Report of Exploratory Testing Session – 2 for ‘pn31lous’ application.

Test Mission - To find critical information from 'pn31lous' application.

Model under Test: Post-it Software Notes Version 3.1.1.1073 | http://www.post-it.com/

Tester: Ravisuriya
Test Machine: Windows XP SP2 | English US
Session ID: pn31lous-09082009-s2
Start Test Date and Time: 15th August 2009 11:08 AM IST
End Test Date and Time: 15th August 2009 12:10 PM IST

Observations or Information:
----------------------------

1. There is no option to uninstall through Start menu of Windows for the installed instance
of Post-it Notes Software version., should it be uninstalled through Add or Remove programs.

>> Since the users knowledge of using the operating system varies and the categories of users
varies, what if the user does not know that there is another option of uninstalling through Add
or Remove programs. If the user is given an option to uninstall the Post-it Notes through Start-
->Programs-->Post-it Software
Notes Lite-->Uninstall, would be helpful.

2. On uninstalling the Post-it Notes through Add or Remove programs will show a dialog
with title 'Post-it Software Notes' has message "Do you wish to remove Post-it Software Notes?”

>> If the version of the application displayed in the dialog, would be helpful to the user.

3. Looks like it is possible to work with Post-it Notes, when the above said dialog is opened
i.e., viewable by the user. Is this behavior is as expected? Or it should not allow the user to use
Post-it Notes, unless the above displayed dialog is closed by clicking ‘No’ button?

>> Every dialog displayed in the model should be modal. Without closing any of the triggered
dialogs of the model should the user allowed to work using the model? What if the displayed
dialog goes to background such that user will not know that some action was triggered but it
has not come to her or his attention? What if the action that triggered dialog was critical and
user did not know it and that can loose the data or the tasks done using the model?

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4. ‘Show All Notes’ is present and enabled to use it while no notes are available, when the
pop menu that is displayed when clicked on Post-it Notes icon in system tray.

>> Showing the labels or caption of menus or contents of menu as enabled or active to user,
when none of its contents available might confuse the user when she or he clicks on it and
witness nothing is seen or observed. And, also disabling or making the caption or labels or
contents of menu, will also create question in user – Why this is not enabled to use or How and
when this get enabled? Context help might help. Meanwhile making the model complex also
makes the value and cost of it to vary linearly and proportionately.

Investigation reveals that option chosen in the Preference dialog’s General tab for Notepad
Display will also have influence on this behavior after choosing any one of the three radio
button – 1) Both desktop and taskbar notification area; 2) Desktop only; and 3) Taskbar
notification only.

5. Clicked on text ‘Purchase Information…’ in the above said pop up menu. Notes appeared
with the information about to purchase, available versions and features. Tried to enter few
contents into it. It was possible to enter. Later closed the opened instance of Post-it Notes.
Instantiated new instance of Post-it Notes. Observed the notes that displayed the information
of purchase, version and features was also displayed. And the entered contents in it were
retained.

>> Altering such information displayed by the vendor should be allowed? If allowed should it
be retained or persisted on closing while closing the opened instance of model? In the context
scenario, if the user has altered the content without her or his attention, and later she or he or
others look into the contents of such vendor said information, might create confusion,
questions in the user. What if this brings the cost of losing the value of the model?

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Investigation reveals the information that if the Purchase Information note that displays the
user entered is moved deleted i.e. moved to trash, opening a new instance of same Purchase
Information note will not have the user entered content and it will only the vendor entered
content.

6. More than one instance of Purchase Information note can be opened by the user.

>> What if the user does not know all ready an opened instance of Post-it Notes Purchase
Information note is displayed; and she or he tries to open again the same note page. Should the
user need to get already opened note page or should it open the new instance of the same page?
What if the user opens ‘n’ number of such similar note page? Will this hit the memory
consumption of the system and model thereby leading to any catastrophic behavior? If that
happens what the cost that model has to give to the user and the value the user going to give for
the model? What value of user will be cost for it?

7. Trying to open a new instance of Post-it Notes, while already one of its opened, the user
will not intimated about this. In the context scenario if the option ‘Always on top’ is not used
and taskbar is hidden – this can be confusing.

>> If a message given to the user already an instance of the application is running or being
opened and used along with the way(s) to see that available instance, might be helpful to the
user.

8. Looks like phrase ‘Always on top’ in the pop up menu said in observation-4 might not
reflect its internal intended meaning very clearly. This tells that Post-it Notes to always appear
on desktop when minimized all the available and opened application instances that are being
viewed on desktop and its titles if any present in taskbar.

>> Since Post-it Notes application title remains in taskbar when its instance is available when
every application opened are minimized, the phrase ‘Always on top’ might create confusion in
user.

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All the words, phrases, sentences and understandings will have ambiguities. If the model tries
to minimize those ambiguities as much as possible might give value to the user. Since this
model is not written for a particular geographical user whose mother tongue is English, should
also consider user of other geographical locations whose mother tongue is not English and
might not know English as other geographical location user or might understand English in the
other way and not as the other user who understood what it was.

9. Version of the model is not mentioned in the Help document.

>> Mentioning version of the model would help the user to know version of the help being read
and understood. And in context scenario, if more than one version product can be installed for
example, pro and enterprise both can be installed and used either of the one or both if needed
– displaying help with version will help the user here.

10. Opening the Preference dialog and switching between the two different models that is
being opened, can create an illusion in the mind of the user that empty row exists in the
Subscription Notes tab of Preferences tab to import.

>> Investigation reveals that illusion of an empty row to import in Subscription Notes which
was not present earlier when the Preferences dialog was opened, will appear if the two models
are switched between each other alternatively at least once. In that, two model either Post-it
Notes can be one or not so. This is one way of seeing this behavior. To explore and investigate
further to identify such contexts where this behavior is observed. Clicked on button ‘Import’
and closed the appeared dialog ‘Select subscription file’. Did not see, the illusion of an empty
row again and it appeared as in the first snap above.

This behavior of giving an illusion of empty row might create a confusion in the user what that
empty row is when nothing is selected. Models are used to ease the work of the users by

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lessening the confusion and to minimize if manual if any to possible extent. Post-it Notes to be
such kind of model should avoid such confusion and illusion behaviors.

11. If the newly opened notes can take the heading of the note’s title bar or header bar,
would help the user to identify the notes easily when there several notes written and opened by
the user. At present appears like title for the notes cannot be given (observed in the being used
model and not sure of advance versions of this model).

>> Displaying or having the option to show contents title would be helpful in knowing what the
post notes have in it.

12. Looks like I don’t have option to get back the notes which moved to trash or deleted with
the being used version of the model. If so, then user needs to be intimated about this. Doing so,
might fetch business to the Post-it Notes when the user purchases the higher version which has
such features.

>> If such critical information are seen by the user very easily, might bring value to the
vendors in terms of business and for user in saving the notes written for referring in future etc.;
and if not displayed such critical information to the user in an interactive way might also bring
costs to both user and vendor – user loosing important data, having lot of notes opened in the
desktop (which can choke up the memory), for vendor not gaining the business etc.

13. When the MS-Office’s Word is opened and moving the one such notes into page of MS
Word being edited, will exhibit the behavior that can be annoying to the user. The behavior
does not move the notes easily around the screen to desired area when the MS Word is
maximized in view such covering entire desktop area.

>> Such behaviors can have adverse effects in promotion of products by the user to another
user – which can bring revenue to the vendors of model.

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14. If the screen tool tip kind of message shown to the user when mouse is moved the Post-
it Notes when minimized might be helpful to the user.

>> If the user has created many such Post-it Notes, user need open each notes to see its
contents, when she or he needs to open the contents of information which is looking for now.
This scenario also strengthens the post notes having title along with displaying the title of post
notes in the screen tool tip kind of communication and inferences approach.

15. If user enters more than 3500 characters in the post notes instance, no message shown
to the user that enter contents will be truncated. While testing and gathering information
appeared as only 3276 characters were acceptable.

>> If the user does not saves the other source after pasting it or writing its content here which
exceeds its length more than 3500 characters, what does it costs user and vendor for using
Post-it Notes in the context scenario? There can be other scenarios associated with this
behavior that costs to both users and vendors.

************ End of Test Session -2 Report ************

End of Test Session-2, will continue the further explorations in Test Session-3.

Please write your queries, questions, comments, feedbacks, critics and thoughts to email-id:
ravisuriya1@gmail.com

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