My novice user is a user who is new to Ubuntu. They have either little or no experience with the operating system. My novice instructions cover how to open Open Office's Word Processor in Ubuntu and how to save for compatibility for Microsoft Office users.
My expert user already has experience in Ubuntu. They are looking to get more from their current system. One way of accomplishing this is to setup their computer to host web pages. This is done through installing Apache Web Server. The user can then create their own content and place it in the Apache folder and have a working web server.
Ubuntu Testing
I consider myself a novice at using ubuntu because I have never used it but I tested both instructions so that you would have feedback on both.
1. Which step needs improvement?
The step that I found to be needing improvement is step 4 of the expert instructions. As I stated before, I am a novice user so I don't know if an expert would know what /var/www means or not. As a novice I did not know what it was.
2. Which step could be better worded?
I think step 3 of the expert instructions could be worded better. At the beginning you say to type some text into the word processor. This is kind of confusing because you don't specify what word processor. Is it the previously downloaded program, open office, or terminal? Again, I am not sure if this would be clear to an expert or not, but to a novice it is confusing. Also you might want to specify the type of text to be typed. The first thing I thought when I read this step was "should I type a word, a sentence, or a paragraph?" Same thing for the novice user. You may want to say "type the desired text" or something of that nature rather than "type some text"
3. Did this instruction set help you learn about Ubuntu?
Yes, these instructions helped me learn about Ubuntu. The novice instructions were clear and easy to follow. I could easily write in the processor and save the document for later use with Microsoft word. The expert instructions were a little confusing to a novice but it helped me understand the basic functions of using the different ubuntu programs.
4. How could these instructions be improved?
I would say the biggest thing would be to just increase the font size. Make it easier to read so a user wouldn't be turned off by tiny sentences. Also, on the novice instructions, you have the same note under both steps two and three. You may want to consider using the note in only one area, because users may see the note twice and get confused about what step they are reading.
5. How could the difference between the novice and expert user’s be expressed better?
I think you do a good job of differentiating between your users. The novice audience has never used ubuntu before and won't know how to find the word processor and save it so that it can be used with microsoft programs. The expert audience already knows those processes but may want to host web pages. These groups are already specifically different and don't need to be differentiated any more.
Ubuntu Test
I decided to do the usability test over the novice instructions set, considering that I am a novice with Ubuntu.
1. There really were not any steps that I had any problems with when I was following your instructions. Saving in Ubuntu is very similar to saving with regular Microsoft Office products.
2. Most of your steps have small and simple commands, which make them easy to follow. I would not change a thing.
3. This instruction set successfully taught me how to save a file using Ubuntu. So, the answer is yes!
4. The instructions could be improved by adding in how to download Ubuntu, the only way that I found out was by using Google. You might just want to throw something in on how to download it successfully.
5. The only thing I would mention would be to define what a novice and expert user really is.