Why You Should Be Excited About Test Pilot 2.

Test Pilot 2 is coming soon.  In version 1, Jono had to discover what was possible.  Now that we know that everything is possible, we want to help Test Pilot instrument everything.   Here are some of our guiding principles.

easy to write studies

Here is an example study:

const observer = require("observer-service");
observer.notify("myspecialstudy",{my:'data'});

Studies message the global Observer service with observations.  Test Pilot listens.  The rest is details.

Some details:  Test Pilot 2 is a mechanism for installing addons, deciding which topics to observe, linking to external surveys, cleaning up the mess, and giving good UI and UX that ties it all together.

we meet you where you are.

No matter how you write your feature, we have you covered!  Our preferred way of running experiments is by installing Addon-SDK (née Jetpack) addons.  Of course,  your feature is so radical that it can’t be done as an addon, and only a separate binary build / Firefox branch can contain the magic.  We planned for that.

simple surveys

Linking to an external survey url is easy.  You decide who sees it, based on channel, locale, operating system and more.

the privacy you’re used to

Test Pilot remains transparent about exactly what data it collects.  We honor the contract we have with users that by sharing data about their habits, they should get something of value.  They are in charge of their data.

easier studies = more studies (and faster turnaround)

It should be cheap to do experiments.  It is always the right time to be bold.

Every feature of the browser should go in front of real users for testing.  During initial research, this might be a simple as doing hallway testing.  As a feature grows, it requires more.  Test Pilot can offer you large-scale quantitative data on “in the wild” populations, on both existing behaviours, and experimental changes to the browser interface.  Take your experiments public with Test Pilot, and find how users really react.

How can I sign up?

Need a study done?  Write to the User Research team at ( ur-team AT mozilla.com ), or stop by #ur .

Developers:  hack on the code at https://github.com/gregglind/testpilot2/.

You can join in studies today by installing Test Pilot.