Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on July 20, 2004 02:36 AM
Part of the problem is the idea that 'they just aren't used to the system'. Too often it is used an excuse to not change something. "What? You don't know all the keystrokes for vi? Well you just need to learn the difference between vi and Word."
Ever run across a 'feature' that just really annoyed you? How about "are you sure you want to exit" when you have done nothing to create or change data. For a casual user, it's not a big deal. But for a daily user it can be real annoying.
Ever worked with an application that kept forcing you to move from keyboard to mouse and back to keyboard? Data entry, navigation... Web pages are notoriously bad at this.
And from the article, there should NOT be a menu item called 'smbUmount'. As a user, I don't care what smb is Umounting. Why not 'Disconnect this network location'?
The article sends us on some random detours. Usability has nothing to do with code check-ins, privacy, or OS independence.
It's pretty simple really; take a group of target users, have them point out things that are unclear or difficult, follow through with making the changes. This is the process we need instead of: 'well, there's a learning curve, you'll get used to it'.
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Re:useability is relative
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on July 20, 2004 02:36 AMEver run across a 'feature' that just really annoyed you? How about "are you sure you want to exit" when you have done nothing to create or change data. For a casual user, it's not a big deal. But for a daily user it can be real annoying.
Ever worked with an application that kept forcing you to move from keyboard to mouse and back to keyboard? Data entry, navigation... Web pages are notoriously bad at this.
And from the article, there should NOT be a menu item called 'smbUmount'. As a user, I don't care what smb is Umounting. Why not 'Disconnect this network location'?
The article sends us on some random detours. Usability has nothing to do with code check-ins, privacy, or OS independence.
It's pretty simple really; take a group of target users, have them point out things that are unclear or difficult, follow through with making the changes. This is the process we need instead of: 'well, there's a learning curve, you'll get used to it'.
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