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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: KDE 3.0.2 Usability Study - First Steps
From:       Matt Bonyak <dingodonkey () stny ! rr ! com>
Date:       2002-07-18 2:38:22
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On Wednesday 17 July 2002 09:51 pm, Sebastien Biot wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I posted a couple of days ago this short paper
> (www.viralata.net/kde_usability/001_01.html) summarizing the results
> of a usability test I conducted on KDE 3.0.2. This is the first of a
> series of tests I hope to conduct this summer and fall.
>
> I hope you find it useful.
>
> Seb

Excellent study!

Some notes on your findings:

"It is my understanding though that KDE 3.1 will provide a "Keep this window 
open after the operation is complete" checkbox which is a step in the right 
direction to solve this problem."
 - Is it to be left up as the default?  Either way, there should be a "Do not 
show this confirmation in the future" checkbox for when it is left up, if 
there isn't already.

"The second most looked at module was "Desktop" under "Look-and-Feel". Some 
eventually found the "Background" module, some gave up the "Control Center" 
altogether and tried their luck with the Panel's "Preferences..." option."
 - Perhaps expanding the "Look-and-Feel" menu by default would help?  Isn't 
that the most common reason people go into the Control Centre?  Another 
option could be renaming it to something more like "Desktop Settings."

"One user, when asked to move files from one directory to another (task 2), 
selected all icons, right-clicked to select cut from the context menu, then 
selected the destination folder, right-clicked again and selected paste from 
the context menu. A Windows user, he was expecting that this would move all 
files to the directory he had selected. What happened instead was that his 
files were moved to the selected directory's parent directory."
 - We all do silly things when we first learn a new interface.  Some things, 
like this, are just a matter of learning the KDE way.  I wouldn't make any 
changes here -- once you make the (easily correctable) mistake, it probably 
(hopefully) won't happen again.  The same goes for the single click, only 
that one takes a bit longer to learn.

"When users were asked to edit a text file located in their home directory, 
they clicked on the file's icon opening the document with the embedded viewer 
in read-only mode."
 - Why not have an "edit" option in the embedded viewer?  I understand why 
it's read-only by default, as I use it that way quite often, but I even 
sometimes wish there was a simple, obvious "edit" button.  I'd be lost 
without my middle mouse button.  Better yet, switch the function of the 
middle and left buttons!

"At least one user started working on one of the compressed files as if it had 
been available to her (and the file system) in its uncompressed form."
 - I agree, this is a problem.  Perhaps there should be an indicator 
(immediate thought: very soft gold-yellow [or any other light colour] stripe 
at the bottom with short white text reminding the user that they are in a 
compressed file, and that it is read-only)?

"It may also make sense in the case of documents which are primarily viewed or 
heard and not edited such as HTML or MP3 files."
 - I disagree.  Nothing is more annoying to me than opening a music or video 
file and having it take up the Konqueror window.  It would be easier if they 
opened into their own windows.


 - dingo
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