Implicitself Test Plan Page 2 of 24

ImplicitSelf Test Plan Page 2 of 24

ImplicitSelf Test Plan

Thank you for agreeing to be a tester of our web site, www.implicitself.com, hereafter, “ImplicitSelf.” My name is Peyton Smith and I – along with the authors of the Assessment of Personal Goals, hereafter, “APG,” and the ImplicitSelf programmers – really appreciate your help!

As an ImplicitSelf tester, you will only need time, a computer connected to the Internet, the email to which this document was attached, and this document itself which should explain everything. However, at this point we need you to only read page 1 and page 2; therefore, please stop reading this document at the bottom of page 2. We need you to perform test procedure #1 without the potential for bias imparted by our subsequent evaluation forms.

PLEASE DO NOT READ BEYOND PAGE 2 UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE ITEMS SUMMARIZED ON THE NEXT PAGE

Overview

This ImplicitSelf test plan consists of four separate test procedures collectively intended to test most of the website as well as produce valuable “usability” data to guide this and future ImplicitSelf versions.

The first test procedure, further described on the next page, will take the most time, while the others are progressively shorter. In total, it is estimated that you could take anywhere from two to three hours to complete all the test procedures. Further, each test procedure is designed to be completed in time portions – that is, you don’t need to dedicate a lengthy contiguous period of time to complete your testing. You can start and stop in “chunks” to accommodate a busy schedule.

Communications

Please send all communications regarding your testing (e.g., questions, evaluation forms, etc.) to me at .

The easiest way for you to use the evaluation forms in this document is to “Save As” under a different file name, enter your comments in the tables provided (using MS Word), and send me your edited file as an email attachment. (Detailed instructions for doing this are in the email to which this test plan was attached as well as on the last page of this document which you can read later.)

Your evaluation forms will be consolidated and provided to the authors and the programming staff; however, the email headers (i.e., your name) will be removed. This will make it easier for us to manage all the feedback. Further, because your feedback will be anonymously combined with all the others, you can be “brutally honest.”

Alternatively, if you are unable to provide your evaluation electronically, you can print the forms herein and complete them by hand. Then fax them to our office at 1-206-325-3693.

Reimbursement (and reward)

Because we are testing ImplicitSelf in its “live” state, you will have to actually pay for the APG in full once ($9.95) and in part ($3.00) twice for a total of $15.95. ImplicitSelf uses PayPal secure website payment services which accept most credit cards and, of course, PayPal accounts. So you will be using your credit card or, if you happen to have one, your PayPal account in order to complete the testing. Therefore, your “user experience” will be identical to all the other millions of Internet users out there, except for one small detail.

During the testing period, your APG purchases will be refunded within a few days of each transaction. (Please note that ImplicitSelf never sees your credit card or PayPal account – your refund is issued via PayPal.) These credits will only be issued to APG purchases with “known” email address (i.e., those used to send out this document). Therefore, be sure that the email address you use for all your APG purchases is the same email address that was used to send you this document (i.e., the email address that appears on the “TO:” line of my cover email to which this document was attached).

Further, to thank you for your testing and to help us “spread the word,” after we incorporate your feedback and corrections, I will send you two (2) free, full-value, APG coupons that you can use for yourself or give to anyone you want. These “thank you” APG coupons can be used anytime; the test coupons you will use in these test procedures expire after the test period ends.

Test procedure #1 – “the real deal”

We call the first test procedure “the real deal” because, unlike the other, shorter test procedures, the objective of test procedure #1 is to actually be a real customer who visits, buys, and takes their real APG. Therefore, as you complete your APG (either in one session or several sessions, your option), please thoughtfully read and answer each APG question “for real.” This will be your one opportunity to get an electronic copy of your actual APG results that you may want to keep after all the testing. In the other, shorter tests, you will be deleting your “real” results and replacing them with fake or randomly generated APG results.

Start here

Begin with item 1 below and work your way sequentially down the list. After you have completed item 4, but not before, then please turn to page 3 where you will find a form designed to efficiently capture your evaluation.

Remember: You do not have to complete all the four items (or any single item) in one sitting.

1. Visit and explore ImplicitSelf

2. Purchase an APG

3. Complete your APG (with your real answers)

4. Download your APG results and review them

5. Then turn to the evaluation form on page 3, herein.

STOP READING HERE AND GO TO www.implicitself.com

ImplicitSelf Test Plan, Test Procedure #1 Page 10 of 24

Test procedure #1, “the real deal,” evaluation form

Now that you have purchased and taken the APG and read through your APG results, we’d love to get your reactions! The forms that follow are intended to help you provide us with your impressions and suggestions.

In the column marked with the “¯,” please enter a numeric rating on a scale of 1 to 10 for each question. Add your comments, if any, in the right-most column. Feel free to go back to ImplicitSelf to refresh your memory or to simply take a second look, as needed.

As you complete the form below, your mindset should be that of an “independent” site visitor who may not have previously known anything about personal goals, Motivational Systems Theory (MST), the work of Drs. Ford or Nichols, etc.

Questions 1.1 – 1.14 ask for your impressions before taking the APG. Questions 1.15 – 1.28 ask for your impressions during and after taking the APG.

Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.1 / Rate the rotating pictures at the top of most pages of ImplicitSelf. / 1=did not like and/or they bothered me a lot
10=liked a lot / 5
1.2 / How easy was it to navigate the site? Did the site organization help or hinder your understanding of the APG? / 1=poor navigation/organization
10=excellent navigation/organization / 10 / Easy, simple menu, hyperlinked information easy to access.
Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.3 / How accessible was the scientific information
(from the layperson’s perspective)? / 1= difficult to understand/follow
10=very easy to understand/follow / 8
1.4 / How credible was the scientific information? / 1=not at all credible
10=very credible / 7 / I would have liked more detail here. I thought I saw the executive overview, but would have liked more supporting information.
1.5 / To what extent did the scientific information influence your opinion of the APG? / 1=significant negative influence
10=significant positive influence / 5
1.6 / To what extent did the authors’ background influence your opinion of the APG? / 1=significant negative influence
10=significant positive influence / 6 / Good to see legitimate academic credentials.
Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.7 / To what extent did the testimonials influence your opinion of the APG? / 1=significant “turn off”
10=very convincing / 5 / More interested in seeing if I can understand, then understand how to apply personally.
1.8 / To what extent did the view of the sample APG results influence your opinion of the APG? / 1=significant negative influence
10=significant positive influence / 6 / It was useful to see the type feedback.
1.9 / Did the Terms of Use make sense? / 1=confusing
10=made perfect sense
n/a=did not read it / 8
1.10 / Did the Privacy Policy make sense? / 1=confusing
10=made perfect sense
n/a=did not read it / 9
Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.11 / How well explained was the process of buying an APG? / 1= how to buy an APG was poorly explained
10=how to buy an APG was clearly explained / 8
1.12 / How well explained was the process, or mechanics, of taking the APG (e.g., establishing an account, downloading the results, storage of the results, etc.) / 1=mechanics seemed very confusing; they were poorly explained
10=mechanics were straightforward and very clearly explained / 9
1.13 / Just before you clicked on “Buy Now,” how eager were you to take the APG?
Bottom line: How “sold” were you? / 1=I was not looking forward to it; I was not “sold” at all
10=I was looking forward to it very much; I was really “sold” / 7
1.14 / What should be changed or improved regarding how we motivate people to take the APG? / It might be useful to provide more concrete examples of how this instrument resulted in personal improvements to include how the tools enabled subjects to do this. The testimonial was quite brief.

Questions 1.15 – 1.28 ask for your impressions during and after taking the APG.

Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.15 / How easy was it to register? Did you experience any difficulty getting to the registration page? / 1=very difficult to register
10=very easy to register / 10
1.15 / Did you receive an email from ImplicitSelf confirming your APG purchase? Did you use the link it contained? / 1=either did not receive this email or received it after a long delay; it was confusing
10= email received without noticeable delay; it was very clear / 10
1.16 / Did you receive an email from ImplicitSelf announcing completion of your registration? / 1= either did not receive this email or received it after a long delay
10= email received without noticeable delay / 10
1.17 / How easy was it to log-in to your ImplicitSelf account? How easy was it to log-out? / 1=very difficult
10=very easy / 10
Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.18 / Did you forget your password? If so, how easy was it to recover? / 1=The process was painful
10=The process was easy
n/a=did not forget my password / n/a
1.19 / Apart from the APG questions themselves, how easy was it to go through the “mechanics” of taking the APG? If you took several sessions to complete your APG, tell us how that went. / 1=I experienced problems taking the APG; it was complex
10= I experienced no problems; it was very straightforward. / 10
1.20 / Rate the APG questions. How easy was it to understand the questions?
(If possible, please identify any individual questions in your comments. If you can’t remember the question number, just reference it by its content – e.g., the one about a bookstore.) / 1=I did not understand 1 or more of the APG questions
10=I understood all the APG questions and I have no suggestions / 10 / Questions were easy to understand, would have preferred fewer choices in the answer range.
1.21 / Did you receive an email from ImplicitSelf informing you that your APG results were ready? / 1= either did not receive this email or received it after a long delay
10= email received without noticeable delay / 10
Question / 1 – 10 rating / ¯ / Your comments, if any
1.22 / How easy was it to access your APG results? / 1=very difficult
10=very straightforward / 10
1.23 / Rate the APG results. Were the results easy to read and understand? How useful and helpful was the interpretive information? How would you rate the overall appearance of the document? / 1=the results were not very useful and/or not very easy to understand
10=the results were very useful and easy to understand / 7 / I felt that the feedback was easy to read and I understood the 24 goals and how my results were spread across the spectrum. I was not so clear on pattern (left or right angle, rectangle). I was honestly expecting a more focused analysis.
1.24 / What should be changed or improved regarding how we implement the way users buy and take their APG?
/ No change.
1.25 / What should be changed or improved regarding how we implement the way users access and store their APG results? / No change, it was quite easy.
Question / Your comments, if any
1.26 / Did you find any mistakes?
Do you have any additional comments, not covered above, that you’d like to share? / No.
1.27 / What browser program did you use (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.)?
What version? / IE 7
1.28 / What operating system did you use (e.g., Windows XP, Vista, Mac, Linux, etc.)?
What version? / Windows XP Pro
END OF TEST PROCEDURE #1 – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Please turn to the next page for more test procedures.

ImplicitSelf Test Plan Page 12 of 24

Overview for the rest of the test procedures

As you know by now, the purpose of ImplicitSelf is to host the Assessment of Personal Goals (Ford, 1992; Ford & Nichols, 1991) in an on-line format. To that end, the site is organized to perform two functions: (1) inform the potential APG “customer” about the APG, including sufficient background about the authors, the science and personal benefits, and (2) provide a user friendly infrastructure for the APG “respondent” to complete their APG and access their APG results.