute a specific change to the project, outside contributors will need to fork this repo. 60 | 61 | ## FEC contributions 62 | There is a team actively working on this project. You can find us in Slack or FEC email. 63 | 64 | ## Branches 65 | Any FEC team member should be able to make a branch of the project and submit a Pull Request (PR). 66 | 67 | The master, staging, and production branches are protected. Only administrators of the repo can push directly to those branches. FEC staff who think they don't have the correct permissions should ask in Slack or FEC email. 68 | 69 | ## Submitting pull requests 70 | If you submit your PR from the Github website or via the Github Client app include any issues your PR addresses. If the PR changes are not associated with an issue, please leave a brief message detailing what was wrong with the application before, and how it *should* be. 71 | 72 | If the nature of the PR is visual, please replace all instances of BRANCH_NAME with the name of the branch that is being merged. 73 | 74 | Complete the PR message by detailing all fixes and tagging GitHub users who should review the work, with a note about what they should be reviewing. In general: 75 | - If you are not an admin or member of the FEC team, tag someone who you would like to review and merge your PR 76 | - If you are an admin for the repo or a member of the FEC team, you are responsible for merging your own PRs after they have been reviewed and approved by someone else on the team 77 | - If you have been asked to review a PR, leave a clear message indicating your approval, either through the formal PR review feature or by commenting (at the very least, with a note saying LGTM, or "Looks good to me") 78 | - If your PR includes many small, incremental commits, consider squashing them 79 | - Don’t merge until linters pass, unless you have discussed with reviewers and approved exceptions 80 | 81 | ## Front end architecture 82 | See project [README](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md) for details. 83 | 84 | ## CSS 85 | See project [README](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md) for details. 86 | 87 | ## Images 88 | See project [README](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md) for details. 89 | 90 | ## JavaScript 91 | See project [README](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md) for details. 92 | 93 | ## Standards and benchmarks 94 | 95 | ## Device and browser support 96 | The user interface should support all versions of Internet Explorer still supported by Microsoft, as well as recent versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox 97 | When applicable the user interface should be mobile responsive 98 | 99 | ## Performance 100 | See project [README](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/README.md) for details. 101 | 102 | ## Public domain 103 | For detailed license information, see our default license. 104 | 105 | All contributions to this project will be released under the CC0 dedication. By submitting a PR, you are agreeing to comply with this waiver of copyright interest. 106 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /LICENSE.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Default License 2 | 3 | This project includes a mix of the following: 4 | - Open source works that are not in the public domain 5 | - Open source work by the U.S. government that is in the public domain 6 | 7 | A few restrictions limit the way you can use FEC data. For example, you can’t use contributor lists for commercial purposes or to solicit donations. [Learn more on FEC.gov.](https://www.fec.gov/updates/sale-or-use-contributor-information/) 8 | 9 | ## Parts of this project that are not in the public domain 10 | This site is based on the U.S. Web Design Standards (WDS), which also includes works under the SIL Open Font License, MIT license, and public domain. Files from the WDS are in *_sass/_libs/wds/*, and the full license details for those assets are described in the [WDS license](https://github.com/uswds/uswds/blob/develop/LICENSE.md) file. 11 | 12 | This site also includes a number of images that have various copyright statuses, including Creative Commons licenses and public domain. These images are in the assets directory, and license details are available on the posts and pages that display the images. 13 | 14 | The Karla font files in `fec-cms/fec/fec/static/fonts/` are from [Google Web Fonts](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Karla), licensed under the [SIL Open Font License](http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=OFL), and copyright [Jonny Pinhorn](https://github.com/jonpinhorn) with Reserved Font Name ‘Karla'. 15 | 16 | The FEC currency monospace font files in `fec-cms/fec/fec/static/fonts/` are a custom, modified version of the Karla font by [Jonny Pinhorn](https://github.com/jonpinhorn), licensed under the [SIL Open Font License](http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=OFL). 17 | 18 | The Gandhi Serif font files in `fec-cms/fec/fec/static/fonts/` are from [Librerias Gandhi](http://www.tipografiagandhi.com/), and copyright 2012 [Librerias Gandhi S.A. de C.V.](http://www.gandhi.com.mx/) with Reserved Font Name ‘Gandhi Serif’. The English version of this License is reproduced below. 19 | 20 | #### Full English version of the license text for Gandhi Serif: 21 | 22 | ``` 23 | Conditions of use 24 | 25 | You may: 26 | - Install the fonts on as many devices as you wish. 27 | - Distribute the fonts to anyone you wish. 28 | - Use the fonts in any commercial or non-commercial document. 29 | - Save the fonts in a format that would best fit your purposes. 30 | 31 | You may not: 32 | - Modify the fonts in a font editor software. 33 | - Sell or rent out the fonts. 34 | 35 | Notes: 36 | - The fonts and any other accompanying written or electronic materials are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. The authors do not warrant that the functions contained in the fonts will meet the user's requirements. 37 | - The authors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages (including damages from loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, and the like) arising out of the use of or inability to use the fonts. 38 | ``` 39 | 40 | ## The rest of this project is in the worldwide public domain 41 | As a work of the United States government, this project is in the public domain within the United States. 42 | 43 | Additionally, we waive copyright and related rights in the work worldwide through the [CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). 44 | 45 | ## CC0 1.0 Universal Summary 46 | This is a human-readable summary of the [Legal Code (read the full text)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode). 47 | 48 | ### No copyright 49 | The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. 50 | 51 | You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. 52 | 53 | ### Other information 54 | In no way are the patent or trademark rights of any person affected by CC0, nor are the rights that other persons may have in the work or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. 55 | 56 | Unless expressly stated otherwise, the person who associated a work with this deed makes no warranties about the work, and disclaims liability for all uses of the work, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. When using or citing the work, you should not imply endorsement by the author or the affirmer. 57 | 58 | ### Contributions to this project 59 | As stated in the default contribution agreement, all contributions to this project will be released under the CC0 dedication. By submitting a pull request, you are agreeing to comply with this waiver of copyright interest. 60 | 61 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /OPEN-SOURCE-POLICY.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Federal Election Commission open source policy 2 | 3 | 4 | ## I . Redistribution of FEC code 5 | 6 | (a) Software source code written entirely by FEC staff, and by contractors who are developing software on behalf of FEC, is by default a public domain work. 7 | 8 | (b) Software source code previously released under an open source license and then modified by FEC staff is considered a "joint work" (see 17 USC § 101); it is partially copyrighted, partially public domain, and as a whole is protected by the copyrights of the non-government authors and must be released according to the terms of the original open-source license. 9 | 10 | (c) All source code as defined in I(a) and I(b) above must be catalogued and shared with the general public via a highly visible, easily accessible online source code community that facilitates the code’s reuse. Source code shall not be released if any of the following conditions are met: 11 | 12 | i. The author of the code in question determines that the code is too crude to merit distribution or provide value to the broader community. 13 | 14 | ii. The Government does not have the rights to reproduce and release the item. 15 | The Government has public release rights when the software is developed by Government personnel, when the Government receives "unlimited rights" in software developed by a contractor at Government expense, or when pre- existing "Open Source Software" (OSS) is modified by or for the Government. 16 | 17 | iii. The public release of the item is restricted by other law or regulation, such as the Export Administration Regulations or the International Traffic in Arms Regulation. 18 | 19 | iv. FEC IT security staff determine that the public release of such code would pose an unacceptable risk to FEC's operational security. 20 | 21 | ## II. Default Open source licenses 22 | 23 | (a) FEC code within U.S. public domain, see sections (I)(a) and (I)(b) of this policy. 24 | 25 | (b) FEC permanently waives all copyright and related rights worldwide to code created by FEC or its contractors. 26 | 27 | (c) Our [default license](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC) for projects acknowledges that our work is in the US public domain, and uses [CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) to waive copyright internationally. 28 | 29 | (d) Our [default contribution agreement](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) informs contributors that their contributions will be licensed under the same terms. 30 | (e) Each project may need to modify or extend our default license and default contribution agreement as needed for its own circumstances. 31 | 32 | ## III. Use of external open source software 33 | 34 | (a) OSS is software that allows its recipients to modify and redistribute the source code; as such, "open source" is a copyright and distribution framework and makes no implications regarding technical support or indemnification. In almost all cases, OSS meets the definition of "commercial computer software" and shall be given appropriate statutory preference in accordance with 41 USC § 3307 35 | 36 | (b) Executive agencies, including FEC, are required to conduct market research when preparing for the procurement of products or services by 41 USC § 3306 . See also FAR 10.001. 37 | 38 | 1. There are several positive aspects of OSS that should compel FEC to seek out OSS when conducting market research on software for agency-wide use: 39 | 40 | i. Publicly available source code enables continuous and broad peer review that ensures rigorous security and reliability. Specifically, this process encourages the identification and elimination of defects that might otherwise go unrecognized by a more limited core development team. 41 | 42 | ii. The unrestricted ability to modify software source code enables FEC to respond more rapidly to constantly changing missions and markets, and is critical to FEC's ability to create new tools and keep pace with industry. 43 | 44 | iii. Using OSS instead of proprietary software may reduce reliance on a particular software developer or vendor. OSS can be operated and maintained by multiple vendors, thus reducing barriers to entry and exit. 45 | 46 | iv. Open source licenses do not restrict who can use the software or the endeavors in which the software can be used. This allows FEC to endlessly reuse existing OSS-based products to satisfy new needs quickly and secure substantial cost savings for the Agency. 47 | 48 | v. Since the monetary cost of OSS typically lies in support and maintenance as opposed to licensing, OSS can provide a cost advantage in situations where many copies of the software may be required, and can mitigate risk of cost growth due to licensing in situations where the total number of users may not be known in advance. 49 | 50 | vi. By sharing the responsibility for maintenance of OSS with other users, FEC can benefit by reducing the total cost of ownership for software. 51 | 52 | vii. OSS is particularly suitable for rapid prototyping and experimentation, where the ability to "test drive" the software with minimal costs and administrative delays can be important. 53 | 54 | 2. While these considerations may be relevant, they may not be the overriding drivers to any decision about software. Ultimately, the software that best meets the needs and mission of FEC should be used, regardless of whether the software is open source. 55 | 56 | (c) The use of any software without appropriate maintenance and support presents an information assurance risk. Before approving the use of software (including OSS), system/program managers, and ultimately Designated Approving Authorities (DAAs), must ensure that the plan for software support (e.g., commercial or Government program office support) is adequate for mission need. 57 | 58 | (d) It is important to understand both the specifics of the open source license in question and how FEC intends to use and redistribute any Agency-modified OSS. There is a misconception that the Government is always obligated to distribute the source code of any modified OSS to the public, and therefore that OSS should not be integrated or modified for use in sensitive FEC systems. In contrast, many open source licenses permit the user to modify OSS for internal use without being obligated to distribute source code to the public. However, if the user chooses to distribute the modified OSS outside the user's organization (e.g., a Government user distributes the code outside the Government), then some OSS licenses (such as the GNU General Public License) do require distribution of the corresponding source code to the recipient of the software. 59 | 60 | (e) When contracting developer services, FEC will encourage vendors to use open source technology wherever possible, for the reasons cited in (b)1.i-vii above. 61 | 62 | Send us an [email](mailto:opensource@fec.gov) if you have questions about this policy. 63 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Campaign finance for everyone 2 | The Federal Election Commission (FEC) releases information to the public about money that’s raised and spent in federal elections — that’s elections for US President, Senate, and House of Representatives. 3 | 4 | Are you interested in seeing how much money a candidate raised? Or spent? How much debt they took on? Who contributed to their campaign? The FEC is the authoritative source for that information. 5 | 6 | [FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/) began a collaboration between [18F](http://18f.gsa.gov) and the FEC to make campaign finance information more accessible (and understandable) to all users. The FEC continues to improve the site and add functionality. 7 | 8 | ## FEC repositories 9 | We welcome you to explore, make suggestions, and contribute to our code. 10 | 11 | This repository, [FEC](https://github.com/fecgov/fec), is a general discussion forum. We [compile feedback](https://github.com/fecgov/fec/issues) from the FEC.gov feedback widget here. This is the best place to submit general feedback. 12 | 13 | ### All repositories 14 | - [FEC](https://github.com/fecgov/fec): a general discussion forum. We [compile feedback](https://github.com/fecgov/fec/issues) from the FEC.gov feedback widget here, and this is the best place to submit general feedback. 15 | - [openFEC](https://github.com/fecgov/openfec): the first RESTful API for the Federal Election Commission 16 | - [fec-cms](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-cms): the content management system (CMS) for the new FEC.gov 17 | - [fec-proxy](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-proxy): the proxy application to manage and route requests coming to the new FEC.gov site 18 | - [fec-proxy-redirect](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-proxy-redirect): the proxy application to redirect legacy application URLs 19 | - [fec-infrastructure](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-infrastructure): manages the gov cloud RDS instances 20 | - [fec-pattern-library](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-pattern-library): pattern library for fec.gov 21 | - [fec-dns](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-dns): manages DNS for fec.gov 22 | - [fec-testing](https://github.com/fecgov/fec-testing): tracks ideas through concept, design, usability testing, and documentation 23 | 24 | ***FECFile (under development)*** 25 | - [fecfile-web-app](https://github.com/fecgov/fecfile-web-app): Browser-based front-end for FECFile developed in Angular 26 | - [fecfile-web-api](https://github.com/fecgov/fecfile-web-api): RESTful API supporting the FECFile front-end developed in Django 27 | - [fecfile-api-proxy](https://github.com/fecgov/fecfile-api-proxy): Nginx reverse proxy for FECFile API - IP blocking and rate limiting 28 | - [fecfile-validate](https://github.com/fecgov/fecfile-validate): data validation rules for FECFile 29 | 30 | ## Get involved 31 | We’re thrilled you want to get involved! 32 | - Read our [contributing guidelines](https://github.com/fecgov/openfec/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md). Then, [file an issue](https://github.com/fecgov/fec/issues) or submit a pull request. 33 | - [Send us an email](mailto:betafeedback@fec.gov). 34 | - If you’re a developer, follow the installation instructions in the README.md page of each repository to run the apps on your computer. 35 | 36 | ## Copyright and licensing 37 | This project is in the public domain within the United States, and we waive worldwide copyright and related rights through [CC0 universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Read more on our license page. 38 | 39 | A few restrictions limit the way you can use FEC data. For example, you can’t use contributor lists for commercial purposes or to solicit donations. Learn more on FEC.gov. 40 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /ROADMAP.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # FEC.gov road map 2 | _Last updated: 5/30/2017_ 3 | 4 | The work on the new fec.gov will continue well after the initial launch. 18F and the FEC will continue this work using agile software development and user-centered design, continuously iterating and improving the product based on data and user feedback. 5 | 6 | To keep up with our day-to-day work, you can follow our Github issues, but for a higher-level view, we’re providing this public roadmap. This roadmap is always subject to change as we get new and better information; near-term plans are more concrete than long-term plans. 7 | 8 | Here’s a glimpse of what is coming up in the near, medium and long-term. 9 | 10 | ## Near term: ~1 month 11 | 12 | ### Candidate and committee page enhancements 13 | We have several improvements planned for candidate and committee pages, including additional data visualizations and additional columns of data when browsing committee filings. 14 | 15 | ### Finance data browsing improvements 16 | We will continue to add filters to the advanced data pages. Some filters we have planned include a line number filter for receipts and disbursements and a ZIP code filter for receipts. 17 | 18 | ### Additional content for candidates and committees 19 | Just as we did with information for candidates and candidate committees, we will be reorganizing and improving the guidance content for other types of entities. We’re starting with content for party committees and then content for nonconnected PACs. 20 | 21 | ## Medium term: ~1-4 months 22 | 23 | ### Finance data browsing improvements 24 | We will be investigating ways to expand the current two-year time period for browsing receipts and disbursements to allow users to search across more years at a time. We will also continue to add new filters, columns, and sortable properties to the data table pages to make it easier to get the data you need. 25 | 26 | ### Advisory opinion enhancements 27 | Planned advisory opinion enhancements include adding the plain language summaries to canonical pages, adding additional filters, and continuing to refine the user experience of browsing and reading AOs. 28 | 29 | ### Election data and information comparison 30 | We will be working to present additional views of election-level financial totals and an improved way to find the most relevant information for a given state. 31 | 32 | ### More *Help for candidates and committees* content 33 | We will continue to build out the *Help for candidates and committees* section by providing reporting examples. 34 | 35 | ### Additional legal resources 36 | We will be enhancing the experience of browsing Matters Under Review to be consistent with the experience of browsing advisory opinions, adding a better presentation of search results and additional filters. We will also be adding additional legal resources, such as closed administrative fine and alternative dispute resolution cases. 37 | 38 | ## Long term 39 | 40 | ### More “Help for candidates and committees” content 41 | We expect the work of building out the remaining sections of “Help for candidates and committees” to several months, and so this will continue to be a long term priority. The final section we will ship will be for corporations and labor organizations. 42 | 43 | ### eFiling modernization 44 | Beyond 2017, the FEC will pursue the recommendations made by 18F’s study on “Modernizing the e-filing experience and infrastructure” in order to improve the filing experience and improve the quality of data. 45 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /TERMS-OF-SERVICE.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # openFEC API terms of service 2 | 3 | The Federal Election Commission (FEC) offers some of its public data in machine readable format via an Application Programming Interface (API). The FEC provides this service, at its sole discretion, for the benefit of the public. The service is offered subject to acceptance of the terms and conditions contained herein as well as any relevant sections of FEC.gov, FEC’s [sale or use policy](https://www.fec.gov/updates/sale-or-use-contributor-information/), FEC’s [privacy and security policy](https://www.fec.gov/about/privacy-and-security-policy/) and FEC’s [acceptable use policy](https://github.com/fecgov/FEC/blob/master/ACCEPTABLE-USE-POLICY.md) (collectively, the "Agreement"). 4 | 5 | ## Scope 6 | All of the content, documentation, code and related materials made available to you through the API is subject to these terms. Access to or use of the API or its content constitutes acceptance to this Agreement. 7 | 8 | ## Use 9 | You may use any FEC API to develop a service or service to search, display, analyze, retrieve, view and otherwise get information from FEC data. 10 | 11 | ## Attribution 12 | All services which utilize or access the API should identify openFEC API as the data source. You may not use the FEC name, logo, or the like to imply endorsement of any product, service, or entity, not-for-profit, commercial or otherwise. 13 | 14 | ## Modification or false representation of content 15 | You may not modify or falsely represent content accessed through the API and still claim the source is FEC. 16 | 17 | ## Right to limit 18 | Your use of the API may be subject to certain limitations on access, calls, or use as set forth within this Agreement or otherwise provided by the FEC. If the FEC reasonably believes that you have attempted to exceed or circumvent these limits, your ability to use the API may be permanently or temporarily blocked. The FEC may monitor your use of the API to improve the service or to ensure compliance with this Agreement. 19 | 20 | ## Service termination 21 | If you wish to terminate this Agreement, you may do so by refraining from further use of the API. In the event of the user’s violation of any of the terms of this Agreement, or when otherwise deemed reasonably necessary by the FEC, the FEC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to terminate or deny access to and use of all or part of the API. The terms of this Agreement shall survive termination. 22 | 23 | ## Changes 24 | The FEC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace this Agreement, in whole or in part. Your continued use of or access to the API following posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those modified terms. The FEC may, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the API. Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. 25 | 26 | ## Disclaimer of warranties 27 | The API is provided "as is" and on an "as-available" basis. The FEC makes no warranty that the API will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. 28 | 29 | ## Limitations on liability and Indemnification 30 | In no event will the FEC be liable with respect to any subject matter of this Agreement. Further, the user agrees to indemnify and hold the FEC harmless against all claims arising from use of the API. 31 | 32 | ## General representations 33 | You hereby warrant that (1) your use of the API will be in strict accordance with the FEC privacy policy, this Agreement, and all applicable laws and regulations, and (2) your use of the API will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party. 34 | 35 | ## Miscellaneous 36 | This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the FEC and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and may only be modified by the posting of a revised version on this page by the FEC. 37 | 38 | ## Disputes 39 | Any disputes arising out of this Agreement and access to or use of the API shall be governed by federal law. 40 | 41 | ## No waiver of rights 42 | The FEC's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute waiver of such right or provision, 43 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/18fresearchparticipantconsentform.pdf: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/18fresearchparticipantconsentform.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/Design Research Participant Agreement (Consent).pdf: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/Design Research Participant Agreement (Consent).pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/assets/Initial research affinity mapping.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/directional_research/assets/Initial research affinity mapping.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/dashboard_summary.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Dashboard Research Summary 2 | 3 | ### Mar 14 – Apr 1 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ### Research Overview 8 | 9 | The primary goal of user research and usability testing for the last 3 weeks has been to test and validate several different dashboard concepts and features, using two sets of clickable wireframes, representing two possible flows and interaction concepts: [flow A](https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/UP70ZUQFD#/screens), [flow B](https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/UP70ZUQFD#/screens/152282020). 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ### How to use this doc 14 | 15 | The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of findings from the interview and usability sessions conducted on the two dashboard concepts. The findings are organized by screen, into “validating” and “refine” buckets- to indicate where the concepts are on track, and where users encountered confusion or obstacles, and therefore are opportunities to learn and potentially make refinements or change directions. 16 | 17 | The findings are synthesized to a moderate degree - meaning that important patterns across the interviews have been identified, but further work is needed (either by the PM or UX lead, or ideally a collaboration amongst the team) to carry the findings forward - whether that is choosing a direction and refining, or opting to try a new approach that better meets the needs described below. 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | ### Target Users 22 | 23 | Based on previous discovery research work, we believe that a “dashboard-style” experience, incorporating elements like high-level aggregated campaign finance data views, would address some of the critical needs of our novice users, including: 24 | 25 | - Engaged public 26 | - Journalists new to the campaign finance beat 27 | 28 | 29 | ### Needs (desired outcomes of our work) 30 | 31 | The needs we are attempting to address with the dashboard concepts and features were discovered through an [earlier round of novice user discovery research](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Byjrf_t-6q4ZZ19iWktoZkhDV1U).  Those key needs include: 32 | 33 | - A way to get an introduction to the world of campaign finance and a sense of the information available on the site 34 | - A way to get a quick look at key high-level facts 35 | - An easy way to explore high-level data that allows and encourages easy connections and flows into the underlying data set 36 | - A means of exploring the high-level data that prompts further exploration, piques curiosity and inspires questions and ideas 37 | - An easy path to explore campaign finance information at the “right level” for the user— both novice/high level, as well as advanced/detailed data 38 | 39 | 40 | ### Primary research questions 41 | 42 | - Which concepts and features best teach users about the kind of information on the site? 43 | - Which concepts and features best help users understand key information, such as the total amounts raised and who the top raisers are? 44 | - Which (if any) concepts and features inspire users to ask new questions or probe further? What questions? 45 | 46 | 47 | ### Users interviewed 48 | 49 | - 7 engaged members of the public, including: 50 | - UX designer 51 | - Public library employee 52 | - National education nonprofit employee 53 | - Finance attorney 54 | - Several others who did not disclose their professions 55 | 56 | - 2 members of political action type groups, including: 57 | - PAC Political director 58 | - Political nonprofit, prospect researcher 59 | 60 | - 2 journalists, including 61 | - Novice political reporter & manager, international news org 62 | - Novice campaign finance reporter & data journalism student 63 | 64 | ### Insights 65 | 66 | ### Dashboard Findings 67 | 68 | #### Landing screen (A and B) 69 | 70 | Validating 71 | 72 | - (Both A+B) Prominent search was very positively received by users who typically looked for specific entities, but was less frequently seen as a path for general exploration 73 | - Search path is less often used, but still seen by some users as their primary entry point into the content. 74 | - Example: One user’s mental model and general approach to discovery: Start with a specific entity, and search to get information about and surrounding that entity 75 | 76 | - (Both) Curated content (presidential race charts) inspired unplanned action/engagement 77 | - (Both) Landing page successfully viewed as the “state of play” for the current moment 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | Refine 82 | 83 | - (A) Several users conflated the “Spending by Category” chart in Money Spent with the “Top spending PACs” chart (and same pattern in money raised) and were confused 84 | - (A) “Money Spent” section seemed opaque to many users, even somewhat expert users— however the impression of the section improved with the specific question-based prompts 85 | - Some users were confused by terminology: “Operating expenditures, Independent expenditures" 86 | - More expert user asked why data was displayed differently in spending than raising (e.g., by candidate, by quarter) 87 | 88 | - (Both) When asked where contributions are coming from (to find info geographically) it was frequently unclear to users how to get there- (one wondered if search was universal or not) 89 | - (A) Users were mixed on “explore” buttons: perceived as a possible path, but was vague. 90 | - (B) Specific questions were somewhat more successful at getting engagement 91 | 92 | - (Both) Users expressed desire to be able to dive into detail at any point while exploring data— e.g., when a candidate’s name comes up- be able to get to that candidate’s detailed page 93 | - (B) One user said she expected the question-based prompt (on B landing) to lead to a more narrative-driven breakdown of the question (e.g., who is raising the most) with more context, vs data-driven 94 | - (Both) Some novice users were interested in going directly to the advanced data tables, and often used them in response to tasks, when they were visible on the page 95 | - (Both) Users generally expected to see more context when interacting with graphs in the mockups (graph labels and data on hover) 96 | - (Both) “Top” lists (e.g., top raising candidates) were most intriguing to novice users, less intriguing to more experienced users 97 | 98 | #### Overview (A) 99 | 100 | Validating 101 | 102 | - Map was met with a lot of positive response. A few users expressed a desire to make comparisons here 103 | - Users pretty consistently expressed more interest in Super PACs than party committees (which also seemed generally less understood) 104 | 105 | 106 | Refine 107 | 108 | - Users frequently wanted more context and rules (e.g., candidate fundraising rules, Super PAC rules, what are candidates spending on and the rules around that), but also frequently did not read the definitions/descriptive paragraphs on the page 109 | - One user wanted to get to independent expenditures and individual donors from this view, but was unclear how to do so (possibly did not understand that “campaign finance data” at the top of the page was a navigation option) 110 | 111 | 112 | #### Detail screen: (A 3.1) Candidate Fundraising and (B 3.1) Candidate Activity 113 | 114 | Validating 115 | 116 | - One user expressed explicit preference for these views, over downloading and manipulating data herself 117 | - Users mentioned desire to be able to share a particular view of the graphs with a colleague. Generally, all the visualizations and graphs were well received in terms of content.  A few even inspired specific comments like "The source of income is really interesting because it’s something I wouldn’t have thought about before” 118 | - Advanced users expressed desire to take the financial comparisons (B3.1) graph even farther: "It would be cool if you could change from “all presidential candidates” (above graph) to [a specific candidate] which could...be pretty powerful to look for a lot of specific information in one spot..." 119 | 120 | 121 | Refine 122 | 123 | - All of the two-tone horizontal bar graphs were generally difficult for users to interpret: "I don’t quite know what to make of the light and dark part of the bar.” (e.g. “How are candidates raising money?” graph) 124 | - More expert users sought to be able to compare specific races to one another 125 | 126 | 127 | ### Navigation Findings (specifically mega-menu testing) 128 | 129 | 130 | 131 | Validating 132 | 133 | - Users generally anchored their sense of place using the page title (not breadcrumbs), but they basically always did find breadcrumbs when asked to navigate 134 | - Users universally understood the broader > narrower pattern of the breadcrumbs 135 | - Advanced data, seemed to understand first option and what each would take him to (for example, PACs = breakdown of PACs) 136 | 137 | 138 | Refine 139 | 140 | - Users were very uncertain about the “Explore” button in the navigation: no one one was able to anticipate the button’s function 141 | - “All candidates” was a phrase that a number of users were unsure what this would encompass 142 | - The expanded menu (all the options) helped orient users to the types of content available in the site: 143 | - More experienced users preferred fuller navigation, which they felt provided them a more clear view of what options existed 144 | - Users typically used the category names to make sense of the options 145 | - They also felt like they weren’t “missing anything” by seeing all options laid out 146 | 147 | - Navigation terms in the full menu were often perceived as jargony 148 | - As an example, one user wasn’t able to find contributions because he didn’t mentally connect with the term “receipts” 149 | 150 | - One user perceived an inconsistency in the navigation “depth” between “Overviews” and “Advanced datatables” options 151 | 152 | 153 | ### Other Findings 154 | 155 | Validating 156 | 157 | - Expert users always wanted access to underlying data, confidence is “knowing the data is complete" — for example: "I am always drawn to databases, because I know if I understand the database, I feel extremely confident in the answer I get from it." 158 | - Users (both expert and novice) expressed desire to control the views presented, e.g. wanted further interactivity 159 | 160 | 161 | Refine 162 | 163 | - One or two expert users wanted to double check accuracy/validity of beta site- “is it ready for use?" 164 | - One user was possibly interested in downloading and using the data directly, but not confident (self-confidence) about how to go about using the data once downloaded 165 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/legal_research_highlights_presentation.pdf: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/directional_research/legal_research_highlights_presentation.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/legal_resources_analytics_read_out.pdf: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/directional_research/legal_resources_analytics_read_out.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/legal_resources_workshop_notes.pdf: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/directional_research/legal_resources_workshop_notes.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/directional_research/personas_v2.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Laura Jenkins | Professional data user 2 | 3 | Campaign finance researcher at a think tank, nonprofit or campaign 4 | 5 | ## Quote 6 | 7 | ### Motivation 8 | 9 | Wants in-depth information around a campaign's finances in order to score a scoop or get a competitive advantage. 10 | 11 | ### Goals 12 | 13 | - Get the most authoritative, up-to-date data in the format they need as soon as possible 14 | - Find particular summaries of the data that will illuminate key trends or interesting stories and be able to dig in further to the raw data 15 | 16 | ### Needs 17 | 18 | - Search through expenditure and contribution data to look for interesting stories 19 | - Compare candidates in a race 20 | - Quickly pull up the latest report for any committee 21 | - View contributors to and expenses of a particular committee 22 | - Quickly access bulk data 23 | - Spot-check data in the source documents 24 | - Understand committee data in the context of laws and what's required of them 25 | 26 | - Needs to reference laws, regulations, deadlines, etc. when necessary 27 | 28 | - Be able to direct others who are less savvy to the data 29 | 30 | ### Frustrations 31 | 32 | - No easy way currently to filter and export Schedule A and B data 33 | - Inconsistent and missing data 34 | - Spot-checking data in source documents is cumbersome 35 | - Need to know when paper filings are processed 36 | - Sometimes need to merge multiple data sources from FEC 37 | - Current workflow requires many clicks to get to reports 38 | - Needs to easily track amendments to filings 39 | - Not sure what page has the definitive data 40 | 41 | # Nick Bartleby | Novice data user 42 | 43 | Interested Citizen 44 | 45 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 | 47 | ## Quote 48 | 49 | ### Motivation 50 | 51 | Wants to understand where the money raised by candidates and in races relevant to him is coming from. 52 | 53 | ### Goals 54 | 55 | - Find out what Super PACs are active and who they are supporting (perhaps without really knowing what a Super PAC is) 56 | - Easily see which candidates are raising the most money in elections relevant 57 | - Find information on which candidates certain contributors are contributing to 58 | - Inform decision about which candidates to vote for (based on who they are raising money from) 59 | 60 | ### Needs 61 | 62 | - Find out how candidates in races relevant to them are raising money (relevant either due to geography, news coverage, 63 | - Compare candidates in a race 64 | - Compare Super PACs activity in a race 65 | 66 | ### Frustrations 67 | 68 | - finds the terminology inscrutable 69 | - finds the current site cumbersome: doesn't know where to look and unclear if they've found the right thing 70 | 71 | ### 72 | 73 | # Clara Lewis | Lawyer 74 | 75 | Campaign lawyer 76 | 77 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 78 | 79 | ## "I don't have confidence that I'm getting full results for my searches" 80 | 81 | ## "If a client called and asked how much they could spend to support a candidate, I'd start with the statute, go to the reg, go to the AO, go to enforcement matters, the legislative history, the rulemakings, the commission discussions on open meetings for advisory opinions or rulemakings, and court cases" 82 | 83 | ### Motivation 84 | 85 | As a professional campaign lawyer with 15 years of experience, Clara wants to help her clients stay compliant with the latest campaign laws and regulations so that they won't be fined or gain unwanted attention for violations. 86 | 87 | ### Goals 88 | 89 | - Access relevant Advisory Opinions (AOs) and Enforcement Query System (EQS) documents (like Matters Under Review (MURs) that can give guidance on how to be compliant with the law 90 | - Access basic filing information like instructions, spending and contribution limits per state and deadlines 91 | - Keep up with FEC's meeting schedule and access meeting minutes and recordings 92 | 93 | ### Needs 94 | 95 | - Sometimes searches to find statements from a particular commissioner -- goes through the commissioners' pages to find them 96 | - Receive weekly updates of everything that's going on 97 | - Be able to print out all related documents in a case 98 | - Be able to link to cases and documents 99 | - Needs all related media -- like transcripts, documents, meeting notes, etc -- for cases 100 | - Be able to find cases by various criteria: names of participants, keywords, topics 101 | - Needs to be able to view all the AOs, regs, etc. that are linked to one another 102 | - To reference the regulations and US Code 103 | 104 | ### Frustrations 105 | 106 | - Has no confidence that she's going to find everything she needs in the AO search and EQS 107 | - Has to convert between the old US Code and the new US Code 108 | - The document viewers often break 109 | - Difficult to share links to documents or cases with clients or partners 110 | - Has to rely on a lot of domain knowledge and personal background in order to find things 111 | 112 | # 113 | 114 | # Frank Aker | Individual Filer 115 | 116 | Chief at ThoughtPAC 117 | 118 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 119 | 120 | ## "Whatever you do, people see it. Any little mistake you make is magnified. People see it and you don't know who's going to take it out of context" 121 | 122 | ### Motivation 123 | 124 | Frank is fed up with the short-sightedness he sees in some of the politicians representing his state and is taking a stand. He's part of a facebook group of like-minded, politically active individuals, and they share links and support. One close colleague, Gabe has been a great help to him, mentoring him to take his political activity to the next level with a PAC. 125 | 126 | ### Goals 127 | 128 | - He wants to effect political change. 129 | - He wants to know he is complying with the law (before filing) 130 | 131 | ### Frustrations 132 | 133 | - Getting started has a steep learning curve 134 | - Complying feels complicated and full of potentially disastrous pitfalls 135 | - Not knowing his status with the FEC, e.g., if his filing was successful 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | # Melanie Strauss | Professional Filer Analyst at Franklin, McDermott & Price 140 | 141 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 142 | 143 | ## "Everything is due at the same time." 144 | 145 | ### Motivation 146 | 147 | Melanie has always been interested in politics but prefers to stay out of the limelight. She worked at the FEC in the past but now works at a law firm where she is focuses on helping political campaigns maintain compliance with the FEC's dates and rules. 148 | 149 | ### Goals 150 | 151 | - Advocate for clients, keep them from making embarrassing errors 152 | - Comply with local, state, Federal, and FEC guidelines. 153 | - Stay up-to-date with regard to FEC rulings 154 | - Maintain a good work-life balance. Work from home more often. She has a husband, Tony, and 7 year old daughter, Eliza. 155 | 156 | ### Frustrations 157 | 158 | - Many commonsensical rules of accounting don't apply to working with the FEC. "A lot of time the campaigns will hire someone with an accounting background to do this this stuff, but the FEC's rules are totally different." 159 | - Searching for Advisory Opinions produces inconsistent results 160 | - Many accounting rules don't apply to working with the FEC. 161 | - Clients defer/abdicate their responsibility to disclose credits/disbursements in a timely fashion. 162 | - Some of her clients are registered in 10+ states, each with their own rules and reporting deadlines. 163 | - Always a crunch to review near filing time. 164 | 165 | # 166 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/AO_search.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/feature_sets/AO_search.md -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/advanced_data_tables.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Advanced Data Tables 2 | 3 | These tables are meant to provide expert users with the ability to browse and filter candidates, committee, receipts and disbursements, filtering by a range of dimensions. Meant for more advanced users. 4 | 5 | ![Image of data tables](assets/advanced-data-tables-key.png) 6 | 7 | ## key: 8 | 9 | :red_circle: | Relatively severe, insurmountable experience issue, failures endemic. Recommend that action is taken (`red_circle`) 10 | :--------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 | :large_orange_diamond: | Moderate experience issue; reasons for failure or success are complicated, inconsistent and/or may be addressed by other fixes (`large_orange_diamond`) 12 | :white_circle: | Minor or nonexistent experience issue, or unclear finding, no action indicated (`white_circle`) 13 | decision bullet format | `- [needs action indicator]` Problem: "Users thought this happened, or expected this, when really this" then if :red_circle: :wrench: Fix/hypothesis statement: "we think that by making this X do Y, it will improve" or if :large_orange_diamond: Why to address this later (any dependent issues or pre-fix fixes) or if :white_circle: The thing we were looking for in testing / Recap of why no action : Inconclusive test / Not enough data / Good enough!`[Assigned in GitHub issue #]` `[tested date link]` `[demo gif link]` 14 | 15 | ## Filtering and searching :two:, :five: 16 | 17 | ### Filtering and the filter panel 18 | 19 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem: Two users recognized what the number in parentheses on the top of the filter panel meant immediately (that is, the number of active filters), but two others thought that maybe it meant that there were three different filters to select. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 20 | 21 | - :wrench: Users who were successful in identifying what the numeral meant also interpreted what the filters were. Some users had difficulty, but the feature does not acutely get in the way of their operation of the website, and it may be learnable. 22 | 23 | 24 | - :white_circle:Users were able to find and use the filter panel. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 25 | 26 | 27 | - :white_circle: The revised loading and success states improved the filtering experience, raising no issues for participants. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 28 | 29 | 30 | - :white_circle: Problem: One user expected to see an employer column in a table where they could filter by employer. While another user searched for employer in the committee filter. They may not have trusted the results because the context of what they were searching for was not there. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 31 | - :wrench: As this was not the focus of the test, the problem and the fix are not completely clear at this point, and further testing of the structure of data tables and their interrelation is likely called for. Might be useful to test further, test specific filters for specific data sets to observe if some additional users continue to select the wrong filters. Unclear the source of the confusion, born of language or wording, or the appearance of the committee name field when page loaded. Confusion might be around which filters are shown and where they’re shown, in which accordion-elements. 32 | 33 | 34 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem:When asked what filters were applied, users asked about the purpose of the transaction period and what was applied. Users were able to identify transaction periods and additional data. Same users who recognized the number 3 next to “Edit Filters” were successful with this one. The ones who didn't either tried to interpret filters based on the results or thought that the filters had to do with "contributor information" or "transaction information." [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 35 | 36 | 37 | - :white_circle: When asked to clear filters and identify an alternative pathway, users were able to successfully complete both tasks, indicating that the feature as is is working well. All users closed the panel. Only one had slight confusion about how to open. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 38 | 39 | 40 | - :white_circle: ? :red_circle: PROBLEM: Once users have added filters they did not close the panel, it was not clear that the filter panel could be closed. This led users to think they had to reset the filters in order to add more. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1726](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1726) 41 | 42 | - :wrench: Make sure the process (order/placement) of using filters and tags : a. Feels like it's part of the same tool, and b. reflects the process that users would go through in using it [desktop & mobile] 43 | 44 | - :white_circle:? :red_circle: PROBLEM: Users did not necessarily understand that the results were updating upon changing filters, as this was happening off-screen with no discernable alert.[tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1726](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1726) 45 | 46 | - :white_circle: ? :red_circle: PROBLEM: On desktop (as well as mobile, see above) users did not necessarily see when a small results set was shown from their position down screen. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1726](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1726) 47 | 48 | - :wrench: Differentiate between results state and no-results state and an error state 49 | 50 | - :white_circle ? :red_circle: PROBLEM: Users interpreted the call to action on the page as export data, as it is the largest button. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1726](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1726) 51 | 52 | - :wrench: In mobile: Add a reminder that results/updates are happening as filters are selected 53 | - :wrench: Keep the export button, but make it less sticky (a non-sticky version of the blue bar) 54 | - :wrench: De-emphasize the export this data button ---> as an icon, floating in the top right 55 | - :wrench: Make the filter panel modal take up the full screen to open & close. 56 | - :wrench: Make it more obvious how to get out of the filter panel and apply the filters at any point 57 | 58 | - :large_orange_diamond: PROBLEM: Some users struggled editing pre-filled date text or text they had entered in the date fields. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1727](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1727) 59 | 60 | - :wrench: Alter way for users enter information in date fields 61 | 62 | - :white_circle: Users used search button, enter, and selecting an item from the pop-up to trigger search. [tested 5-19](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md), and [5-26](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-26.md) [1594](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1594), [1652](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1652) [:tv:](assets/right_to_rise.gif) 63 | 64 | - :red_circle: many users interpreted the filters as "or" as opposed to an "and", only some of the users comprehended what was happening after the search results were shown [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) [issue: 1653](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1653) [:tv:](assets/gates-sample.gif) 65 | 66 | - :white_circle: sticky filter panel more likely to be seen [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) 67 | 68 | - :large_orange_diamond: User expressed desire for including multiple employers in the employer text box. [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) 69 | 70 | - :large_orange_diamond: Filter panel starts with neither `individuals` or `committees` checked, but both types of results appear in results pane. this could conceivably contribute to confusion about how filters work. [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) 71 | 72 | - :wrench: having both checked by default would more closely mirror how checkboxes are used in other filters 73 | 74 | ### Autocomplete and type-ahead 75 | 76 | - :large_orange_diamond: search icon may confuse, but not as much as drop down icon. [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) 77 | 78 | - :wrench: filter input boxes that function differently should indicate that they do (this may be sufficiently accomplished by the presence of the free-text search prompt appearing in the contextual menu) 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | #### Mobile Filter Panel 85 | 86 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem:In mobile view, looking up Adidas employees compared to Nike employees, users were confused by the compare part of the question. Appeared like users looked for an option to select multiple employers before they were able to easily find the Employer field and submit their query. After submitting, the most confusing part for users was finding the results in Mobile view. Most of the users did not know to close/hide the filters panel to show the results. Their natural inclination was to scroll down to find the results. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 87 | 88 | - :wrench: Consider adding a "Show Results" or "Done" button at the top of the edit filters panel that is sticky to ensure that the filters panel is collapsed to view results. (Example: Zappos app has an interesting filter panel similar to the beta site in which the entire filter panel covers the whole screen in mobile view. At the top of the filter panel, the user can press "Done" to show their results or "Clear" to clear all filters.) OR 89 | - :wrench: Provide a better indication or explanation for users to close the filters panel to see results. 90 | 91 | 92 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem:Filter panel covers the screen in mobile view, which might have confused the user. It appeared that some users didn’t know how to close or hide filters. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 93 | 94 | 95 | - :wrench: Find a secondary solution on how to alert users on how to close or hide the filter panel. 96 | - :wrench: Implement a slide-in panel or a sticky state to alert the users to open and close the filter panel? 97 | 98 | 99 | - :white_circle: When asked if they knew were applied, it was apparent users identified the specific filters in effect. Users were able to notice multiple indications of applied filters: 1) Filter Tags, 2) Number next to Edit Filter title, 3) Green remove/applied text after submittingSubmitting and knowing that the filter is applied appeared to be intuitive. The feature appears pretty straightforward, corrected by a previous issue. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 100 | 101 | 102 | - :white_circle: When asked if they knew when they narrowed filters, it was apparent users identified the specific filters in effect, and saw results added or subtracted, indicating that they were doing something. They could see what was applied via the check marks, other indications. Most saw the "Total Viewing about xxx filtered results for:" at the top of the page. A few noticed the green text indicating the results being added/removed. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | - :white_circle: Problem: When asked if users had additional questions and concerns and observations, among the observations mentioned was point of view of data (state: where contributor lives, or where committee is?) didn't associate +/- with accordion functionality. Feedback from users included "seems like a lot going on," indicating that they had some trouble with filters on mobile view, but feel like they'd get it after trying it out. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 108 | 109 | - :white_circle: Some users expressed a desire for more context on some of the filters or data they are viewing. Needs more testing to understand what kind of context is helpful or needed, but provides a hint of a need for understanding related data sets that might better serve the user in what they are looking for when already viewing one set. [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 110 | 111 | 112 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem:Also related to additional questions, concerns and observations, one user said that if they didn't think a filter did anything, they would use "clear all filters" to try again. Another did not realize that the functionality they desired (seeing all contributors to a committee) was available as "individual contributions.” [tested 8/4/2016]([https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 113 | 114 | - :wrench: Keep in mind about language; provide greater clarity around what the different filters mean and the different columns mean. 115 | - :wrench: Consider adding an employer column or provide a different pathway to individual contributions … versus all receipts. Hint of more need for highlighting related data sets that might better serve the user in what they are looking for when inside one set. 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | ## Results listing :three: 120 | 121 | ### Sorting 122 | 123 | - :large_orange_diamond: Before attempting filter tasks, many users seek to sort on name first. Seems they are using sorting as a "fuzzy" filter that lets them see things that are close to their desired term. This may be a coping mechanism for data which is inevitably imperfect. 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set](assets/feature-set-key.png)` 6 | 7 | ## key: 8 | 9 | :red_circle: | Relatively severe, insurmountable experience issue, failures endemic. Recommend that action is taken (`red_circle`) 10 | :--------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 | :large_orange_diamond: | Moderate experience issue; reasons for failure or success are complicated, inconsistent and/or may be addressed by other fixes (`large_orange_diamond`) 12 | :white_circle: | Minor or nonexistent experience issue, or unclear finding, no action indicated (`white_circle`) 13 | decision bullet format | `- [needs action indicator]` Problem: "Users thought this happened, or expected this, when really this" then if :red_circle: :wrench: Fix/hypothesis statement: "we think that by making this X do Y, it will improve" or if :large_orange_diamond: Why to address this later (any dependent issues or pre-fix fixes) or if :white_circle: The thing we were looking for in testing / Recap of why no action : Inconclusive test / Not enough data / Good enough!`[Assigned in GitHub issue #]` `[tested date link]` `[demo gif link]` 14 | 15 | ## feature set feature group `[feature set feature group number from image]` 16 | 17 | ### feature set feature 18 | 19 | #### tested dates, decisions & issues 20 | 21 | - `:needs action indicator:` `[tested date link]` documented decision overview `[documented issue link]` `[demo gif link]` _e.g.:_ 22 | - :white_circle: [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md), [5/26/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-26.md) users used search button, enter, and selecting an item from the pop-up to trigger search. [1594](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1594), [1652](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1652) [:tv:](assets/right_to_rise.gif) 23 | 24 | ## feature set feature group `[feature set feature group number from image]` 25 | 26 | ### feature set feature 27 | 28 | #### tested dates, decisions & issues 29 | 30 | - - `:needs action indicator:` `[tested date link]` documented decision overview `[documented issue link]` `[demo gif link]` 31 | 32 | ## Keep an eye on 33 | 34 | feature | note 35 | :------------------ | :----------- 36 | feature description | feature note 37 | feature description | feature note 38 | 39 | ## Initial directional research 40 | 41 | to be added 42 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/dashboard.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Dashboard 2 | 3 | ![Image of dashaboard](assets/dashboard-key.png) _this feature is currently being designed_ _for full report, see [Dashboard Research Summary](../directional_research/dashboard_summary.md)_ 4 | 5 | ## Spending & Fundraising Overview {4, 7} 6 | 7 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 8 | :------------------------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------ | :--------- 9 | Spending & Fundraising Charts Wireframes | [1596](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1596) | see [dashboard research summary](../directional_research/dashboard_summary.md) | | 10 | Spending & Fundraising Charts Visual Design | [322](https://github.com/18F/fec-style/issues/322) | not yet tested | 11 | 12 | ## Engagement Widget {5} 13 | 14 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 15 | :---------------------- | :------------------------------------------------- | :------------- | :------ | :--------- 16 | Chart Engagement Widget | [1596](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1596) | not yet tested | 17 | 18 | ## Initial Directional Research Summary 19 | 20 | In developing the first public release of beta.fec.gov, we uncovered that there was a lot of terminology and rules affecting the comprehension of folks relatively new to campaign finance. Through a research sprint targeting this, we uncovered the following high level goals for novice users: 21 | 22 | - A way to get an introduction to the world of campaign finance and a sense of the information available on the site 23 | - A way to get a quick look at key high-level facts 24 | - An easy way to explore high-level data that allows and encourages easy connections and flows into the underlying data set 25 | - A means of exploring the high-level data that prompts further exploration, piques curiosity and inspires questions and ideas 26 | - An easy path to explore campaign finance information at the "right level" for the user-- both novice/high level, as well as advanced/detailed data 27 | 28 | From this, two mock-ups were created for concept testing, representing two possible flows and interaction concepts: [flow A](https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/UP70ZUQFD#/screens), [flow B](https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/UP70ZUQFD#/screens/152282020). 29 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/data_overview.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Data Overview Page 2 | 3 | Feature set overview `![name of key image of feature set](assets/feature-set-key.png)` 4 | 5 | ## key: 6 | 7 | :red_circle: | Relatively severe, insurmountable experience issue, failures endemic. Recommend that action is taken (`red_circle`) 8 | :--------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 | :large_orange_diamond: | Moderate experience issue; reasons for failure or success are complicated, inconsistent and/or may be addressed by other fixes (`large_orange_diamond`) 10 | :white_circle: | Minor or nonexistent experience issue, or unclear finding, no action indicated (`white_circle`) 11 | decision bullet format | `- [needs action indicator]` Problem: "Users thought this happened, or expected this, when really this" if :large_orange_diamond: Why to address this later (any dependent issues or pre-fix fixes) or if :white_circle: The thing we were looking for in testing / Recap of why no action : Inconclusive test / Not enough data / Good enough!`[Assigned in GitHub issue #]` `[tested date link]` `[demo gif link]` then if any Fix/hypothesis statements exist: :wrench: "we think that by making this X do Y, it will improve" or 12 | 13 | ## feature set feature group `[feature set feature group number from image]` 14 | 15 | ### Graph Overview Notes 16 | 17 | - User failed to find or see the date of the `in-progress date` fast enough to satisfy their experience. 18 | 19 | - :wrench: Increase prominence of when the data in each chart has been most recently updated 20 | - :wrench: to clarify or indicate when data was last updated use timestamp or other feature that communicates timeliness 21 | 22 | ### Graphic visualization style 23 | 24 | - :white_circle: :large_orange_diamond: On the Totals Graph, Diagonal lines (grey lines over colored bars) may be hard for users to read. 25 | - :large_orange_diamond: Testing participant noted the time periods are not the same in each chart of the graph. She didn't notice this right off the bat, but said this is kind of "misleading." 26 | 27 | - possible :wrench: Make sure we consistently frame time periods the same way as we report data. 28 | 29 | ### Graphic interaction style 30 | 31 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem: Users first interpreted the graph as the total raised each month instead of a cumulative total up to the month selected. Users consistently articulated needing a better indication of what they were looking at before having to interact with the graph. One user expressed that the table data did not immediately register as specifically correlating to the month the vertical line is on, until the user interacted with the arrows and moved it to a new month. Once that happened, the user saw the association. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 32 | - :wrench: Adding some shading to the left side of the vertical dotted line might help users understand that the total is a cumulative total up to the month selected. Also adding more interactivity to be able to change the month or quarter by dragging the vertical line may help. 33 | 34 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem: The majority of the participants did not understand or were unsure of what the dotted line represented. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 35 | - :wrench: Many users wanted to be able to drag the dotted line, thus adding a short explanation on hover/click to the vertical dotted line may help. 36 | 37 | - :white_circle: One user struggled to understand how the interactivity of the graph "next month" or "previous month" buttons or dotted line worked. Others were successful with both buttons. Keep an eye on expected interactivity on hover and/or click as the graph interaction may be improved on the live site. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 38 | 39 | - :white_circle: The users successfully understood what the dots meant on the line graph, however, it did take a few minutes to process and understand. All users communicated that they understood different filers had different filing schedules. [tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 40 | 41 | - :large_orange_diamond: Problem: Largely, users did not understand why the top two lines extended the length of the graph while the bottom two lines stopped half way. Another observation was that none of the users seemed to notice that the bottom line was shorter until it was brought to their attention.[tested 8/4/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md) 42 | - :wrench: When users move the vertical dotted line, there should be an indication on the numbers on the right hand side that Party Committees and others have no data because they have not filed yet for the selected time period. Also, extending the incomplete line with a dotted line for the time period with unavailable data may be useful. 43 | 44 | ## Initial directional research 45 | 46 | to be added 47 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/ia_primary_nav_menu.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # IA & Primary nav feature set 2 | 3 | - To help users navigate to the different site sections 4 | - To show the structure of the site and what it makes available 5 | 6 | ![assets/nav.png](assets/nav.png) 7 | 8 | ## key: 9 | 10 | :red_circle: | Relatively severe, insurmountable experience issue, failures endemic. Recommend that action is taken (`red_circle`) 11 | :--------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 | :large_orange_diamond: | Moderate experience issue; reasons for failure or success are complicated, inconsistent and/or may be addressed by other fixes (`large_orange_diamond`) 13 | :white_circle: | Minor or nonexistent experience issue, or unclear finding, no action indicated (`white_circle`) 14 | decision bullet format | `- [needs action indicator]` Problem: "Users thought this happened, or expected this, when really this" then if :red_circle: Fix/hypothesis statement: "we think that by making this X do Y, it will improve" or if :large_orange_diamond: Why to address this later (any dependent issues or pre-fix fixes) or if :white_circle: The thing we were looking for in testing / Recap of why no action : Inconclusive test / Not enough data / Good enough!`[Assigned in GitHub issue #]` `[tested date link]` `[demo gif link]` 15 | 16 | ## navigation / information architecture / hierarchy 17 | 18 | - :red_circle: PROBLEM: Users get lost when moving between the candidate profile pages and financial data that the user associates with those candidates. That data is already legally (and hierarchically on the site) linked to committees (and advanced data tables such as receipts and disbursements). E.g.: "How much has Bernie Sanders raised in big dollar donations?" [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: cms-341](https://github.com/18F/fec-cms/issues/341) 19 | - :red_circle: PROBLEM: Users routinely seek out filing deadline information by going first to the registration and reporting, rather than calendar where this information is. This finding is robust across a few weeks of testing. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: 1721](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1721) 20 | 21 | - :wrench: Create prominent pathways from registration and reporting to calendar deadlines 22 | 23 | - :wrench: Clarify interlinkages between candidate and candidate data; enhance committee links to candidate --- particularly apparent in mobile. The fix?: Collapse some information in mobile that appeared overlooked by testers today 24 | 25 | - :wrench: Interlinkages between candidate and candidate data (whether the candidate data is in the committee or candidate advanced data table ) 26 | 27 | - :wrench: (?) Visual difference between a link that take you to a profile page, and links that take you to a data table 28 | 29 | ## mega menu 30 | 31 | - :red_circle: PROBLEM: User did not navigate to individual contributions. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: 1722](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1722) 32 | 33 | - :wrench: Integrate recognizable phrases between receipts and donor lookup 34 | - :wrench: create prominent separate linked donor look-up tool 35 | 36 | - :large_orange_diamond: PROBLEM: User expected to see a search box right away on the mobile view. Something they could type into. Did not know the visual cues for the menu in mobile view. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: cms 342](https://github.com/18F/fec-cms/issues/342) 37 | 38 | - :large_orange_diamond: mega menu taking over full screen size is problematic [tested 5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) [issue: Style 313](https://github.com/18F/fec-style/issues/313)[:tv:](assets/megamega.gif) 39 | 40 | ## mobile menu 41 | 42 | - :large_orange_diamond: PROBLEM: User did not understand the hamburger icon was the trigger for the menu. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: style-396](https://github.com/18F/fec-style/issues/396) 43 | 44 | - :wrench: Hamburger menu might not be effective for various users different levels of computer literacy/less text and mobile savvy users. 45 | 46 | - :red_circle: PROBLEM: One tester noted that she couldn't find her way from the candidates' date filter screen to the home screen. Even though it was only one user, our team believes this will be good design practice 47 | 48 | - :wrench: Add home as a discrete link on the mobile menu. [tested 6-9](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md) [issue: open-1732](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1732) 49 | 50 | ## Keep an eye on 51 | 52 | feature | note 53 | :------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 | nav item for donor look up | "individual contributions" was slightly confusing, it might make sense to change to "contributions from individuals" [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) 55 | nav item for donor look up | language - getters versus givers. contributions from individuals. 56 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/legal_resources.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Legal Resources home 2 | 3 | ![Image of legal resource landing](assets/legal_resources_landing.png) 4 | 5 | _this feature is currently being designed_ _for more on this, see [Legal Resources Research Presentation Highlights](../directional_research/legal_research_highlights_presentation.pdf), [Legal Resources Research Presentation Highlights](../directional_research/legal_resources_workshop_notes.pdf) and [Legal Resources Analytics Readout](../directional_research/legal_resources_analytics_read_out.pdf)_ 6 | 7 | ## Search 8 | 9 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 10 | :------ | :----- | :---------- | :------ | :--------- 11 | | 12 | 13 | ## Directional Research 14 | 15 | - People have a hard time finding the things they need, and little confidence the things they find are enough. 16 | - So, finding things. This is a very common challenge, especially for sites that have built up over time and which house extensive content. 17 | - If we break down finding things a bit more, we see three main parts: 18 | 19 | - Searching for things 20 | 21 | - Using the existing search features doesn't reliably produce useful or trustworthy results. 22 | - There are multiple siloed search fields looking into different databases. 23 | - Sometimes searching produces too few or too many results. 24 | - When there are too many, it's difficult to refine the results to the meaningful ones. 25 | - When search on FEC.gov doesn't produce the desired results, it either leaves users uncertain or sends them to external resources. 26 | 27 | - Viewing things 28 | 29 | - The actual display of individual resources is sometimes clunky or difficult to read. 30 | - Users are constantly assessing whether the resource in front of them is the right thing for them, so making the viewing of the thing easy is important. 31 | - Resources are frequently housed in frames, complicating sharing or printing 32 | - Sometimes they can't be directly linked to, which is important for sharing or saving. 33 | - When direct direct links exist, some are actually just search query presets that sometimes aren't always effective. 34 | 35 | - Moving between things 36 | 37 | - Relationships often exist between resources. 38 | 39 | - Complaints reference other MURs, AOs reference Regs. AOs often address similar issues. 40 | 41 | - Moving between things is important because users, once they determine that a given resource is not right, or that it's close and they want to dig deeper, they need to be able to move towards the answer easily. 42 | 43 | - Resources that relate to each other are frequently not hyperlinked, preventing easy cross-referencing and movement between. 44 | - Existing links can lead to dead ends instead of meaningful results. 45 | - Resources that deal with similar topics are not categorized as such. 46 | 47 | - Some users overcome these issues 48 | 49 | - Particularly those whose work is heavily dependent on using the resources on a regular basis. They develop workarounds and habits that allow them to navigate the difficulties despite their challenges 50 | - Others with access to professional legal support often rely on it. 51 | - Others look to Lexis or Westlaw, which they find easier to use. 52 | - These considerations favor more established users over infrequent or new users. 53 | 54 | _this feature is currently being designed_ _for more on this, see [Legal Resources Research Presentation Highlights](../directional_research/legal_research_highlights_presentation.pdf), [Legal Resources Research Presentation Highlights](../directional_research/legal_resources_workshop_notes.pdf) and [Legal Resources Analytics Readout](../directional_research/legal_resources_analytics_read_out.pdf)_ 55 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/template.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Feature set title 2 | 3 | Feature set overview `![name of key image of feature set](assets/feature-set-key.png)` 4 | 5 | ## key: 6 | 7 | :red_circle: | Relatively severe, insurmountable experience issue, failures endemic. Recommend that action is taken (`red_circle`) 8 | :--------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 | :large_orange_diamond: | Moderate experience issue; reasons for failure or success are complicated, inconsistent and/or may be addressed by other fixes (`large_orange_diamond`) 10 | :white_circle: | Minor or nonexistent experience issue, or unclear finding, no action indicated (`white_circle`) 11 | decision bullet format | `- [needs action indicator]` Problem: "Users thought this happened, or expected this, when really this" if :large_orange_diamond: Why to address this later (any dependent issues or pre-fix fixes) or if :white_circle: The thing we were looking for in testing / Recap of why no action : Inconclusive test / Not enough data / Good enough!`[Assigned in GitHub issue #]` `[tested date link]` `[demo gif link]` then if any Fix/hypothesis statements exist: :wrench: "we think that by making this X do Y, it will improve" or 12 | 13 | ## feature set feature group `[feature set feature group number from image]` 14 | 15 | ### feature set feature 16 | 17 | #### tested dates, decisions & issues 18 | 19 | - `:needs action indicator:` `[tested date link]` documented decision overview `[documented issue link]` `[demo gif link]` _e.g.:_ 20 | - :white_circle: [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md), [5/26/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-26.md) users used search button, enter, and selecting an item from the pop-up to trigger search. [1594](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1594), [1652](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1652) [:tv:](assets/right_to_rise.gif) 21 | 22 | ## feature set feature group `[feature set feature group number from image]` 23 | 24 | ### feature set feature 25 | 26 | #### tested dates, decisions & issues 27 | 28 | - - `:needs action indicator:` `[tested date link]` documented decision overview `[documented issue link]` `[demo gif link]` 29 | 30 | ## Initial directional research 31 | 32 | to be added 33 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/feature_sets/zz-old-advanced_data_tables_bak.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Advanced Data Tables 2 | 3 | These tables are meant to provide expert users with the ability to browse and filter candidates, committee, receipts and disbursements, filtering by a range of dimensions. Meant for more advanced users. 4 | 5 | ![Image of data tables](assets/advanced-data-tables-key.png) 6 | 7 | ## Filtering & Searching {2, 5} 8 | 9 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 10 | :------------------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 | autocomplete / type-ahead | [1594](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1594), [1652](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1652) | [5/12/2016](), [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md), [5/26/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-26.md) | ![assets/right_to_rise.gif](assets/right_to_rise.gif) | :small_blue_diamond: users used search button, enter, and selecting an item from the pop-up to trigger search. :small_blue_diamond: search icon may confuse, but not as much as drop down icon. :small_blue_diamond: filter input boxes that function differently should indicate that they do (this may be sufficiently accomplished by the presence of the free-text search prompt appearing in the contextual menu) 12 | filtering | [1653](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1653) | [5/12/2016](), [5/19/2016](https://github.com/18F/FEC/blob/master/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md) | ![assets/gates-sample.gif](assets/gates-sample.gif) | :small_blue_diamond: sticky filter panel more likely to be seen :small_blue_diamond: many users interpreted the filters as "or" as opposed to an "and", only some of the users comprehended what was happening after the search results were shown 13 | 14 | ## Results Listing {3} 15 | 16 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 17 | :------ | :------------------------------------------------- | :------------ | :------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 | sorting | [1652](https://github.com/18F/openFEC/issues/1652) | [5/12/2016]() | none | :small_blue_diamond: before attempting filter tasks, many users seek to sort on name first. Seems they are using sorting as a "fuzzy" filter that lets them see things that are close to their desired term. This may be a coping mechanism for data which is inevitably imperfect. 19 | 20 | ## Detail Panel {3} 21 | 22 | ## Download {4} 23 | 24 | feature | issues | last tested | gif/pic | test notes 25 | :------ | :----- | :---------- | :------ | :--------- 26 | | | | 27 | 28 | ## Keep an eye on 29 | 30 | feature | note 31 | :----------------------- | :------------------------------------------------ 32 | employer text box | expressed desire for including multiple employers 33 | received from checkboxes | default should have both checked? 34 | 35 | ## Initial directional research 36 | 37 | ? 38 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/00-template.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # MONTH XX, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## quick connection links 4 | 5 | - watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 6 | - take notes: 7 | - script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - 12 | 13 | 14 | - 15 | 16 | 17 | ## Introduction Script: 18 | 19 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 20 | 21 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 22 | 23 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 24 | 25 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 26 | 27 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 28 | 29 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 30 | 31 | # Tasks: 32 | 33 | test on . 34 | 35 | - Pre-question: what is your interest in campaign finance? What data did you when you last went to the FEC website? 36 | 37 | - _note to facilitator_ prompt 38 | 39 | - task 40 | 41 | ## Task Category 42 | 43 | - Task 44 | - Task 45 | 46 | ### Detail Task Category 47 | 48 | - task 49 | - task 50 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2015-7-30.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Usability Findings, July 30, Open FEC. [draft] 2 | 3 | for raw messy notes, see: 4 | 5 | # Home Page 6 | 7 | Prompt:Look at this page. What do you think the site is about? 8 | 9 | What draws your interest? Without clicking on anything, what would you click on? 10 | 11 | ## Usability themes 12 | 13 | - not everyone knew to scroll to see more 14 | - candidate / committee radio selector sometimes go unnoticed. 15 | - browse candidate committee boxes: 16 | 17 | - some thought it too wordy, suggest shortening text on committee and candidate, 18 | - those who wanted to see the whole data set, not just one committee or candidate didn't initially understand that this was where to do that suggest language change to include "browse", 19 | - link on "committee"/"candidate" box header as well. 20 | 21 | - where are elections? 22 | 23 | - Other data : often missed, liked when found. consider another display 24 | - only one person noticed the glossary feature, but they loved it. 25 | - A few folks indicated a desire to begin browsing/filtering right away 26 | 27 | "i very rarely look at one specific committee. right at the bottom you have browse all filings. I never look at just one committee. I want to look at it by cycle, or kind of filing, show me everything from the second quarter." 28 | 29 | # Finding Committees: Searching & Browsing 30 | 31 | Prompt:Use the site to find out who the treasurer is on the PAC National Beer Wholesalers? 32 | 33 | ## Usability themes: search, type-ahead results, search results 34 | 35 | - search: Some folks tried to search for a candidate in the committee search, and vice versa; suggest a "did you mean to search for this in committee" on no results page. 36 | - search: people loved the type-ahead search suggestions, came to rely on them almost immediately. 37 | - search results page: people like the ability to go to filter results (aka browse), but didn't initially find it. suggest: revisit the interchange between search and browse, possibly just a more prominent call-out. 38 | - search on the browse/filter page does not appear to be working all that well. adjacent words that are not first in the search query do not appear to get results (find example) 39 | 40 | - browse/filter page: no saved state between investigating one committee and going back to the filter results ( a frequent pattern ) caused people to have to start the search from scratch 41 | 42 | - browse/filter page: filters vertical layout cuts off text 43 | - browse/filter page: some users struggled to find the apply button 44 | - browse/filter page: people to try a filter, apply it, see the results, add another. with filters current vertical layout they have to scroll up and down a lot to complete this task. 45 | - browse/filter page: filter box not auto-closing hides other filters. Suggest it close on clicking any space not in box, or auto after n seconds. 46 | - browse/filter page: it wasn't clear that the filter boxes scrolled. 47 | - browse/filter page: name of committee cut off in the data table required users to hover over each name to find full text (only some knew to do this) 48 | - browse/filter page: one user tried to over-rely on sort and paging through results pages before finally finding the filters 49 | - browse/filter page: most users rely predominately on search, even in the browse view, before filtering. 50 | - browse/filter page: pacs change their name. this is more of a question as to how to deal with it, if at all. 51 | - browse/filter page: wanted to be able to type in the state name / abbreviation 52 | 53 | "It doesn't look like a database built in the mid 90s." 54 | 55 | # Committee Page & Detail Pages 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | ## Usability themes: 60 | 61 | - Changing the election cycle year redirects the user back to the main page. 62 | - Initially showing no data in a graph or table indicates to users that they have chosen the wrong candidate. 63 | - Terminology: executive should be under occupation, not employer. 64 | - Transition from limited filterable view to "view all filings" or "view all receipts" was not intuitive; users didn't understand what would be under the view all receipts and attempted to use the smaller data table to answer all questions (even those which could be easily answered by the filters in the "all" view) 65 | - disbursements: One user wanted to see the details of a disbursement; clicking the row (on the recipients name) took them to the recipients page, and forced them to re-invoke all the filters to get back to the results they had. 66 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-06-23.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## quick connection links 2 | 3 | - watch & listen: https://join.mycospace.com/invited.sf?id=538182145 4 | - notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MruP8oayG6jnexIL0I86KxROPgIq1hYP-s7zOB1oBeU/edit?pli=1# 5 | - script: you are here! :wink: 6 | - link: https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/NP7IRPOWD#/screens/163806579 7 | - related GH links: 8 | - https://github.com/18F/fec-eregs/issues/122 9 | - https://github.com/18F/fec-eregs/issues/101 10 | 11 | ## features tested this week: 12 | 13 | - Search MURs 14 | - Individual MURS 15 | 16 | ## Introduction Script: 17 | 18 | - Redesigning FEC site, focusing on legal resources 19 | - Asking people to try aspects of the site as we go, 30-45 min session 20 | - We're testing site, not you. You can't do anything wrong 21 | - Please think out loud, what you're seeing, what you're doing 22 | - Don't worry about hurting feelings, we need honest reactions 23 | - Ask any questions, I may not answer right away to learn how you respond 24 | - You are looking at a design prototype, not working code. Some parts won't work. 25 | 26 | # Tasks: 27 | 28 | **About tester** 29 | 30 | - _"Could you tell us a bit about yourself and work?"_ 31 | - _"Are you familiar with Matters Under Review?"_ 32 | - If no, explain: _"When a potential violation of campaign finance law comes to the attention of the Commission, either because a complaint has been made or the Commission discovers something, the case goes through a confidential investigation. During this time, the people in question have a chance to provide responses. When the case is finished and a disposition has been made, the documents are made public. Those public "MURs" can be referred to by other candidates or committees to see how the Commission responded as guidance for their own purposes."_ 33 | - _"Do you ever search for Matters Under Review?"_ 34 | 35 | **Searching for MURs** 36 | 37 | - Starting on the [Legal resources landing page](https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/NP7IRPOWD#/screens/163806579), _"Let's pretend you want to find MURs related to "foreign nationals". Where would you do this?"_ 38 | - Note if they find it or not. 39 | - If they can't find MURs, ask them to go to Enforcement, then pause. (within Legal resources) 40 | - See if they understand that they can search from this page. 41 | - If not, ask: _"Can you search for MURs here?"_ 42 | - _"How do you think this search would work?"_ 43 | - _"If you only wanted to see MURs from a specific "respondent", a person from the party being investigated, what would you do?"_ 44 | - _"If you only wanted to find MURs where the disposition was "reason to believe", what would you do?"_ 45 | 46 | **Individual MURs** 47 | 48 | - Make sure the tester is on a page showing results: _"Look at the results on the right. Talk to me about what you see."_ 49 | - _"Say there was a MUR displayed that you were interested in, how would you open it?"_ 50 | - Have the person go to a MUR case page: _"Look at this page. Talk to me about it."_ 51 | 52 | **Closing** 53 | 54 | - _"How might this fit into your work? How might you use it?"_ 55 | - _"Do you have any additional thoughts or questions?"_ 56 | - _"Would you be willing to do again as we continue to develop the website?"_ 57 | - _"Please feel free to send colleagues our way as future testers. We want to involve the legal community as much as possible._ 58 | 59 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-06-30.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # June 30, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## quick connection links 4 | 5 | - watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 6 | - take notes: 7 | - script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - data overview expectations 12 | - graph comprehension 13 | 14 | ## Introduction Script: 15 | 16 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 17 | 18 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 19 | 20 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 21 | 22 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 23 | 24 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 25 | 26 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 27 | 28 | # Tasks: 29 | 30 | test on [staging](https://fec-stage-proxy.18f.gov/data). 31 | 32 | - Pre-question: what is your interest in campaign finance? What data did you when you last went to the FEC website? 33 | 34 | - _if title for "interactive overviews" is in place, if not have them scroll to just see the title_ Ok, without scrolling or clicking, what do you think you can do on this page? What do you think the phrase "interactive overviews" means? 35 | 36 | - What do you think the term "raising overview" means? 37 | 38 | ## Raising Overview Graph Trend Questions: 39 | 40 | - If you had to guess, which group type would you say is raising the most? 41 | 42 | - Do you see any trends on the chart? 43 | 44 | ###### Raising Overview Graph Detail Questions: 45 | 46 | - What is the meaning of the diagonal lines above July 1 - Sep 30 2016? 47 | 48 | - During which time period did Party Committees earn the most? How much did they earn? 49 | 50 | - _ask if it doesn't come out naturally_ After looking at this graph, are you curious about anything or have any questions in your mind about campaign finance fundraising? 51 | 52 | - Without clicking on it, what do you think the "explore data" button does? 53 | 54 | - Without clicking on it, what do you expect "About this data" means? 55 | 56 | ## Spending overview graph _have them scroll down the page_ 57 | 58 | - _Comparison:_ Now scroll down the page and look at the second graph. What is it telling you? 59 | 60 | - Do you notice anything suprising in the graph? 61 | 62 | - Is party committee spending rising or falling? 63 | 64 | - Is candidate spending rising or falling? 65 | 66 | - If you had to guess, what would you say is happening in April? 67 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-07-07.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # July, 7 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## quick connection links 4 | 5 | - watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 6 | - take notes: 7 | - script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - graph comprehension 12 | - invision prototype expectations 13 | 14 | ## Introduction Script: 15 | 16 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 17 | 18 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 19 | 20 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 21 | 22 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 23 | 24 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 25 | 26 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 27 | 28 | # Tasks: 29 | 30 | test on [staging](https://fec-stage-proxy.18f.gov/data). 31 | 32 | - Pre-question: what is your interest in campaign finance? What data did you when you last went to the FEC website? 33 | 34 | - _if title for "interactive overviews" is in place, if not have them scroll to just see the title_ Ok, without scrolling or clicking, what do you think you can do on this page? What do you think the phrase "interactive overviews" means? 35 | 36 | - What do you think the term "raising overview" means? 37 | 38 | ## Raising Overview Graph Trend Questions: 39 | 40 | - If you had to guess, which group type would you say is raising the most? 41 | 42 | - Do you see any trends on the chart? 43 | 44 | ### Raising Overview Graph Detail Questions: 45 | 46 | - What is the meaning of the diagonal lines above July 1 - Sep 30 2016? 47 | 48 | - During which time period did Party Committees earn the most? How much did they earn? 49 | 50 | - _ask if it doesn't come out naturally_ After looking at this graph, are you curious about anything or have any questions in your mind about campaign finance fundraising? 51 | 52 | - Without clicking on it, what do you think the "explore data" button does? 53 | 54 | - Without clicking on it, what do you expect "About this data" means? 55 | 56 | ## Detail graph interactions 57 | 58 | test in prototype [here] () 59 | 60 | - Ok, now we're going to show you a new, not yet fully-functional version of our site. Not every link will work, but we want to see where you'll click so as you're going through this, please make sure you indicate where you're clicking by saying it aloud when you do. 61 | 62 | - Please interact with the prototype to try and find out which candidate has had the most successful fundraising efforts. 63 | 64 | - _(on successfully opening raising detail page)_: Great, now without clicking on anything, what do you think you can change about this top bar chart? 65 | 66 | - (if they mention the `How much ______ for _____ have raised`) great and what do you think happens if you click president? 67 | 68 | - Let's say you want to view the last election, when the current president was running. How might you do that? 69 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-08-04.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # August 4, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## Quick cnnection links 4 | 5 | - Watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 6 | - Take notes: 7 | - Script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## Features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - Data overview expectations 12 | - Graph comprehension 13 | - Filter loading states 14 | 15 | ## Introduction script: 16 | 17 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25—30 minutes. 18 | 19 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 20 | 21 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: Say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 22 | 23 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 24 | 25 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 26 | 27 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? What is your interest in campaign finance? What data did you when you last went to the FEC website? 28 | 29 | # InVision tasks: 30 | 31 | Test on [InVision](https://invis.io/J285OU6DH). 32 | 33 | Fist we're going to show you a mockup of some new designs we’re working on. This isn’t a real working website, it’s basically just an image with some things you can click on. Also, the data is all fake data just for the purpose of this example. 34 | 35 | Not every link will work, but we want to see *where* you'll click so as you're going through this, please make sure you indicate where you're clicking by saying it aloud when you do. 36 | 37 | ## Raising Overview Graph Trend Questions: 38 | [Scroll down to the “Raising” graph] 39 | 40 | - What is this graph telling you? Do you see any trends on the chart? (Expected answer should include: comparing how much money different groups raised over time; party committees raising the most; total amount raised at certain points) 41 | 42 | - What do the numbers on the right mean? (Expected answer: how much money different groups raised through October 2015) 43 | - If they don’t make the connection to the graph, probe about “what does the dotted line mean”? 44 | 45 | - How would you see how much money the groups raised through January 2016? How would you look at data from 2012? (Expected: either click on the points or click on the arrows next to October) 46 | 47 | - What do the dots mean? (Expected: a time when the groups have reported). Further probing: 48 | - Why do the lines continue for the top two lines and not the others? (Expected: Because those groups have reported, but the others haven’t yet) 49 | - Why are there more dots for some than others? (Expected: different filing schedules) 50 | 51 | - _ask if it doesn't come out naturally_ After looking at this graph, are you curious about anything or have any questions in your mind about campaign finance fundraising? 52 | 53 | # Live site tasks 54 | Test on [feature environment](https://fec-feature-proxy.18f.gov/data/receipts/) 55 | 56 | Ok, now we’re going to switch over to our development site. This is where we test out new features before adding them to beta.fec.gov, so it’s a real working site and you can feel free to click around, but just a heads up that these features are still in development so there might be bugs or things that don’t work exactly right. 57 | 58 | ## Desktop filter tests 59 | - What does the (3) next to “Edit filters” mean? (Expected: three filters are applied) 60 | - What filters are applied? 61 | 62 | - How would you close the filter panel? 63 | 64 | - How would you find all contributions from people who work at Nike? How would you filter down just over $10,000? How about over $30,000? (Expected: edit the minimum receipt amount filter) 65 | 66 | ## Mobile filter tests 67 | Ok, now we’re going to do something a little new. We want to see how well this works for folks on mobile devices. To simulate that, shrink your browser window and then refresh the page. 68 | 69 | Pretend that someone sent you this link and you opened it on your phone. 70 | 71 | How would you know what you’re looking at? (e.g. What filters are applied)? (Expected: contributions from nike employees, over $30,000 in 2015-2016) 72 | 73 | How would you clear those filters? 74 | 75 | How would you look up to compare how much employees from Adidas have given? 76 | 77 | - Follow ups: 78 | - How do you know when a filter has been applied? 79 | - How do you know if the filter narrowed the results or broadened the results? 80 | - Was there anything confusing? 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-08-18.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # August 18, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## Quick connection links 4 | 5 | - Watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x538182145# 6 | - Take notes: 7 | - Script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## Features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - Interactive graph comprehension 12 | - Filter feature with eFilings 13 | 14 | ## Introduction script: 15 | 16 | Hi, I'm **___**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 to 30 minutes. 17 | 18 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this might be the one part of your day where you don't have to worry about making any mistakes. 19 | 20 | Although it may seem a little weird, I'm going to ask you to think out loud as much as possible as you use the site. Describe what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This will be a huge help to us. 21 | 22 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 23 | 24 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But, if you still have any questions when we're done, I'll try to answer them them. Sound okay? (credit: Krug) 25 | 26 | ## Introduction questions: 27 | First, we'd like to spend a minute learning a bit more about your background. 28 | 29 | - What do you know about the FEC? 30 | - What does the FEC do? 31 | - What is your interest in campaign finance? 32 | - What data did you use when you last visited the FEC website? 33 | 34 | # Live site tasks 35 | (Test on [beta site > campaign finance data main page](https://beta.fec.gov/data/)) 36 | 37 | Fist we're going to access our "beta" site. The beta site is a real, working website where we continually release new features. We are going to show you some of these features today. 38 | 39 | ## Raising overview graph questions: 40 | [Scroll down to the “Raising” graph] 41 | 42 | - What is this graph telling you? (Expected answers: comparing how much money different groups raised over time; party committees raising the most; total amount raised at certain points) 43 | 44 | - Do you see any trends on the graph? 45 | 46 | - What do the numbers on the right mean? (Expected answer: how much money different groups raised since January 2015) 47 | - If they don’t make the connection to the graph, probe about “what does the dotted line mean”? 48 | 49 | - Is there anything you would change about the graph? 50 | 51 | - _ask if it doesn't come out naturally_ After looking at this graph, are you curious about anything or have any questions in your mind about campaign finance fundraising? 52 | 53 | ## Desktop filter tests 54 | 55 | Okay, we’re finished reviewing the graph, and we're going to move on to a different feature of the site. To begin our new activity, I am going to present you with a scenario. If you would like me to repeat the scenario, feel free to ask. Are you ready? 56 | 57 | - Imagine that you are a journalist, and you came to this website because you would like to find the most recent campaign finance reports, which have not yet been reviewed by the FEC. Please attempt to accomplish that task and be sure to share your thoughts with us along the way. (Expected behavior: User accesses the Campaign Finance Data > Filings page. Toggle off of "Processed" to "eFilings") 58 | - _if it doesn't happen naturally_ [Eventually direct the user to the Filings page] 59 | 60 | - _if it doesn't happen naturally_ Toward the top left of this screen, there are buttons that read "Processed" and "eFilings." What do those two terms mean to you? 61 | - _if it didn't happen naturally_ [Direct the user to the tooltip] When you use the information icon, does the text displayed there help you to understand these terms? 62 | - Are there other terms you would use instead? 63 | 64 | - We are about to move on to another scenario. Before we do, do you have any final thoughts about the task we just completed? 65 | 66 | - Okay, great. Let's move on to the next scenario. You are a researcher who is looking for campaign finance reports about a former presidential candidate named Mitt Romney. Please attempt to complete that task and be sure to share your thoughts with us as you do so. (Expected behavior: Toggles to "processed data," if needed, and types "Romney" into the Candidate Name filter field). 67 | - _if it doesn't happen naturally_ Are there eFilings regarding Mitt Romney? 68 | 69 | - Let's now assume that you are no longer interested in this information about Mitt Romney, and you would like to start a completely new search. How would you do that? (Expected behavior: Clear all filters, or manually remove individual filters) 70 | - _if it didn't happen naturally_ [Ensure all filters are cleared] 71 | 72 | - Please try to find information that was filed to the FEC from 2005 to 2006. (Expected behavior: Uses the filing date filter for "years") 73 | - What if you want to look at 2011 to 2012 instead? 74 | 75 | - Follow ups: 76 | - Do you have any additional thoughts or questions? 77 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-09-08.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # September 08, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## Quick connection links 4 | 5 | - Watch & listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 6 | - Take notes: 7 | - Script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## Features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - Legal Resources Search... 12 | - ...as a means to answer a scenario-based question 13 | - ...to review FEC legal commentary related to a specific issue (Citizens United) 14 | 15 | 16 | ## Introduction: 17 | 18 | Hi, I'm **___**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 to 30 minutes. 19 | 20 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. 21 | 22 | Although it may seem a little weird, I'm going to ask you to think out loud as much as possible as you use the site. Describe what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This will be a huge help to us. 23 | 24 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 25 | 26 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But, if you still have any questions when we're done, I'll try to answer them them. Sound okay? (credit: Krug) 27 | 28 | ## Introduction questions: 29 | First, we'd like to spend a minute learning a bit more about your background. 30 | 31 | - What do you know about the FEC? 32 | - What does the FEC do? 33 | - What is your interest in campaign finance? 34 | - What data did you use when you last visited the FEC website? 35 | 36 | # Live site tasks 37 | (Test on [beta site home](https://beta.fec.gov/)) 38 | 39 | Now we're going to access our "beta" site, which is a real, working website where we continually release new features. We are going to show you some of these features today. 40 | 41 | [Before proceeding, make sure that the user is on beta.fec.gov] 42 | 43 | ## Scenario 1: Search, as means to answer a scenario-based question 44 | 45 | To begin our first activity, I am going to present you with a scenario. If you would like me to repeat the scenario, feel free to ask. Are you ready? 46 | 47 | SCENARIO 1: 48 | >Imagine that you are working on behalf of a Senator who has been asked to speak at a private organization. In exchange for giving this speech, the organization has offered the Senator a small payment, which is also known as an "honorarium." This sounds great, but you know there are laws about how much money Senators can accept. So, instead of accepting the money, you want to know if the Senator can provide the organization with a list of charities where the money could be donated. You are looking for information about the legal implications of doing this, and you have come to the FEC website for guidance. 49 | 50 | - Do you understand the scenario? Would you like me to repeat it? 51 | 52 | [Confirm with user] 53 | 54 | - **QUESTION 1:** Starting on the home page, how would you find the information you're looking for in this scenario? Please be sure to think out loud as you decide. _(Expected answer: Legal resources > search feature. It's unclear at this point how they will search -- keyword?)_ 55 | 56 | _If it doesn't happen naturally,_ eventually direct the user to the legal resources page. To be sensitive about redirecting them, you can say something like... 57 | 58 | >This is all very helpful so far -- thank you! Now I'd just like to try another pathway with you, so let's go to the Legal Resources page... 59 | 60 | _If the user doesn't naturally try the search feature_, you should eventually probe for them to use search by saying something like... 61 | 62 | >I'd like to draw your attention to a specific feature and see what you think. Toward the top of this page, there is a search feature... 63 | 64 | - **PROBE if needed:** What are your thoughts about using this search box to answer the question about donating the Senator's speech payment to charity? _(Expected answer: Searches by keyword--e.g., "charity," "honorarium," or some combination of terms, in the search box)_ 65 | 66 | [NOTE: Before moving to the following questions, the user needs to actually try the search feature] 67 | 68 | - **QUESTION 2:** What are your thoughts about the search results you're seeing here? 69 | 70 | - **PROBE, for more advanced users:** Do these search results include the document types you expected to find? 71 | 72 | 73 | - **QUESTION 3:** Looking at these results, are there any actions you would want to take next? 74 | 75 | - **PROBE if needed:** Does this website allow you to take those actions? 76 | 77 | 78 | - **QUESTION 4:** Before we move on to our next scenario, do you have any final thoughts about this search experience? 79 | 80 | - **PROBE if needed:** Is there anything you would change about this search experience? 81 | 82 | _(Side note: [this AO](https://cg-191800bb-c3e9-42e8-bbe9-66c882ad858f.s3.amazonaws.com/legal/aos/62529.pdf) is probably the best answer to the question presented in this scenario)_ 83 | 84 | ## Scenario 2: Search, to review legal documentation relevant to a specific topic (Citizens United) 85 | 86 | Okay, we're finished with our first scenario. Let's prepare for the next scenario by returning to the homepage of the beta site. 87 | 88 | [Direct user to beta.fec.gov. Confirm that they are ready for the next scenario.] 89 | 90 | SCENARIO 2: 91 | 92 | >Imagine that you are doing research about a Supreme Court case between the FEC and an organization called Citizens United. You know that the outcome of that case has had an impact on the history of campaign finance law, but you want to understand more about that. Consequently, you have come to this website in search of any official, legal guidance that the FEC has released pertaining to Citizens United. 93 | 94 | - Do you understand the scenario? Would you like me to repeat it? 95 | 96 | [Confirm with user] 97 | 98 | - **QUESTION 5:** Starting on the home page, how would you find the information you're looking for in this scenario? Please be sure to think out loud as you decide. _(Expected answer: Legal resources > search feature. It's unclear at this point how they will search -- Perhaps apply the advisory opinions filter and keyword search for "Citizens United"?)_ 99 | 100 | _If it doesn't happen naturally,_ eventually direct the user to the legal resources page. To be sensitive about redirecting them, you can say something like... 101 | 102 | >This is all very helpful so far -- thank you! Now I'd just like to try another pathway with you, so let's go to the Legal Resources page... 103 | 104 | _If the user doesn't naturally try the search feature_, you should eventually probe for them to use search by saying something like... 105 | 106 | >I'd like to draw your attention to a specific feature and see what you think. Toward the top of this page, there is a search feature... 107 | 108 | - **PROBE if needed:** What are your thoughts about using this search box to find documents that present the FEC's official commentary on issues related to Citizens United? _(Expected answer: Searches by keyword--e.g., "Citizens United," perhaps filtering for advisory opinions)_ 109 | 110 | [NOTE: Before moving to the following questions, the user needs to actually try the search feature] 111 | 112 | - **QUESTION 6:** What are your thoughts about the search results you're seeing here? 113 | 114 | - **PROBE, for more advanced users:** Do these search results include the document types you expected to find? 115 | 116 | 117 | - **QUESTION 7:** Looking at these results, are there any actions you would want to take next? 118 | 119 | - **PROBE if needed:** Does this website allow you to take those actions? 120 | 121 | 122 | - **QUESTION 8:** Do you have any additional thoughts that you would like to share about this search experience? 123 | 124 | - **PROBE if needed:** Is there anything you would change about this search experience? 125 | 126 | **If the drop-down search filter on the legal resources page has not yet been discussed, ask QUESTION 9:** We are finished with this scenario, but before we move on to our closing thoughts, I'd like to draw your attention to a specific feature on this page. Next to the search field, there is a drop-down menu that allows you to select a document type. What are your thoughts on that feature? 127 | 128 | 129 | ## Follow ups: 130 | - We have finished all of the questions about our search feature. Before we wrap up, do you have any final comments or questions for me? 131 | 132 | [Thank the user for their input and for their time.] 133 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-10-06.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # October 06, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## Quick connection links 4 | 5 | - Watch & listen: 6 | - Take notes: 7 | - Script: you are here! :wink: 8 | 9 | ## Features tested this week: 10 | 11 | - General responses to the press section 12 | 13 | ## Introduction: 14 | 15 | Hi, I'm **___**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 30 minutes. 16 | 17 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. 18 | 19 | Although it may seem a little weird, I'm going to ask you to think out loud as much as possible as you use the site. Describe what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This will be a huge help to us. 20 | 21 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 22 | 23 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But, if you still have any questions when we're done, I'll try to answer them them. Sound okay? (credit: Krug) 24 | 25 | ## Introduction questions: 26 | First, we'd like to spend a minute learning a bit more about your background. 27 | 28 | I already know that you are a journalist, because we have specifically recruited journalists like yourself for these sessions, but I am wondering: 29 | 30 | - How would you describe your experience level in your current occupation? 31 | 32 | - Do you visit the FEC website as a part of your work? 33 | 34 | IF YES: 35 | - What are a some reasons you would visit the site? 36 | - When you access the site, are you typically rushed, or do you have time to spare? 37 | - Do you access the site from a computer or a phone, or both? 38 | 39 | ## Testing the site 40 | _Test on: [beta.fec.gov](https://beta.fec.gov)_ 41 | 42 | Okay, thank you for answering those background questions. Now we're going to look at the new site we're working on and get your feedback on some features. 43 | 44 | To do that, we'll access beta.fec.gov, which is a real, working website where we continually release new features. 45 | 46 | [Before proceeding, make sure that the user is on the beta FEC home page] 47 | 48 | ## Scenario 1: Finding a specific item of interest 49 | 50 | Now that we're on the site, I am going to present you with a scenario and ask you some questions. While we go through the questions, please keep in mind that we are interested in your unique perspective _as a journalist,_ so you can go ahead and put yourself in that professional mindset. 51 | 52 | Are you ready? 53 | 54 | [wait for user to confirm] 55 | 56 | SCENARIO: 57 | > Imagine that you are tracking and reporting on ongoing litigation, and you have come to the FEC website because you want to review information regarding recent court cases involving the FEC. 58 | 59 | - **QUESTION:** Without clicking any links, can you tell me where would you are inclined to go to find the information you're seeking? Please be sure to think out loud about your decision. _(Expected answer: Press section)_ 60 | 61 | **_Even if the user doesn't suggest it,_** direct the user to the Press page. To be sensitive about directing them, you can say something like... 62 | 63 | >This is all very interesting -- thank you! For the next question, I'd like to direct your attention specifically to the Press page... 64 | 65 | > Now that we're in the Press section, where would you go from here to find information about recent litigation? 66 | 67 | - **QUESTION:** Is there anything you would change about the experience of searching for recent information regarding litigation? 68 | 69 | - **QUESTION:** What would you do if you were wanted to see view _only_ press releases related to litigation? _(Expected answer: Press > Latest Updates > Press Releases > Filter by subject: Litigation)_ 70 | 71 | **_If it doesn't happen naturally,_** eventually direct the user to the Latest Updates section. To be sensitive about redirecting them, you can say something like... 72 | 73 | >This is all very helpful so far -- thank you! Now I'd just like to direct your attention to a specific feature and see what you think. 74 | 75 | > Now that we're on the Latest Updates page, what do you think of using the features here to find press releases related to litigation? 76 | 77 | **PROBE for user's thoughts on Latest Updates results display** Is the information you're seeing here for each of the Press Releases helpful? 78 | 79 | - Is there anything you would change about it? 80 | 81 | 82 | ## Scenario 2: Self-guided education 83 | 84 | Okay, we're finished with our first task and will now be moving on to a new scenario. Are you ready? 85 | 86 | [wait for user to confirm] 87 | 88 | Okay, great. Let's return to the home page and start a new task. 89 | 90 | [make sure user is on the home page] 91 | 92 | SCENARIO: 93 | > Imagine that you are a novice campaign finance reporter, and you are specifically interested in learning more about campaign finance law. 94 | 95 | > In order to educate yourself, you have come to the FEC website to learn more about how the FEC reacts to possible illegal actions. 96 | 97 | - **QUESTION:** Without clicking any links, can you tell me where you are first inclined to go to find this information? Again, please think out loud as you decide. _(Expected answer: Press section)_ 98 | 99 | **_If it doesn't happen naturally,_** eventually direct the user to the Press page. To be sensitive about redirecting them, you can say something like... 100 | 101 | >This is all very helpful so far -- thank you! Now I'd just like to try another pathway with you, so let's go to the Press page... 102 | 103 | > Now that we're in the Press section, where would you go from here to find information about campaign finance law? 104 | 105 | [wait to ask the next question until the user finishes the task] 106 | 107 | - **QUESTION:** Now that you've found the information you were looking for, are you interested in taking any additional actions using this information? 108 | 109 | **_If clarification is needed:_** For example, are you interested in printing or sharing the information in some way? Would you bookmark pages like this? 110 | 111 | - **QUESTION:** Is there anything you would change about the experience you just had trying to find information about a specific topic in campaign finance law? 112 | 113 | ## Section 3: Reaction to press page layout and content 114 | 115 | Okay, we're finished with our second scenario. For the next set of questions, we'd like to return to the Press page and discuss your thoughts on it. 116 | 117 | [Direct user to Press page] 118 | 119 | - What is your general impression of this page? Please feel free to share any thoughts that come to mind, however vague. 120 | 121 | - Does this page contain the information that you would expect to see here? 122 | 123 | - **Probe, if needed:** Is there anything missing? 124 | 125 | 126 | - If you could magically change anything about this page, what would you change? 127 | 128 | - Looking at the section about contacting the press office, is the information there helpful? 129 | - Is there anything missing? 130 | 131 | 132 | ## Follow ups: 133 | - We have finished all of the questions about the press section. Before we wrap up, do you have any final comments or questions for me? 134 | 135 | [Thank the user for their input and for their time.] 136 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-4-26-test.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # April 26, 2016 Usability Test. 2 | 3 | raw notes: 4 | 5 | ## Tasks: 6 | 7 | AO 1 8 | 9 | Typeahead search on data site 10 | 11 | Cloze Test: AO 2 12 | 13 | Mega-menu interaction 14 | 15 | Results of AO search 16 | 17 | ## Introduction Script: 18 | 19 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 20 | 21 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 22 | 23 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 24 | 25 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 26 | 27 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 28 | 29 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 30 | 31 | ### Task 1: 32 | 33 | Advisory Opinion pages 34 | 35 | Link 1: 36 | 37 | Are you familiar with Advisory Opinions? (If no, read this) An Advisory Opinion is when a campaign or committee asks the FEC to determine if something they are interested in doing is legal. Once the FEC decides, other campaigns and committees look at the Advisory Opinion as guidance. I'd like to have you take a look at a page and tell me about it. You'll notice some of the content is placeholder text, but I'd like to hear what you think the text would be about. Load page Talk me through this page. What is it? What do you see? What can you do? If you wanted to find an advisory opinion about, say, "filing", can you do that? (If they haven't talked about the left column...) What's going on in that gray column on the left? Task 2 : Typeahead Link: fec-feature-proxy.18f.gov/data/receipts/?max_date=04-13-2016 38 | 39 | Script: First, we'd like you to take a look at this page (share link). Could you look up all receipts to the group "Right to Rise." Could you filter those receipts to people with the last name of Smith? Now how about people named John Smith? Now how about "Jet PAC" 40 | 41 | ### Task 3: 42 | 43 | Content Test: Independent Expenditure I'd like you to read this page. You don't have to read it aloud. Let me know when you're done. Great, now remembering that we're testing the page and not you, I'd like you to fill out this link: 44 | 45 | ### Task 4: 46 | 47 | AO Task 2 Link 1: 48 | 49 | Script: What is this page about? What is this Advisory Opinion about? Where can you go from here? [Go to link 2] 50 | 51 | Link 2: [Note: You can toggle between the two views by clicking the "AO" in the title.] 52 | 53 | Script: What is different now? What is this Advisory Opinion about? 54 | 55 | ### Task 3 : 56 | 57 | Mega-Menu Navigation Link: Use the site to find independent expenditures data. Use the site to find fundraising data for candidates for House. 58 | 59 | ## Wrap-up Script: 60 | 61 | Before we wrap up, do you have any questions or comments for our team? 62 | 63 | Content Tests = = = = = 4/21 Synthesis Task 1\. Typeahead Observed: Both users used additional filters (individual/committee) without prompting. Both users understood how to type into search box. 64 | 65 | Takeaways: More obvious change state could be helpful when any results change, not just a long load. We'd like to consider possible A/B test on filter functionality (does it expand results or narrow results?). 66 | 67 | Task 2\. Legal search Observed: Both users had hesitancy clicking. But both confidently identified legal resources in top nav as the main section for AOs. 68 | 69 | Saw one preference for search and another preference for "AO" in main body. Both found at least one path to AOs from the legal resources landing page. Second user found both avenues. 70 | 71 | Takeaways: We can consider tightening up the search and header areas (this is our most prime real estate, and it could be bumping important informations below the fold). Unclear whether reticence to scroll is an artifact of testing itself. 72 | 73 | Should legal resources search find both content and legal data? (Yes, probably). 74 | 75 | Task 3 and 4\. Advisory opinion mockups Observed: When we asked users what a page was about, they used the landing page as their only source of information. Strong preference for version B (with summary). Summary does seem to give people a better sense of what AO is about. 76 | 77 | Takeaways: Pull out the summary, so it's more prominent. Two-column layout may present a false choice. 78 | 79 | What else do we want to bump up? Entities? 80 | 81 | Additionally, in the header area, requester is not sufficiently prominent. 82 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-5-19.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # May 19, 2016 Usability Test. 2 | 3 | - watch: 4 | - listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 5 | - take notes: 6 | - script: 7 | 8 | ## Tasks: 9 | 10 | Mega-menu interaction 11 | 12 | Typeahead search on data site 13 | 14 | ## Introduction Script: 15 | 16 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 17 | 18 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 19 | 20 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 21 | 22 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 23 | 24 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 25 | 26 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 27 | 28 | ## Task 1: mega-menu 29 | 30 | Mega-Menu Navigation Link: 31 | 32 | - Use the site to find out who is running in your local district. 33 | - Use the site to find fundraising data for candidates for House. 34 | - If you had to guess, what do you think the items on the menu take you to? 35 | 36 | ## Task 2: type-ahead & filtering 37 | 38 | - Use the site to find out who Bill Gates has supported. 39 | - Can you also check and see if other people in his family have given? 40 | - (if they don't search for william) Now Bill, as you can likely guess, is short for William. Can you find out if he has given as William? 41 | 42 | ## Wrap-up Script: 43 | 44 | Before we wrap up, do you have any questions or comments for our team? 45 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-5-26.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # May 26, 2016 Usability Test. 2 | 3 | - watch: 4 | - listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 5 | - take notes: 6 | - script: you are here! :wink: 7 | 8 | ## Tasks: 9 | 10 | IA : 11 | 12 | - EM: 13 | - EB: 14 | - JH: 15 | 16 | Calendar 17 | 18 | Typeahead search on data site 19 | 20 | ## Introduction Script: 21 | 22 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 23 | 24 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 25 | 26 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 27 | 28 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 29 | 30 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 31 | 32 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 33 | 34 | ## Task 1: IA 35 | 36 | 1. **You'd like to stay up to date on new developments that will impact the rules and operations of the FEC? How would you do that?** _(We want to see if they go newsletter/press/record/tips/etc.)_ 37 | 38 | 2. **You want to learn more about what types of reports candidates need to file and when. Where would you go to learn more?** _(We want to see if they go registration and reporting essentials for candidates)_ 39 | 40 | 3. **You saw that an individual contributor gave $2,000 to a candidate, and you want to know if that was more than the maximum amount they're allowed to give.** _(We want to see if they go contribution limits)_ 41 | 42 | 4. **You know the FEC occasionally resolves disputes using a program called the Alternative Dispute Program. Where would you go to find more information about this?** _(We want to see if they go to Legal Resources or Enforcement)_ 43 | 44 | ## Task 2: Calendar 45 | 46 | - Pretend you are a monthly filer. How would you find out when the next filing is due? How would you subscribe to the quarterly filing schedule? 47 | - Imagine that you're going to be visiting DC in May and that you'd like to attend an FEC meeting that's open to the public. Can you find one on the FEC calendar? How would you add this event to your own calendar? 48 | - How many executive sessions are there this quarter? 49 | 50 | ## Task 3: type-ahead & filtering 51 | 52 | - Use the site to find out who Bill Gates has supported. 53 | - Can you also check and see if other people in his family have given? 54 | - (if they don't search for william) Now Bill, as you can likely guess, is short for William. Can you find out if he has given as William? 55 | 56 | ## Wrap-up Script: 57 | 58 | Before we wrap up, do you have any questions or comments for our team? 59 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/2016-6-9.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # June 9, 2016 Test Script 2 | 3 | ## quick connection links 4 | 5 | - watch: 6 | - listen: or 1-646-517-0017 x254162370# 7 | - take notes: 8 | - script: you are here! :wink: 9 | 10 | ## features tested this week: 11 | 12 | - mobile menu 13 | - individual contributions filter by cycle 14 | - calendar filter by state 15 | 16 | ## Introduction Script: 17 | 18 | Hi, I'm **_**, and I'm working on the Federal Election Commission website redesign. We're asking people to try using the website and take a look at some of the designs we're working on today, to see if everything works as intended. This session should take about 25 - 30 minutes. 19 | 20 | The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we're testing out the site, not you. You can't do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don't have to worry about making mistakes. 21 | 22 | So this may feel a little weird, but as you use the site, I'm going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud: say what you're looking at, what you're trying to do, and what you're thinking. This is be a huge help to us. 23 | 24 | Also, please don't worry that you're going to hurt our feelings. We're doing this to improve the site, so we need to hear your honest reactions. 25 | 26 | If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer them right away, since we're interested in how people do when they don't have someone sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we're done I'll try to answer them them. Sound ok? (credit: Krug) 27 | 28 | Script: Give us a quick 1 minute your background. What do you know about the FEC? What does the FEC do? 29 | 30 | # Tasks: 31 | 32 | test on staging. is it possible to check mobile things remotely? i would be interested in checking interactions on the new mobile menu: 33 | 34 | ## Task 1 Mobile Menu (candidate search) : 35 | 36 | - link: mobile [beta.fec.gov](https://beta.fec.gov/) We want to try out how folks use the site, while using mobile devices. Let's say you're standing in line at the grocery store and hear something on the radio about Bernie Sanders fundraising and you'd like to find out how much he raised this election cycle in his bid for president. 37 | 38 | ## Task 2 Mobile Menu (committee detail): 39 | 40 | - link, if 1 was failed: mobile [direct link to sanders](https://beta.fec.gov/data/candidate/P60007168/) How much did Sanders raise from individuals giving more than $2,000? 41 | 42 | ## Task 3 Mobile Menu (individual contributions) : 43 | 44 | - link: mobile [beta.fec.gov](https://beta.fec.gov/) 45 | - Ok, let's switch gears. You're still on your mobile device, and you read an article about very large contributions, one of the names you caught was Ronald Cameron. See if you can find his donations. 46 | 47 | _for a note on why these mobile tasks were chosen see below [## Note on mobile tasks]_ 48 | 49 | ## Task 4: Individual Contributions transaction cycle on desktop : 50 | 51 | - link: [feature](https://fec-feature-proxy.18f.gov/data/receipts/?transaction_period=2016&min_date=01-01-2015&max_date=12-31-2016) 52 | - Ok now lets say you want to continue looking through individual contributors, but you're back at a desktop computer. You want to compare the number of large donations of over 1 million from individuals in May 2015 to the same time before the last election, May 2011\. Try to use the site to do that. 53 | 54 | ## Task 5: Calendar 55 | 56 | - link: [beta.fec.gov] 57 | - Pretend you run a committee in New Jersey and are required to file with the FEC. You know that you had to file a report on your committees fundraising before the primary election that happened earlier this week. How would find out when that deadline was? 58 | - Continue to pretend you run a committee and file monthly. How would you find out when the next filing is due? 59 | - Imagine that you're going to be visiting DC in May and that you'd like to attend an FEC meeting that's open to the public. Can you find one on the FEC calendar? How would you add this event to your own calendar? 60 | 61 | then the new state filtering on the calendar. on the state filtering, we'd be looking to see if people understand what the state filter applies to, and what it doesn't 62 | 63 | ## Note on mobile tasks 64 | 65 | According to analytics, top actions to fec.gov on mobile between 6/2016 and 6/2015 were the following: 66 | 67 | - [candidate & committee viewer](http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/candcmte_info.shtml), 68 | - [individual contributor search](http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml), 69 | - committee detail like [this one for Bernie Sanders](http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do?tabIndex=1&candidateCommitteeId=S4VT00033)and the 70 | - [disclosure map](http://www.fec.gov/disclosurep/pnational.do), so we'll use these as fodder for tasks. 71 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/assets/committee-7-30-2015.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/test_scripts/assets/committee-7-30-2015.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /research/test_scripts/assets/home-7-30-2015.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fecgov/FEC/01e0032b21182ceeb4d15f5d5381a9b2693c9046/research/test_scripts/assets/home-7-30-2015.png --------------------------------------------------------------------------------