Re: [Usability] Comments about this new paradigm?

[Nadyne Mielke <nmielke acm org>]

At 08:24 AM 1/28/2004, Maurizio Colucci wrote:
> Hello dear usability experts,
> I was wondering what you think about this new program/paradigm.
> Screenshots and code at:
>   http://segusoland.sourceforge.net
> Does this violate some usability rule?

The only rule in usability is to design for your user.

Personally, I find the initial interface to be overwhelming.  All verbs 
(I'd make that 'actions', since I'm going to guess that the average user 
doesn't think in terms of parts of speech) looks to be a bloody huge 
list.  How long do I have to scroll until I get to 'view picture'?  And 
what if I'm thinking of 'look at picture' instead of 'view picture'?  How 
do I know that I want to print the picture first?  I want to look at it 
first, then decide to print it.

What if I don't know the difference between burning a disc from ISO and 
burning a data disc?  Why should the user have to care about that 
difference?  Isn't the difference between burning an audio disc and burning 
from audio and a CUE file a rather arbitrary distinction?  What if I don't 
think in terms of burning a disc, but rather copying a disc?

Users generally tend to like moving from left to right (in cultures that 
read that way, anyway).  Your interface lets the user start anywhere, which 
means that they have to do a lot of searching back and forth to figure out 
where they're going next.  There's no meaningful progression.  I see that 
you've tried to add a red arrow to address that issue, but the issue here 
is with your design and not the interface itself.

You spend a lot of time taking about actions, files, programs, and devices, 
but not very much time talking about the 'all times' thing.  That seems to 
indicate that it's not an important part of the interface.  For most tasks, 
most people don't want to schedule them.  I don't want to view a picture in 
an hour, I want to view it now.  Certainly, scheduling is important for 
some types of tasks, but not for the vast majority of them.  Your example 
of shutting down the computer is probably a bit of a stretch.

The 'go' button is just odd.  It looks like, for the most part, I don't 
have to use it (say, I click 'view picture', select the picture file, 
select the program, and it's there.  But other times, I have to notice that 
Go button, and then click it.  This means that there are two different 
interaction styles for what the user sees as the same kind of task.  Or am 
I wrong, and I have to go back to the verb column and click the 'go' button 
that always appears there?  That's an extra step, an extra click, and it 
just slows me down.

For your 'very good Tracy Chapman' songs, it looks like I have to create a 
folder for 'Tracy Chapman', and then create a folder (subfolder of 'Tracy 
Chapman'? I have no idea) that indicates that some songs are 'very 
good'.  This means that I have to have organised my media files according 
to that kind of scheme.  I can't speak for anyone else, but my media files 
are organised in folders by artist, then subfolders by album.  And I'm not 
going to rename the files so that they say 'very good' in them.  What 
happens if I think that 'Fast Car' is a very good song, but my boyfriend 
despises it?  Do we each have to create a category of 'very good' songs, so 
that I have to click on 'Tracy Chapman', 'Nadyne's songs', and then 'very 
good', so that I get to listen to 'Fast Car'?

/nm