DU Friends - a small request - needing help with a class.
Hi DU Friends!
I'm needing a favor and hoping you can help me and also help DU. I'm taking a graduate class in Human Computer Interfaces and have an assignment to conduct some surveys and interviews of users. While I could have opted to focus on something rather silly, I wanted to use this opportunity to do some basic work that might help DU Administrators with any future site work they are wanting. For those who are not technical, this class is focused on how humans interact with computers. Or more specifically for DU - how you use the layout, navigation and other User interfaces in the design of DU. With your help, I am hoping to gain a better understanding of how *you* use DU and understand how DU might be redesigned or tweaked to make it easier to use.
The Admins will be posting an announcement. I hope you take the time to help out and do the survey and if you have time, to also do a short interview with me over DU mail.
The survey is at https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=survey
To try and answer things - I have created this FAQ.
**Who are you?**
My handle is "Lithos". I have been on DU since shortly after the 2001 inauguration. I have a long history with DU from the lows of Bush and Trump to the highs of Obama. I am so grateful for what DU has done for me to maintain my sanity over the years. In real life, I am a software developer and a history geek. I have gone back to Graduate School because I like to learn and my company is paying all tuition.
**Why are you doing this?**
I am doing this portion for a specific class. However, rather than redesign some aspect of Netflix or Spotify the umpteenth time, I wanted to do something which might be of help to DU Administrators as they work on the site.
**What am I actually doing**
My class is designed to cover the virtuous design cycle - meaning starting with basic "needfinding", evaluation, brainstorming, and prototyping. Some people might know this as a form of problem decomposition and solution composition. And if this does not mean anything to you, that's ok - I just need your help with doing the survey and if you have the time, do work with me to do an interview. At some point, I will be working with DU Administration to present my suggestions. There is zero obligation for them, but given their support, they are very interested in learning more about how you use things.
**What do I need of you?**
I am hoping that everyone here will take the survey which Elad and EarlG have put up. I'm also hoping that if you have the time, you will let me do an information interview using the DU mail system. I will send you an in-kind reply with a set of specific questions asking about how you use DU - what you like and do not like about specific features. Depending on how you respond, I may ask for followup questions.
These questions are designed to help me understand what I call your workflow - how you interact with DU and how you get things done such as reading posts, finding posts, and getting things done on the site.
**How do you do the interview**
Send me a DU Mail. I will send you the first round of questions.
**When does this need to be done?**
I need this done within a couple of days. I'm under the impression the survey will be active for 48 to 72 hours. I will need the interviews done and completed no later than Feb 6th.
**What are you collecting?**
The surveys are to help me gain a certain amount of quantitative information about the users. The interviews will (hopefully) give me softer qualitative information about what works for you on DU. I am not asking for any personal information - just how you use DU. You control how much you share.
**What am I doing with this information?**
I am responding to a specific rubric for my class. Specifically, I am going to do an analysis of this data and use it to help me present some prototypes which will be evaluated by DU Administration. I am not going to share any individual responses as part of my class work - I am only going to use aggregated data.
To repeat though for full transparency, DU Administrators will have full access to the survey information and interview information generated. Even so, this information is important as it will also inform them of how the site is used!
**Who am I looking for?**
I want people with all skill sets and backgrounds. Computer Geeks, Internet Neophytes, the abled or disabled - all are needed! Just like life, the greater the diversity of experiences, the more effective my work will be.
**Your privacy..**
Your privacy is *always* important. I do not have access to any internal systems at DU. All the work I want to do will be thru DU's public system (forums, DU Mail) so you can easily respond without me knowing who you are. This is an exercise in understanding your goals when you visit DU and how you use the tools that are available to achieve these goals.
**What this is not...**
The Admins have given me permission to conduct this survey and make this post here in the Lounge, but please be aware that DU rules still apply. Feel free to ask me anything you like about the survey or my studies, but be aware that I'm focusing on how people search DU and find posts -- this is not an open invitation to discuss DU's rules and regulations, the Jury System, or things of that nature.
**I have a question!!**
I'm not sure how open things will be to ask in the forum. But feel free to hit me up in DU Mail - I will answer as I can.
Thank you very much!
Lithos
= new reply since forum marked as read
I took the survey and I'm willing to take part in whatever you need if I can help! 
Survey completed.
My best to you, Lithos.
DU'ers, help out a fellow poster.
There are no personal questions on the survey.
