[Yourtopia] "Learn more" text and general concept conflict

Fri Apr 13 12:09:09 BST 2012

Hi everybody!

I'm glad that we have a discussion going now! Let me try to address
the various statements that have been made since yesterday.

Composite index:

I guess I understand what the composite index means. It's not a
problem to calculate it. The question is rather: How to display it?
Where does it fit in the app? Will users have visual analytics tools
for the composite, as they have for the individual ones? I will have
to make wireframes so we can discuss these things in detail. You
(meaning everyone interested) should give feedback based on the
wireframes.

@Dirk, you asked: "So the question for generating the meta-index is
then, which of the various rankings each user might generate do we
use?" We will use the last state when the user clicks "Save & Share"
(which is in the wireframes [1] but not yet in the prototype).

Data to be used

I leave it up to you which variables we use in the application. I
really don't have a stake in that. Yes, it would make things more
interesting if there was less correlation between the indicators. What
is important to me though:
- Please don't make it more measures than there are currently.
- We have to stick with the data we decide for for the launch.
Changing it afterwards would render the composite index data created
to that date useless.

Individual indicator selection:

This seems to boil down to the question, what kind of users are we
targetting? Something we should have discussed earlier, as I find now.

@Dirk: You are talkin about what more experienced users would probably
like. I don't think that the application has great chance of
attracting returning users. No matter how many indicators we present
to select from, once the user has expressed his opinion on how
important they are, he'll hopefully press the share button and
probably won't return. I'd suggest not to consider most people as
involved as you guys are. While you guys probably have a whole forest
worth of stories to tell, I think this kind of application can only
plant a seed. That's far more than nothing. If we get the balance
right, there will be insight and engagement and the will to share it
with others. I am confident that the current prototype goes into the
right direction. I had this experience when first playing with the
sliders, and Rosamaria confirmed me.

@Velichka, you proposed to have an optional sub-indicator weighting. I
have concerns with this, since I don't see an elegant way to fit it in
the current design right now. But I can try to sketch it out.

As an alternative for having additional sliders for wights, I could
also imagine toggling indicators on and off (think checkbox). For
example, a user could decide that she doesn't want  "Youth
unemployment rate in the age group 15-24" considered at all, so she
would simply toggle this one off. This would enable greater
empowerment over indicator selection, while leaving a relatively low
amount of user interface clutter.

Priorities

There are two things to be designed (wireframed) right now:

[  ] Individual indicator selection
[  ] Composite index display

Which one is more important and should be made first? Would be great
if we could answer this by a "quick show of hands". You have to pick
*one* :)

Thanks!

Marian

[1] latest wireframes:
http://www.sendung.de/cust/okfn/yourtopia/wf-20120403-1200/