kent/Friend Forecaster Study Letter.txt

## Friend Forecaster Study Letter.txt
Hello,

Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in the Friend Forecaster Pilot Study.  We are eager to get you started and hear your feedback.

Friend Forecaster is a web application that is designed to help you remember names.  It would be great if that was the end of the story but in order to get the most out of Friend Forecaster you are going to have to do a little bit of work.

Friend Forecaster is powered by the people you know or want to know, the places you go, the activities you do and the groups that you are apart of.  The idea is that by knowing about these things and relating them with tags / labels the system will be able to give you suggested lists of people you might see.

That is really all that we want to tell you at the moment since you are a pilot participant and we want to see how you use the system on your own during the study.

The Pilot Study:

The study is broken up into 4 phases that last a total of 21 days, here is the breakdown of the phases.

Phase 1: Baseline ( 5 days )

To better understand how we forget names and how often, we ask that you carry around a journal and record any time that you forget someone's name.  This could be someone you know, or someone you don't know.  For example, if you are talking about someone to a friend and forget that person's name, record it in the journal.  If you are watching a movie or TV show and forget an actor or actresses name, record that too.  The format will be provided for you once you start the study.  We recommend that you print out the sheet and carry it with you.  During this time you won't actually be using Friend Forecaster, so you don't need to log into the website at all, this will happen in phase 2.

Do this for 5 days.

Phase 2: Training ( 3 days )

In this phase you will start using Friend Forecaster.  As mentioned above, we don't have any specific instructions as we want you to explore the interface.  Push the buttons, upload your people and start adding locations, activities and groups.  The idea is to get comfortable with the interface.

Phase 3: Intervention ( 10 days )

This is the most fun stage as it will be when you are actively using Friend Forecaster to generate Forecasts for you based on your location, activity or group involvement.  Each time a forecast is generated, it must be reviewed.  In order to receive full compensation for participating in the study you must review 90% of your forecasts within 24 hours of receiving them.  This is to make sure that you are in fact using the system and generating data.  If you find it difficult to generate or review your forecasts please contact Kent Fenwick at kent@dgp.toronto.edu ASAP.

Phase 4: Back to baseline ( 3 days )

You are now completed the majority of the study and return to baseline by recording in your name recall journal.  You will no longer be using Friend Forecaster and will simply record the times that you forget people's names in your journal, exactly as you did in phase 1.

Once Phase 4 is completed you will be asked to do a telephone interview that will last up to 30 minutes.

Time Commitment:

While the study lasts for 21 days, a serious time commitment is not required.  Using Friend Forecaster should be fun and easy and should not take up too much time.  Each time you feel the need or wish to see who you might encounter at a given location, activity or group function request a forecast and review it.  It's that simple.  The most time will likely be taken uploading your people, locations, activities and groups into the system.  We have handy ways of importing contacts and maps to help you with locations.  Also, do not feel as though you must load everything all at once, try and use the system as naturally as possible.

Privacy:

Please know that we have the highest respect for your privacy therefore all of your information is kept hidden to other users and we only look at the information we need to see to complete the study.  All names and identifying marks will be removed before publication.

If you have questions at any time please email Kent Fenwick at kent@dgp.toronto.edu and he will be happy to help you.  There is also a feedback site at http://getsatisfaction.com/friendforecaster. If you encounter any problems, want to request a feature, or just want to say hello, please do so there.

Thank you very much for participating in this exicting study.  Your time is greatly appreciated and is being used to make our software better so that it can be used by individuals with memory impairments, elderly people who are having trouble remebering names, people like you and me who wish they could remember more to make an impression and everyone interested in improving their memory.

Thank you again,

All the best,

Kent Fenwick
http://friendforecaster.com

On behalf of the Friend Forecaster Team:
Mike Massimi
Ron Baecker
Kevin Tonon
http://friendforecaster.com/team
University of Toronto
Computer Science
	Hello,

	Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in the Friend Forecaster Pilot Study. We are eager to get you started and hear your feedback.

	Friend Forecaster is a web application that is designed to help you remember names. It would be great if that was the end of the story but in order to get the most out of Friend Forecaster you are going to have to do a little bit of work.

	Friend Forecaster is powered by the people you know or want to know, the places you go, the activities you do and the groups that you are apart of. The idea is that by knowing about these things and relating them with tags / labels the system will be able to give you suggested lists of people you might see.

	That is really all that we want to tell you at the moment since you are a pilot participant and we want to see how you use the system on your own during the study.

	The Pilot Study:

	The study is broken up into 4 phases that last a total of 21 days, here is the breakdown of the phases.

	Phase 1: Baseline ( 5 days )

	To better understand how we forget names and how often, we ask that you carry around a journal and record any time that you forget someone's name. This could be someone you know, or someone you don't know. For example, if you are talking about someone to a friend and forget that person's name, record it in the journal. If you are watching a movie or TV show and forget an actor or actresses name, record that too. The format will be provided for you once you start the study. We recommend that you print out the sheet and carry it with you. During this time you won't actually be using Friend Forecaster, so you don't need to log into the website at all, this will happen in phase 2.

	Do this for 5 days.

	Phase 2: Training ( 3 days )

	In this phase you will start using Friend Forecaster. As mentioned above, we don't have any specific instructions as we want you to explore the interface. Push the buttons, upload your people and start adding locations, activities and groups. The idea is to get comfortable with the interface.

	Phase 3: Intervention ( 10 days )

	This is the most fun stage as it will be when you are actively using Friend Forecaster to generate Forecasts for you based on your location, activity or group involvement. Each time a forecast is generated, it must be reviewed. In order to receive full compensation for participating in the study you must review 90% of your forecasts within 24 hours of receiving them. This is to make sure that you are in fact using the system and generating data. If you find it difficult to generate or review your forecasts please contact Kent Fenwick at kent@dgp.toronto.edu ASAP.

	Phase 4: Back to baseline ( 3 days )

	You are now completed the majority of the study and return to baseline by recording in your name recall journal. You will no longer be using Friend Forecaster and will simply record the times that you forget people's names in your journal, exactly as you did in phase 1.

	Once Phase 4 is completed you will be asked to do a telephone interview that will last up to 30 minutes.

	Time Commitment:

	While the study lasts for 21 days, a serious time commitment is not required. Using Friend Forecaster should be fun and easy and should not take up too much time. Each time you feel the need or wish to see who you might encounter at a given location, activity or group function request a forecast and review it. It's that simple. The most time will likely be taken uploading your people, locations, activities and groups into the system. We have handy ways of importing contacts and maps to help you with locations. Also, do not feel as though you must load everything all at once, try and use the system as naturally as possible.

	Privacy:

	Please know that we have the highest respect for your privacy therefore all of your information is kept hidden to other users and we only look at the information we need to see to complete the study. All names and identifying marks will be removed before publication.

	If you have questions at any time please email Kent Fenwick at kent@dgp.toronto.edu and he will be happy to help you. There is also a feedback site at http://getsatisfaction.com/friendforecaster. If you encounter any problems, want to request a feature, or just want to say hello, please do so there.

	Thank you very much for participating in this exicting study. Your time is greatly appreciated and is being used to make our software better so that it can be used by individuals with memory impairments, elderly people who are having trouble remebering names, people like you and me who wish they could remember more to make an impression and everyone interested in improving their memory.

	Thank you again,

	All the best,

	Kent Fenwick
	http://friendforecaster.com

	On behalf of the Friend Forecaster Team:
	Mike Massimi
	Ron Baecker
	Kevin Tonon
	http://friendforecaster.com/team
	University of Toronto
	Computer Science