Re: Three Point Zero - Idea Mockups

[William Jon McCann <mccannwj pha jhu edu>]

Hi Nat,

I am very glad to hear about this.  The video sounds really interesting. 
 Perhaps we should start compiling all the usability study data on the 
web site someplace.

Nat Friedman wrote:
> For example, we asked a lady to send mail to a friend.  Against all
> odds, she started Evolution (nothing in the menus indicates that it's a
> mail program; something we hadn't realized before but which was
> immediately obvious after watching her stalk one-by-one through the menu
> items muttering to herself along the way).  

http://lists.ximian.com/pipermail/evolution-patches/2004-April/005011.html
http://lists.ximian.com/pipermail/evolution-hackers/2004-July/004079.html

> This is easy to fix; we just need to change the labels to be more
> sensible (and then test again on 5-6 people to make sure we changed them
> appropriately).  It was interesting to watch this video and instantly
> realize that the "Send / Receive" button is all about *how Evolution
> works* and not about *what the user wants to do*.  I've been staring at
> that button for five years, and never realized it was wrong until I saw
> that video.

http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/evolution-hackers/2004-December/004876.html

> Anna Dirks will be airing much of this video at GUADEC on Monday, before
> Lunch, and we will also be publishing a lot of it online as soon as we
> get all the participants to finish signing release waivers.  We're also
> thinking about providing funding for more of these usability labs so
> that other people can do this testing themselves.  The video talk will
> be followed by a hackfest, so people who want to work on improving the
> desktop we have, instead of engaging in an open-ended "GNOME 3"
> discussion, have a place to go.

Can you put a document on the web site that describes how to create such 
a usability lab and guidelines for its effective use?

> My point is just that there's plenty of cool and productive work for us
> to do that doesn't involve rethinking everything, breaking ABI, or doing
> something totally and fundamentally original in computing.  We are
> already doing something totally and fundamentally original in computer
> software -- we're building a completely free desktop environment upon
> which anyone can try out their craziest ideas, and we're trying to make
> it useful and exciting to regular people.  

Word.

Jon