USABILITY PRINCIPLES
General principles for how "What a Day" is used and experienced
Pause and come back later
A user can at any stage leave the simulation and come back later to complete it. As everything is happening in on the server, a user can even change browser or computer, and come back and continue from where they left it.
During the pre- and post-simulation (and the virtual debriefing) the user can just leave the simulation (open or closed) and they will always come back to the latest active stage later. But during the simulation the user will have to press “Pause” (or close the browser window) to stop the timer.
If a user do NOT remember to press pause and leaves the browser window open– he or she will experience that the simulation continues and that the time is up when he or she reenters the simulation. To be able to complete the simulation we will have to reset the user (write to support@wizerize.com) and ask the person to redo the whole flow.
Step-by-step approach
To guide the user and provide the most controlled user experience “What a Day” is made as a flow containing different “steps” that has to be completed one at a time before the user can proceed to the next. Moving from one step to another, are controlled by the next button and this button will only be available (and visible) when the current action is completed and the user is allowed to moved to the next.
The main elements in the flow are; the welcome page, the pre-simulation (including the test-ride), the simulation, the post-simulation, the “thank you” page and, depending of what version of “What a day” you use, eventually the virtual debriefing.
(Visual)
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You only play once
You will probably meet users that suggests that they should play one more time – to be able to do the things right or to prove that they have improved as result of the experience. We cannot recommend that. The simulation is by purpose designed as a challenging and chaotic experience and the learning is tightly related to this. There is no real point in repeating the exercise – it’s better to bring all the new skills into the chaotic life of the workplace.