Problem/Solution validation slash commands Duo Chat

Findings

What’s this issue all about?

We are working on a standard pattern of slash commands (or quick actions) in GitLab Duo Chat but we do not fully understand the use cases for these quick actions. This issue proposes a hybrid problem and solution validation to quickly gather more data on the user needs and usability test slash commands.

What are slash commands?
CleanShot_2024-06-24_at_17.11.51_2x

Who is the target user of the feature?

  • Users of GitLab Duo Chat (ultimate tier, have GitLab Duo Pro seat)
  • Primarily the software engineer persona
  • Use Duo Chat in either the IDE or GitLab

What questions are you trying to answer?

Problem validation

  • What are the primary use cases for slash commands?
    • When would a user use a slash command versus typing in natural language?
    • What are the benefits of slash commands?
  • In what cases does the user want to attach an object (e.g. a link) to a slash command versus how common is it to ask about the object they are currently looking at?
  • Does the user want to add additional context to their slash command? (e.g. "summarize this issue in 5 bullet points")

Solution validation

  • Do users discover the slash command menu
  • Do users understand the available slash commands
  • Do users understand how to add an object to a slash command (e.g. link, additional information, issue ID...)
Core questions
  • What are the primary use cases for slash commands?
  • What are the main pain points with the existing UX paradigms of adding objects to slash commands

What hypotheses and/or assumptions do you have?

  • Users will primarily use slash commands on the object they are currently looking at and will not need to attach links or other objects to their slash commands
  • Slash commands are primarily and efficiency tool and we should focus on slash commands working without arguments

What decisions will you make based on the research findings?

  • Understand which slash commands should be available by default
  • Understand how much to prioritize improving the existing UX to attach links/objects to slash commands

What's the latest milestone that the research will still be useful to you?

Discussion guide and screener

Edited by Katie Macoy