Transition Technology: Ticket #806: IIRS pre-beta usability issues

hours, totalhours changed

chris — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:02:25 GMT

hours changed from 0.0 to 0.5
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Just a few minor glitches:

IIRS right hand column navigation menu:

XML export of Initiatives -- this displays "<error>password required</error>" if you logged in or not, perhaps the item shouldn't be displayed if people don't have permission to access it?
view your Initiative -- this is a 404 if you are not logged in, it should display a login required page like the edit your Initiative item?

If at IIRS registration you enter an existing Transition Initiative, eg try "London" then the next page allows you to enter a email address and upon submission you get "A Transition Initiative already exists with this name. Please add something to the name or change it and try again" It would be better if after entering an existing Initiative it asked you to visit it's page, or took you there or asked you if you wanted to edit it or something, all before you enter your email address?

Adding a web site URL:

The page you get after registration askes for "your website", add a valid URL, eg http://www.transitionliverpool.org/ and you get "Your website was not found, please re-enter it or select none".

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:11:22 GMT

Thanks very much for having a look! very helpful.

XML export of Initiatives: yes, agreed. this link is slightly misleading. the menus are controlled by WordPress not the IIRS and this menu-link is only there for Portugal National Hub to see. they will not create the menu link when they install the IIRS.

view/edit your Initiative: yes, agreed. these links in fact will be controlled by something like the Dynamic Widgets Plugin so that they only display when the logged in User has a InitiativeController? Role.

register your Initiative: very interesting point! excellent user interface analysis. this is exactly why a fresh pair of eyes is good. so: currently the system will allow duplicate registrations in the same place but with different names. e.g. "Brixton-In-Transition" and "Transition-Brixton" could both be registered in the same place: Brixton.

Brixton = the *place* name Transition-Brixton = the initiative name (which defaults to the place name initially)

You will notice that the, currently disabled, proximity test appears on the list of place matches on the locations page. here a test is run on each match to see if there are any close by, similar Transition Initiatives registered. currently it is disabled and they all return available.

so, i think that the distinction between initiative and place name is not clear enough... i think that this can be left to version 2 though because conflicts are un-likely in this first stage?

Adding a web site URL: ack. that's a bug. just changed the code yesterday on this and have obviously broken it. will fix :)

Also: just noticed that the re-search function fails in Firefox... cross browser testing has only just started.

Thanks!!!!

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:33:21 GMT

Adding a web site URL: this is fixed now. i was checking for an MX record using checkdnsrr(), not an A record using gethostbyname().

ed — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:42:16 GMT

please know that i insist that these pieces of feedback are copied into the google spreadsheet that i am going to make - as per my email to the list I feel very strongly that TRAC is not the locatoin for this sort of work - so anything you do or discuss here you are going to copy over.

it may be best to wait, hmm?

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:54:46 GMT

hi ed. please make a google spreadsheet in the appropriate place and i will take responsibility for adding pre-amble and copying everything over.

ed — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:57:45 GMT

this afternoon it will be i promise

chris — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:00:58 GMT

Ed - how is time to be recorded for TNv3 if we are not allowed to use Trac?

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:28:23 GMT

note that the IIRS Wordpress settings has standard documentation for the admin to submit bugs / errors / functionality requests. currently it says the following:

contacts

Functionality requests: edmitchell@… Error reports: edmitchell@… Congratulations: edmitchell@… Party invites: edmitchell@…

at least a more generic email should be used...

http://annesley.parrot.transitionnetwork.org/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=iirs-administrator

chris — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:30:14 GMT

Replying to annesley:

http://annesley.parrot.transitionnetwork.org/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=iirs-administrator

login: anewholm / [passowrd]

Best change that password now as it's been posted to a public ticketing system.

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:46:42 GMT

eek. didn't realise it was public. sorry

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:59:11 GMT

mmmmmm... a bug tracking WordPress and Drupal Modules would be good.

that way the "user" could directly report things through the IIRS plugin straight in to our work streams. and also see what was outstanding.

i can't find any Wordpress plugin for TRAC yet...

chris — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:14:56 GMT

Replying to annesley:

i can't find any Wordpress plugin for TRAC yet...

Emails can open tickets, it would just be a matter of getting the headers right.

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 13:23:55 GMT

good idea. it will be reasonably quick to also include a generic TRAC open ticket list in to the IIRS settings page for the admin also.

annesley — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 13:26:38 GMT

I have changed the first registration page on Parrot, which lists location matches, to include a warning if the initiative name is already registered. type "London" to test.

http://annesley.parrot.transitionnetwork.org/IIRS/registration/

remember that currently we have no policy decision on whether people can register duplicate locations or not. the initiative name must be unique however.

still feels potentially confusing for the user. so more ideas welcome.

ed — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:26:48 GMT

Replying to annesley:

hi ed. please make a google spreadsheet in the appropriate place and i will take responsibility for adding pre-amble and copying everything over.

@Annesley - thanks - it is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16BiaSIH10eCoEVGiPae1Ib6zsmfO3QcHEHR77QzRJUw/edit#gid=0 Please add/edit the headings. The purpose of the doc is to capture the feedback and establish openly if it's a bug, feature request, etc., and what we are going to do about it...

ed — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:29:30 GMT

Replying to chris:

Ed - how is time to be recorded for TNv3 if we are not allowed to use Trac?

@Chris, let's be clear - I am not 'not allowing' you to use TRAC, I am requesting that we use a more suitable tool to capture and manage feedback for us and others who aren't TRAC users.

I suggest that we use the spreadsheet to capture the information and then submit the time to TRAC. The spreadsheet is editable by anyone with the link so you don't need a google account.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16BiaSIH10eCoEVGiPae1Ib6zsmfO3QcHEHR77QzRJUw/edit#gid=0