Developing new functions for Ozlab

The web-based Ozlab is now in the process of being further developed to match the needs and requirements arising from the use of mobile units, e.g. swiping functionality and other finger gestures on touch screens. A novelty to the Ozlab which we are experimenting with now is that the Test Person’s touch movements are presented with a timer within a circle on the Test Leader’s computer to provide a better overview of how Test Person interacts with the interface.
In addition, there are attempts to a partial redesign of the user interfaces for wizards and shell creators in Ozlab. Below, Erik Framner, a trainee (to the left), is demonstrating suggestions for a new menu structure to Malin Wik, the lab assistant (to the right) and Henrik Andersson, a teaching assistant (at the centre).
During the summer, Henrik has also performed some tests with the Ozlab when the test persons have been located far from the university, for instance, in Germany (as part of the EU project A4Cloud), to see if the Ozlab could be used for user tests at a distance. The tentative experiments indicate that such interactive demonstrations require certain conditions as well as some technical support. This research is in its early stages. Professor John Sören Pettersson, the research leader, considers this to be an important area for detailed analysis and methodological development. Delayed response time can be a problem also at a close distance since the communication between TP and TL is web-based.
 

 
Web-based Ozlab as of 2013.

 
Proposal as of 2015-12-08.