3. Emma Keaveny
@EmJayKay80
BrighTest Actually
1. Almost 2 years testing under my belt!
2. Work for Interica – Archive & Retrieval Software
3. Functional – Manual Tester
4. Co-Organiser of #TestActually
21. At a Weekend Testing Session (WTEU-58) I
asked this very question, here are some of
the responses…
22. “I suppose the obvious
first step is to talk to
someone about it.”
“it boils down to ethics”
“are there are a set of
ethics we follow? “
23. “To me a dark pattern is just
aggressive advertising. The well
armed consumer should be aware of
them in his own nature. “
“compliances are a useful
heuristic for testers“
24. “If a company decides to use a dark
pattern can a tester tell them not to?”
26. How would you deal with a Dark Pattern?
1. Check the Requirements
2. Talk to someone, i.e. the Product Owner, the team
3. Clarify that it’s a dark pattern by using various heuristics:
• Jakob Nielson - Usability Heuristics for UI Design
• Michael Bolton’s et. al – A FEW HICCUPPS
28. How would you deal with a Dark Pattern?..cont
4. Code of Ethics to guide you:
• 7.8 IEEE Code of Ethics
• ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional
Practice
5. Your Emotions
6. Last but sure as hell not least – Personal Integrity
31. Explore Dark Patterns With
the aid of examples and
tester’s thoughts to discover
the best possible way to
handle these patterns.
32. Takeaways
• Communication – Talk – Raise Questions
• Heuristics – These will help you figure out if it is a dark pattern
• A FEW HICCUPS
• Usability Heuristics for UI Design
• Code of Ethics – Is it going to trick the user in some ways – Is it ethical?
• Emotions – How does it make you feel?
• Personal Integrity – Honesty, Values, believing what is right
33. Acknowledgments & Thank You’s
Maaret Pyhäjärvi & the European Testing Gang – Inviting me to Speak
Neil Studd & Amy Phillips– WTEU Session 57
Harry Brignull – Dark Patterns Guru (darkpatterns.org)
36. Added Material / Ideas
• Evil by Design – Chris Nodder http://evilbydesign.info/
• http://darkpatterns.org/
• http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-
interfaces-designed-to-trick-you
• Addition to dark patterns, Addiction..Candy Crush…hooked need to get
to the next level, only way is to pay, and so the user does.
• Automated checks for dark patterns?
Notas do Editor
Our Charter…
Goal directed, trying to trick people into do something they wouldn’t normally do, whether its in their best interest or not. Unethical, they take advantage of the less tach savvy users in the world. Target people who are vulnerable in society. Raise the importance of why these need to be dealt with.
Give example…buying trainers…receiving cup and mag you didn’t order and got charged for.
On a WTEU-57 Test Session we were testing the LinkedIn Mobile App, we had to choose a particular feature and of course test it. So I chose Add Connections. Here is where I got caught with a Friend Spam Dark Pattern!
This was a completely new concept to me, had never heard about it before, and so my investigation began!
Here you see how many contacts in your phone that are not yet on LinkedIn
Here is the lovely Invite All button that sends all the invites, without A. Telling you there will be a charge, and B. A little confirmation that they have been sent (now this is probably not in their requirement, but when I am spending money I would like to know all went through OK so that there is no way in repeating the process, which by the way you can, I almost sent multiple text invites!!!)
The message received from me
Only takes up 3.5g – 6g in a hidden folder called $Windows.~BT. But what if you don’t want Windows 10, there is no opt out. Can choke up bandwidth…take up space
The phone number in the red box is NOT the Avatar Hotel’s phone number but actually belongs to hotels.com. The way its placed makes it look like it does belong to the hotel.
Set up roses..champagne…
Could go on about 5 guys and their burgers. The most expensive are at the top, and look like a regular burger i.e. “hamburger” when its actually a double burger. The regular burger is called “Little Hamburger” giving the impression there is not much to eat.
It is real easy to get into something, but a nightmare to get out of it…lets look at the clip to show you what I mean…if no speakers, image the scene if possible
A very good question to ask, with such little knowledge of this I asked at a WTEU session how they would handle these
Give examples using heuristics – use a dark pattern and use the heuristic, use Ryanair Don’t Insure Me…
Error prevention
User Control and Freedom
Consistency and Standards
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
If it doesn’t feel right, it means something isn’t right….question it!
Could only find this one, but using this dark pattern of opt out, so many more lives have been saved due to being automatically opted in as an organ donor. So its not all complete doom and gloom.
But also the business it’s a pro, they make more income, get more personal details
OK so lets go back to our charter, what were we exploring, what are our takeaways from this?
[17:07:56] Fiona Charles: On 2015-11-19, at 11:26 AM, Raluca wrote:
> @Fiona, my thoughts exactly but what should you do in case you have raised your concerns/issues and have fallen into def ears?
First, make sure your concerns are raised to the right level of decision-makers in the organization. Often legitimate concerns are buried at the level of people who are not paid or authorized to make decisions that could have serious impacts. That might mean talking to executives and/or auditors. Document your concerns. and I think you have 3 options, depending on the severity of the issue.
[17:16:51] Fiona Charles: Then I think you have 3 options, depending on the severity of the issue. 1) Let it go. You've told the right people and it's their job to decide. This is a perfectly reasonable way of dealing with some issues. 2) Quit. Go work for an organization that fits with your personal ethics. 3) Go public. Blow the whistle. This is a very drastic action that will almost certainly cost your your job, and possibly your livelihood, so reserve it for the very most serious circumstances. Most of us have never had to do this and never will. I considered it as something I might have to do when I took the contract to manage testing on a critical national infrastructure project for the fire and rescue services in the UK. What would I do if people in authority lied and pushed the system out before it was ready? People could die, both in the general public and in the fire services.
[17:17:14] Fiona Charles: I decided I would have to blow the whistle if that seemed likely and I went ahead and took the contract. Fortunately, it never came anywhere close. The government cancelled the project after I'd been there 10 months, and nothing ever went live.
[17:19:22] Fiona Charles: It was a terrifying decision to contemplate, because I had signed a version of the Official Secrets Acts, and could go to prison if I went public on anything. OTOH, managing the testing on this project was a terrifying responsibility. It was essential to do it right if I was going to do it at all. Whew! I never had to face the decision.
[17:21:50] Fiona Charles: I always advise testers (and others) to do a personal risk assessment, preferably before getting into a situation where you might have to deal with something like this. How much risk can you tolerate? Can you afford to lose your job? Do you have vulnerable dependents?
[17:23:01] Fiona Charles: Then try to evaluate the real risk. Is it likely that someone will fire you if you decide to act -- at any level, including going to auditors or executives?
[17:24:22] Fiona Charles: Don't just look at the risk of acting. Look at the risk of not acting. What's the risk to others if you don't act? What's the risk to you? To your self-respect? To your professional reputation? To your ability to act ethically in future?
