Trust System Testing:
Badge Testing
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Paper Badges used in the Field Research
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We conducted a six user tests in the afternoon and evening in order to determine some insights on the effectiveness of our badge feature. We wanted to determine:
- How do people perceive this feature?
- Is it useful?
- What types of things do we need to modify to make it more effective?
- How much would this affect peoples’ trust in other strangers and in the system?
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Some of our main findings were:
People perceive the badge as a point of commonality and an identifier.
The badges we tested were somewhat strange and appear too playful. We may consider making more professional badges that people would be less embarrassed to hold out in public. However, people felt it represented a symbol or a signal for the person they met. Overall people felt it would help create an identification of commonality between people.
“Two mini cooper drivers always wave at each other!”
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“It’s a shared social thing. I identify with other motorcycle riders and trust them implicitly.”
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The Cube: Test Location
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The badge and system may inspire people to think more about their safety.
Another user expressed that holding the badge during the walk made them think more about safety around them. It caused them to give pause and notice the blue emergency kiosks around campus.
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The more information, the better.
Users feel more confident in the system when it provides specific details and more information. One user expressed that they would feel alienated or mistrustful if some people in the group knew more than others. A very specific meeting location, as specific as possible, with pre-defined details, allows the arrangements to happen and helps with coordination.
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Creating dialogue beforehand can also have an impact on trust. We hope that the questionnaire will develop some of this, as well as the knowledge of basic personal information. Users will have the option to call if the phone number is put as public.
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People deeply value trust and security for a system that is giving identification.
Using the badge depends on who is giving the badge out. This supports our design efforts to have the creator reveal information about themselves. Also, the system is designed to develop trust with the user in terms of privacy and safety.
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People trust others that are like themselves (students trust students, but less-so with other age groups). One user had been approached by an old man and this user felt uncomfortable being approached by the stranger. But students in general seemed to be acceptable to meet, even if strangers.
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People also expressed concern as to whether the badge could be duplicated. The unusualness of the concept, combined with the fact that many random badges can be used, helps prevent this from happening, thereby creating more trust with the user.
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Some people may still not quite trust strangers at night, but if it proves to be reliable, “It’s better than nothing,” says one user.
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Test Images
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Survey Result
