For Testers

Important Notes

1. If you're new to TodayForward, please click to watch a short, 60-second introduction video from our founders.
2. TodayForward is optimized for Internet Explorer 8 and Mozilla Firefox 3.6.  Please be sure to use the latest versions for best performance.

Welcome to the TodayForward Tester Home Page!  Here you will find updates on our current test cycle and be able to register your feedback to shape the site's direction, content, layout, and just about everything else.  Currently, we're in our second phase of testing with all the gory details below.

How to Register Feedback

In this test, we're using this page as our primary method of registering feedback rather than boring surveys or email.  All you need to do to sound off is:

1. Enter your comments in the text box below
2. Enter your name or a fake name
3. Enter your email address (will not be displayed, our eyes only)
4. Click 'Post' to register your comment

We suggest when you're on TodayForward that you open another window with this page displayed and a comment box open.  That way you can record your notes as you walk through the site, and submit them when you log off.  It's incredibly easy and that's why we're doing it this way.  Plus, you can see what others think about the site (good, bad, or ugly).

Also, if you don't want to leave comments - even anonymous comments - on this page, feel free to drop us an email or give us a call.  We're always happy to discuss ways we can get better.

Phase 2 Test Objectives

• Onboarding/Sign-up - We've installed a much better flow and descriptions in the sign-up process, including a page that better sets expectations for what can be accomplished on the site.  In addition, a page will display on the dashboard that will stay there until you 'certify' that all of your accounts have been uploaded.  This will help us more accurately report changes in your net worth and monitor progress towards your other goals.
• Personal Path - Additional text has been added to better convey the priorities that have been assigned to each of your planning areas.  We have also shortened the display so that a table is used instead of a long list view, making it much easier on the eyes.
• Adding Accounts - As noted above, we ask now that you 'certify' when all accounts have been uploaded.  We've also made this a more consistent flow across account types, added useful tips in using the financial institution search function, put a page in place to report financial institutions not found, and made it easier to add multiple accounts.
• Planning Modules - We are limiting this round of testing to the emergency fund, retirement, retirement investing, education, and education investing sections.  Based on the last round of feedback, we've added a good number of features and want to test these 5 sections before rolling out changes to the rest of the site.  Also, the retirement planning section has been broken down into a simpler interface with multiple pages rather than a single, ridiculously long form in the prior version.
• Control Centers - This is a completely new feature for this round of testing and was formulated based on user feedback.  We had planned to release these later, but our testers wanted it now, so here it is.  In their current state, you'll be able to view or revise your plan, look at historical changes in key account values, and see where you stand today relative to your goal.  Next actions are displayed for each planning area separately on the control panels so you can manage a single area rather than everything all at once.  We need you to tell us if this is the right design or setup before we roll it out to the rest of the site.
• Next Actions - These are largely unchanged since the last test.  All actions are prioritized from most to least important and are segmented based on time required to complete them.  Note that we are aware of a formatting issue with the text when using Internet Explorer 8.  We will have that fixed in a future release.

In essence, this phase is all about validation.  We want to validate that the concept is strong and that the layout, usability, and content are on track.  Once we have validation, we will roll out the changes installed on these 5 modules to the remaining 16.

Other Ways You Can Help Us Help You

Since we're still a few months away from a wide scale launch of the site, we don't have a fan page on Facebook or anything like that.  However, we have just started posting to this blog in earnest on April 12th.  We would love to have you subscribe as we're focused mainly on delivering educational content in all areas of personal finance.  You can either subscribe by email which is delivered by Feedburner (a Google product) or click 'Subscribe in a reader' to get the RSS feed.

In addition, if you're a Twitter kind of guy or gal, we'd love to have you follow us.  You can find us @TodayForward.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support.  The feedback and encouragement that you've given us has been nothing short of HUGE.  As you've seen from the first round until now, we've really taken to heart the suggestions you've made as many of your requested changes have been included in the latest release.  With your continued support, we hope to have the site doing everything you want so you can better manage your finances.

At any rate, thank you again, and we're looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks,

Michael & Marc

P.S.  Don't be afraid to get LOUD with your comments.  We love us some feedback;)

When you're ready, click the button below to get started.

 

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