ACT today announced the second phase of testing for the NTIA Multi-Stakeholder Mobile Application Transparency Code of Conduct. Following the Code’s drafting process, the user testing phase will reveal the most effective methods to convey privacy information to users of mobile devices. This comes after input from industry leaders in user testing, design and privacy. With support from Apple, Facebook, BlackBerry, TRUSTe, and Flurry, the next phase of user testing will be led by Innovator’s Network, which helped design multiple prototypes that were successfully demonstrated at NTIA meetings receiving broad support.
Since completion of the drafting of the Code, the user testing program has:
- Worked with multiple human factor and user experience design teams both in leading tech companies and individual consultancies for feedback on test design;
- Conducted an exhaustive search to identify a usability testing firm with a skill set particular to the unique challenges in the mobile environment. Create With Context was chosen for meeting these criteria as well as its experience with the FTC;
- Built new prototype versions of the privacy dashboard to facilitate testing scenarios;
- Identified app developer beta testers who will provide feedback from their implementation of the Code.
“We are pleased with the great progress we’ve made on the testing phase of the NTIA Mobile Application Transparency Code of Conduct,” said Morgan Reed, ACT’s Executive Director. “We are committed to helping developers correctly implement the Code in a manner that is fully understood by consumers. We hope that this testing will ensure that we meet both consumer and developer expectations.”
“After contributing to multiple iterations of short form prototypes for the NTIA multistakeholder process, Innovators Network is happy to be working with ACT to ensure that the principles of the Code will be adopted by developers and easily navigable by users,” said the organization’s executive director Mark Blafkin. “We have enlisted the services of a leading user-testing firm to reach these goals.”
“We are very excited to be a part of this project,” said Create with Context CEO Ilana Westerman. “Creating effective mobile transparency notices is a difficult process, so we are excited that the NTIA multi-stakeholder team has taken the challenge. Even usability experts cannot predict whether a design will work for consumers with 100 percent certainty. That is why consumer testing is critical to ensuring what was negotiated between lawyers and advocates actually makes sense in the real world.”
“Innovators Network is excited to bring Create With Context into the fold,” said Blafkin. “Through the firm’s work with the FTC on privacy design projects, it has demonstrated an understanding of the nexus of design and trust. User-testing will reveal which display consumers and developers are most likely to find effective and this information will be the foundation for the implementation resources app developers will need to adopt the Code.“
ACT embarked on the testing phase of the Code shortly after the final NTIA multistakeholder meeting. At that meeting, participants agreed that testing would be necessary for the Code’s successful implementation. ACT attracted sponsors to contribute resources and underwrite program expenses. It also has recruited developers to beta test the displays.
On June 15, 2012, NTIA announced its goal to facilitate a multistakeholder process to develop a Code of Conduct to provide transparency in how companies providing applications and interactive services for mobile devices handle personal data. Participants met sixteen times over the course of a year with its final meeting occurring on July 25, 2013.