From 7d105bd57a6f14d90403ce0fc2fbb2fc58213d87 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2026 16:25:42 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 01/14] Create 2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md --- ...es-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 87 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 87 insertions(+) create mode 100644 research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..385963fb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +# Multiple branches usability testing June 2026 + +## 2060-06-16 / Sprint 5 (Q1) + +## Aims +- To understand how usable the design is. +- To find out whether a longer or more complex form might present additional challenges. +- To uncover any challenges the design might present for users who have cognitive or neurodivergent conditions. + +Can people easily: +- Add routes +- Edit routes +- Reorder questions and understand the impact +- Fix routes that have issues +- Understand what routing is in place in a form +- Navigate, use and understand a long routes page + +## Participants +- 8 civil servants +- Current users of GOV.UK Forms +- Intention: A range of experience of the platform and using routing +- Actual: More beginners than experienced users + +- 4 **had** a declared a cognitive or neurodivergent condition +- 4 had **not** declared a cognitive or neurodivergent condition + +## Methodology +- Usability tests with form creators. +- 60 minute sessions. + +## Key Headlines + +### Adding the questions + +People work from a range of formats when creating their forms +Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list question to accept one or more options. + +### Finding where to add routes + +More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes, for these reasons: +- They couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button +- They didn't the empty routes page shown when they needed to add more questions +- They didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page because they set the question up to accept more than one option + +When searching for how to add routes, people often went to the Edit question link. +They would usually focus on the options area of the edit question page, or go into editing the options. + +### Adding routes + +Once on the Edit routes page, if the questions were set up correctly, they understood how it worked.They generally used the dropdowns to change the options quite easily. + +However, people commented on the amount of stuff on the page making it more difficult, especially text and numbers. + +### The length of the form + +Most people did not seem to find the longer form more difficult to use. + +### Reordering questions and editing / fixing routes + +Those who did the task understood what they needed to do when they saw the error for the backwards route. + +Again, the amount of numbers and text on the page made the task more difficult. + +### Understand what routing is in place in a form + +Those who used the route descriptions seemed able to understand them with a bit of focus. +There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the original form is structured differently to the platform. +There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the original form is structured differently to the platform. + +### Using the keyboard to navigate (one participant) + +They were the only person who seemed very nervous about making mistakes. +They were keen to be able to edit the routes for just one question at a time. +Their main limitation is scrolling the page while also using the keyboard to interact with the page. + +### Impact for people with neurodivergent condtions + +Due to the interaction of other characteristics (experience level and job role), it was challenging to identify the causes of the behaviour of people with conditions. + +In some aspects, people with conditions had a better experience and in some areas it was worse, but this was also associated with their experience level, and whether or not they were a content designer. + +People with conditions were almost exclusively the people talking about the amount and presentation of the information on the ‘Edit question routes’. + +## Supporting Evidence +- [Report](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17oKU8GmFwv581oZGF-01JmcLt_LdqmLIV8RQvS7ba3c/edit?usp=drive_link) +- [Playback](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I7C3MKqUhObp0V_t0IWFStDqlnCc6KEk/view?usp=drive_link) +- [Further documentation](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13U0idGiOdwr9PlnCD-oSuRk4I39ng1Qj) From 5ee91c1e779594b1e204633cdd206032487dea1c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:45:59 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 02/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 385963fb0..6adbc7b8d 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ # Multiple branches usability testing June 2026 -## 2060-06-16 / Sprint 5 (Q1) +## 2026-06-16 / Sprint 5 (Q1) ## Aims - To understand how usable the design is. From 4b68826597e720f811f443b0ad7961c1c2bcef1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:50:03 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 03/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 6adbc7b8d..c53d66b83 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Can people easily: ### Adding the questions -People work from a range of formats when creating their forms +- People work from a range of formats when creating their forms Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list question to accept one or more options. ### Finding where to add routes From b50e47b6811c486ed1322bd51abadd7860761059 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:50:14 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 04/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index c53d66b83..5b252b9c3 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list ### Finding where to add routes -More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes, for these reasons: +More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes. They: - They couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button - They didn't the empty routes page shown when they needed to add more questions - They didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page because they set the question up to accept more than one option From 5d4a199b98ea619b2984632f03630407f4b90415 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:50:29 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 05/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 5b252b9c3..dea17036e 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list ### Finding where to add routes More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes. They: -- They couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button +- couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button - They didn't the empty routes page shown when they needed to add more questions - They didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page because they set the question up to accept more than one option From 82fa2478f7a31da169b728a4408642f0b55b89a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:50:43 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 06/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index dea17036e..ced4285b9 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Can people easily: ### Adding the questions - People work from a range of formats when creating their forms -Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list question to accept one or more options. +- Half of people set up the question wrongly. Most commonly, they set up the list question to accept one or more options. ### Finding where to add routes From b5cb7c652333ee25c9a4755e27b99458f44ecf03 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:50:56 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 07/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index ced4285b9..dc9d07456 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Can people easily: More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes. They: - couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button -- They didn't the empty routes page shown when they needed to add more questions +- didn't read the content on the empty routes page that said they needed to add more questions - They didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page because they set the question up to accept more than one option When searching for how to add routes, people often went to the Edit question link. From 34f425bfd3d3ba1fb058fe4135dac02a651e1af6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:51:13 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 08/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index dc9d07456..100663079 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Can people easily: More than half of participants struggled to find where or how to add routes. They: - couldn’t find the ‘Edit question routes’ button - didn't read the content on the empty routes page that said they needed to add more questions -- They didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page because they set the question up to accept more than one option +- didn't understand why their options were not shown on the routes page (when they'd set the question up to accept more than one option) When searching for how to add routes, people often went to the Edit question link. They would usually focus on the options area of the edit question page, or go into editing the options. From 7cc3ba4282a07236fdcae84b044acb7c55d40123 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:51:26 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 09/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 1 + 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 100663079..54cf2bbc6 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the ### Using the keyboard to navigate (one participant) They were the only person who seemed very nervous about making mistakes. + They were keen to be able to edit the routes for just one question at a time. Their main limitation is scrolling the page while also using the keyboard to interact with the page. From 92490fcb8e28d4c968f712b88c17d91ca6e82e36 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:51:38 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 10/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...4-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 3 ++- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 54cf2bbc6..2be84f758 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the They were the only person who seemed very nervous about making mistakes. They were keen to be able to edit the routes for just one question at a time. -Their main limitation is scrolling the page while also using the keyboard to interact with the page. + +Their main limitation was scrolling the page while also using the keyboard to interact with the page. ### Impact for people with neurodivergent condtions From d4a70b992de3aa526420e4074dd56b22c7ee19c9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:51:49 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 11/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 2be84f758..62ac851c7 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ They were keen to be able to edit the routes for just one question at a time. Their main limitation was scrolling the page while also using the keyboard to interact with the page. -### Impact for people with neurodivergent condtions +### Impact for people with neurodivergent conditions Due to the interaction of other characteristics (experience level and job role), it was challenging to identify the causes of the behaviour of people with conditions. From 7d94105d84e2c5de96c86ff501e65358294de434 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:51:57 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 12/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 62ac851c7..84eda4d3b 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Due to the interaction of other characteristics (experience level and job role), In some aspects, people with conditions had a better experience and in some areas it was worse, but this was also associated with their experience level, and whether or not they were a content designer. -People with conditions were almost exclusively the people talking about the amount and presentation of the information on the ‘Edit question routes’. +People with conditions were almost exclusively the people talking about the amount and presentation of the information on the ‘Edit question routes’ page. ## Supporting Evidence - [Report](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17oKU8GmFwv581oZGF-01JmcLt_LdqmLIV8RQvS7ba3c/edit?usp=drive_link) From 8ced34a12187d1ac5c87486a2d1bdc1a91e63cba Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:52:12 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 13/14] Update research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md Co-authored-by: Hannah Content --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index 84eda4d3b..f2678490c 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ They would usually focus on the options area of the edit question page, or go in ### Adding routes -Once on the Edit routes page, if the questions were set up correctly, they understood how it worked.They generally used the dropdowns to change the options quite easily. +Once on the Edit routes page, if the questions were set up correctly, they understood how it worked. They generally used the dropdowns to change the options quite easily. However, people commented on the amount of stuff on the page making it more difficult, especially text and numbers. From 3044d393ddb9f5f4a79c2de118ddca015bc15833 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lorna Howes Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:18:41 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 14/14] Update 2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md I've made the changes Hannah suggested. --- ...24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md index f2678490c..7e3df8c18 100644 --- a/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md +++ b/research/2026-06-24-multiple-branches-usability-testing-findings-june-2026.md @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Again, the amount of numbers and text on the page made the task more difficult. ### Understand what routing is in place in a form Those who used the route descriptions seemed able to understand them with a bit of focus. -There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the original form is structured differently to the platform. + There seemed to be potentially a challenge when how the route is written in the original form is structured differently to the platform. ### Using the keyboard to navigate (one participant)