Re: [Usability]too much choice?

[Jeff Waugh <jdub perkypants org>]

<quote who="Alan Horkan">

> the most important idea in it to me was that you can have much more
> options if you organise them better, organisation is the bigger problem
> than too much choice.

I'm considering writing a proper rebuttal of his rebuttal, but I'm not sure
I could be bothered. Would like to have a fairly non-partisan approach to
the debate anyway.

Anyway, organisation doesn't win you much. If there are too many dials and
buttons for people to comprehend it all as a simple system in their heads,
then there are simply too many.

Put it this way: Do you understand your microwave? When we got our first
microwave, it had a very simple interface. There were a set of buttons
labelled LO, MED and HI, a large round dial with single and five minute
increments labelled and an OFF position at the bottom left, and a big button
labelled "OPEN DOOR".

This is a really simple system, and I can keep the entire model in my head
at one time. One of my friend's microwaves has 34 flat buttons on the front
panel, and a big button labelled "OPEN DOOR". I am yet to understand more
than about 6 of those buttons and the modes they put the microwave into as
you're setting up what you want to cook.

If organisation helped, surely KDE's searchable control center would be
unarguably the best configuration interface ever. Is it? I personally don't
think it is, but I'm not about to tell them they're "wrong". Mosfet's tone
is very different to Havoc's. :-)

Here's a quick quote to summarise why organisation doesn't help:

  "It's not sufficient to 'use simple words to explain things'. Things must
  actually *be* simple, which is much harder." - Martin Pool

- Jeff

-- 
    "Think video. Think text flickering over your walls. Think games at     
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