Re: [Usability] user levels, etc.

[Jeff Waugh <jdub perkypants org>]

<quote who="Luis Villa">

> One person or any small team dictating that 'I know what is best for all
> of you' is /not/ a good compromise

You will generally hear the usability people (often the only people talking
about removal of crack preferences, other than Havoc) talk about "user
testing".

User testing does not equate to "one person or any small team dictating", it
means giving Real Users tasks to achieve with an interface, and analysing
where they stuff up (which is, in the end, an interface issue).

> especially when the rule of thumb is to err on the side of simplicity and
> not on the side of choice.

Brand me a pinko, but I will gladly throw away the crack preferences that I
use to make a simpler GNOME, capable of reaching a wider audience. [1]

Are we just happy to say, "this engineer's desktop pleases me"? Perhaps, but
if we have ambitions of reaching a wider audience (let everyone know if this
is not the case, you may see some surprised faces), or even delusions of
grandeur, we have to make a very aggressive stance on the quality of our
user interface.

- Jeff

[1] I can't wait for the "usability is communism" argument. It will be
hilarious for the Australian/European participants anyway.

-- 
       "A rest with a fermata is the moral opposite of the fast food        
           restaurant with express lane." - James Gleick, Faster