Re: [Usability] Gparted: a usable program

[Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006, Kyle Brooks wrote:

> Date: Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:43:29 -0500
> From: Kyle Brooks <kyle kbrooks ath cx>
> To: Usability <usability gnome org>
> Subject: [Usability] Gparted: a usable program
>
> Hi all.
>
> Gparted is a usable program because it has similar looks and
> functionality to a competing program named PartitionMagic.
>
> It is simple to use. Maybe it could be made simpler to use. Thoughts?

References please.

I had to look them up so for anyone else who might be interested

GParted website
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

GParted screenshots
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/screenshots.php

Google Image search for gparted
http://images.google.com/images?q=gparted


I'm not sure disliking the gname counts as a usability issue but Gparted
certainly seems like a poor choice of top level menu label and over
aggressive branding at the very least.  (Since it is a Partition Editor
then Edit might be a good choice but I'd have to look closer.  I prefer
verbs for top level menu labels.)

I'm a big fan of competative analysis.  How well does Gparted compare to
recent versions of Partition Magic or other partition tools?

Does Gparted show descriptions of things (in particular all menu items) in
the Status bar on mouse over?

Can everything be accessed from the menus?  Having only three top level
menus seems almost like a waste of a menu bar for such a complex program
and I expect there might be room for more.  (Never force me to right
click.)

Can the toolbar text labels be shown?  (If appropriate do they follow the
gnome toolbar settings?)

I would hope I wouldn't have to use a partition tool very often, so the
less terminology I'm force to learn the better.  Are things explained and
documented within the interface or must you refer to the manual? (Avoid
acronyms and abbreviations, keep jargon to a minimum, try to explain why
one might prefer Ext3 or ReiserFS in context at the time when you are most
likely to want to know?)

Those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head.  I could probably
come up with more solid suggestions if I were to use a few Partition
programs, including Gparted and to reread the Gnome Human Interface
Guidelines.  Also if I was talking to the developer and they were
interested in making substantial changes I might more of an effort to take
a holistic approach rather than merely tweaking superficial details.


Sincerely

Alan Horkan

Inkscape http://inkscape.org
Abiword http://www.abisource.com
Dia http://gnome.org/projects/dia/
Open Clip Art http://OpenClipArt.org

Alan's Diary http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/