Re: Baobab

[Jeff Waugh <jdub perkypants org>]

<quote who="Emmanuele Bassi">

> The user goal is stated in the part you snipped out:
> 
> +++
> 
> >  What are our users trying to achieve?
> 
> They are trying to see how their files are big, and where their disk space
> went, especially when a notification popup tells them that they have 88%
> of their disk full.
> 
> +++

Surely their goal is closer to "make more room on my disk for stuff I care
about" rather than "see how their files are big and where their disk space
went". :-)

> Since this commonly is a "one shot operation" (I don't spend my entire
> session time doing that, for instance) a "one shot application" fits the
> operation profile.
> 
> Everything descends from this point forward.

Different point of view: I know an Ubuntu community member is working on an
app to help a user clean up big stuff (and known things that take up a lot
of room) on their disk. So instead of telling them to go run the weird app
that makes them browse a graph of their disk and find stuff themselves, it
suggests things based on its knowledge of GNOME disk usage and analysis of
other large directories.

Which user experience do you think is most helpful and/or delightful?

Before saying "we don't have this functionality therefore we must put it
in", we really need to analyse what the actual problems are for our users,
and think critically about how to solve them in helpful and/or delightful
ways. I'm not suggesting that's easy, of course. :-)

- Jeff

-- 
linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia           http://lca2007.linux.org.au/
 
  "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am: Stuck in the
     middle with you." - Steeler's Wheel, Stuck in the Middle With You