Test Pilot
What is Test Pilot
Test Pilot is a series of stepping stones intended to take a rough concept to a shipping Firefox feature or Add-on.
Test Pilot combines iterative prototyping, user research, and an opt-in user-facing testing platform. Each phase is designed to evaluate new feature concepts quickly and at low cost.
Test Pilot will let us take larger risks with product concepts, giving us a cheap avenue to test and validate product concepts.
How does Test Pilot Work?
Each phase of Test Pilot consists of prototype building and evaluation through user testing. Only in the third phase is any prototype deployed to the Test Pilot application itself.
The following diagram provides a more detailed view of the process:
View full diagram
Who is the Audience for Test Pilot
Test Pilot is for people who like Firefox.
- They consciously choose to use Firefox
- They appreciate our unique community
- Not afraid of trying new things
- Don’t need to be technical
Test Pilot is currently in development for Desktop Firefox. We are interested in exploring similar systems on our mobile platforms, but do not have user stories for these cases at this time.
Who Builds and Manages Test Pilot?
Test Pilot is run by two groups of people: the Build Team responsible for day to day engineering, UX, and product processes and Mission Control, a group of cross-disciplinary members of the Firefox team tasked with steering individual projects and the Test Pilot project as a whole.
Team members are amplifiers for people participating in the program. When a person or group submits an idea to Test Pilot they are starting a process in which they should expect to be involved until a conclusion is reached.
Test Pilot team members help participants progress through the Test Pilot process in whichever ways are needed - from boiling an idea down to get at a measurable core concept, documenting an idea thoroughly, iterating on designs and prototypes, assisting with coding, communicating with appropriate teams around Mozilla, and helping uplift a successful idea to its next stage in life. An analogy could be made between Test Pilot team members and consultants.
How Can I Contribute To Test Pilot?
If you have an idea, feel free to reach out
- Chat with us on IRC in #testpilot
- Join our public mailing list
- You can also just submit an Idea through our submission form.
Or just chat with a Build Team member individually
| Product | User Experience | Engineering | QA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Chapman (irc: nchapman) | Bryan Bell (irc: bryanbell) | Wil Clouser (irc: clouserw) | Peter deHaan (irc:pdehaan) |
| John Gruen (irc: jgruen) | Chuck Harmston (irc: chuck) | ||
| Jared Hirsch (irc: _6a68) | |||
| Dave Justice (irc: JSON_voorhees) | |||
| Les Orchard (irc: lorchard) |
Come to our meetings!
You can also import this calendar into any iCal-capable calendar application.
Many of our meetings have public meeting notes.
Looking for code?
User Experience
Found a bug?
- Right now, finding us on IRC or reporting the bug on github issues is your best bet. Bugzilla component coming soon.
List of Test Pilot Projects
- Universal Search
- Activity Stream
- Tab Center
- PageShot
- Your great idea!