Hi everyone, 

With Wikimania coming up soon, I wanted to invite Wikimedians who are going to help with something new we're trying at the conference. 

Like most Wikimanias, there are many sessions in the program that attempt explain software changes that have happened or will happen in the future on Wikimedia projects. These are great, but they don't give people a chance to try out something for themselves and provide feedback. 

This year, we're going to have a booth at the conference with several devices set up (including both laptops and mobile devices). There, we'll be inviting whoever is interested and has 5-30 minutes to test out new tools.[*] Whether you're a reader who's never edited, or a longtime Wikimedian with thousands of edits, they'll be something for you to try. 

Abbey Ripstra, the new lead on user experience research at the Foundation, will be leading this effort. I just wanted to give a notice because I'm not sure she's on the list, and because some of my team's work will be up for testing. ;-) 

So far, we've got the following projects with things to test: 

- Updates to VisualEditor, including a new version for tablets
- Flow (a new discussion system)
- A new system of task recommendations for Wikipedia editors
- the new Wikipedia apps for iOS and Android
- a prototype of skin and navigation enhancements (codenamed Winter, if you're familiar) 

As we nail down the exact location of the booth, we'll be sure to send out an update. 

Steven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing