Re: [Usability] Future of the menu top bar?

["Shane M. Coughlan" <shane shaneland co uk>]

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Alexandre Silva wrote:
> You make a good point. Having the top menu makes more sense to me too.
> Perhaps we should have more information regarding these tests, questions
> like what kind of users where targeted (i'm not talking demographics
> here, but it would be good to know where they come from), the size of
> the sample and tests duration, pop in my mind.

As a follow-up, I believe that it could be very useful to ask Novell et
al why they have made certain decisions with regards screen layout.
Their decisions would not have been taken lightly, and their process
might enlighten us.

As Roberto said "first step we should know what was considered
problematic during its testing."  That should apply not only to the
usability tests mentioned at the start of this thread, but also with
regards the testing other friendly parties might have undertaken.

IMHO Alexandre is quite right in suggesting that we need a lot more work
on defining our samples before any judgments can be made.  There is a
real danger of too much speculation, and not enough definition.  There
is also the possibility that the HIG will have to be revised to take
into account user testing.

Alan, you mentioned before that GNOME is currently lacking user
profiles.  Our audiences are not entirely clear.  Perhaps this is really
going to be the determining issue with regards making large-scale
usability decisions.  That being said, GNOME appears to have done a
great job of providing for most users.  It's adoption is very widespread
precisely because many people find utility for it.  It's possible
therefore that real-world usage patterns might inform the creation of
user profiles.

Shane

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