It’s cool to see Test Pilot back. However, I miss the design and user experience from the older version of Test Pilot (which I also used).
With the older version, it felt like there was much more of a focus on allowing us to see the data we were generating through these experiments, and (if I remember right) in a more human-readable form as well. It felt like we were more in control of our data, and not only that but that we could see more directly how our participation was relevant. The older version also gave a lot more control over when experiment data would be sent.
In contrast, the new version of Test Pilot literally feels like we’re just installing a new add-on rather than taking part in something. Not only that but clicking on the Test Pilot button now takes us to a web page instead. I know menus are now commonly opened as tabs, I don’t have a problem with that aspect. It’s just that it felt more integrated into the Firefox interface; again, it felt more like we were in control of the experience somehow? The Test Pilot interface could literally be rendered as the more boring colours and buttons of something like the main menu, and it would feel better to me (or even better as a local about: menu instead). It’s really hard to put a finger on how it feels different if a person said “it does literally the same thing”, in this respect.
Would it be possible to bring back the features to show us what data is being collected? It isn’t because I’m particularly scared about Mozilla’s data policies, but because I’m genuinely interested to see my own statistics in how much I actually use a respective experiment’s features! Would it be possible to bring back showing us what data was collected from each experiment as well, and how (if) it informed any decision making? Clicking through the “previous experiments” list I see that part is already done, but I don’t know. There is something about how it was presented in the old Test Pilot that made me much more eager to participate and check in regularly. Maybe it was how it felt more like an “inbox of experiments” rather than just a list on a webpage? And that the list easily showed completed experiments with data, etc? Does anyone else (who used the old add-on) get what I mean?