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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Kcontrol proposal - screenshot
From:       "Michael E. Peligro" <optimus () philwebinc ! com>
Date:       2002-09-13 3:30:55
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On Monday 09 September 2002 06:58 am, Waldo Bastian wrote:

> > > > What do you mean with "nested groups"? A 3 level hierarchy? Why is
> > > > that so bad?
> > >
> > > because users grapple with trees as it is, making them deep trees makes
> > > the problem quite a bit worse. at least according to the stuff i've
> > > been reading about trees.
> >
> > http://www.sapdesignguild.org/community/design/hierarchies.asp
> >
> > Go down to "People and Hierarchies" for more info on this topic.
> > Replacing depth with breadth is a recommended strategy for making trees
> > easier for people. If depth is becoming a problem we might have to
> > consider adding more items on the top level.
>
> I think the biggest problem in the control center is:
>
> "The Underestimated Importance of Category Names
>
> Category names are more important than many developers believe. From a
> user's point of view, however, well-chosen category names are essential for
> them when searching items in a data set. Names or labels may be responsible
> for a user's success or failure at finding an item. Much time can be wasted
> if users randomly browse data sets without any sense of orientation. Even
> more time is wasted if they fail altogether to find what they are looking
> for."
>
> But that is what we are currently working on.
>
> One of the complaints against hierarchies that gets mentioned is: "Deeply
> nested hierarchies cause even more problems because people get
> disorientated." But I don't think that applies very much to a 3-level
> hierarchy, that's hardly "deeply nested". Also the risk of getting
> "disoriented" is greatly reduced IMO with the treeview because it shows the
> user where (s)he is at all times.
>
> The other complaint against hierarchies is that dymanic hierarchies are
> disorienting. But the control center isn't dynamic it is very static. (And
> after 3.1 it will hopefully not change in any major way for several
> releases)

Here are my thoughts on tree views. 

Most developers think along the lines of modularity, instantiating and 
keeping track of child-parent objects. Sometimes this bias spills over to 
user-interface design. And to think along those lines is logical for them.

Most developers often think of "abstract", "container" categories and 
sub-categories, so to speak, because if one programs in C++, one needs to 
understand the hierarchy of objects.

The hierarchy of objects is logical, yes. But to implement the logic of 
hierarchies in the form of tree views and categories in the KControl is not 
always a good usability practice.

Developers logical grasp of things .
Categories, sub-categories
        Application - main window - child objects
        Kspread - spreadsheet area - rows & colums - cells - cell format

Users on the other hand, are task-oriented people and want fast access 
"shortcuts" to commonly used tasks first.   
        Edit, Delete, Insert
        Edit cell, delete rows & columns, insert graphic, print a file, etc...
        Adjust Printing (Cups), Adjust Fonts, Adjust Mouse Settings
	
This is the reason why the Windows Control Panel is more logical and 
user-friendly than KDE's Control Center. Frequent configuration tasks involve 
configuring printers, fonts, hardware, so the Windows Control Panel is 
task-based (Add/Edit/Remove -- Printers, Users, Hardware, Multimedia..etc).
Using a flat, view all icons for immediate access also makes this easier. 
Want to change the mouse settings? They see the mouse icon, click, instant 
access. No time wasted thinking about what category the mouse settings belong 
(Peripherals). Users don't need to think about this category in the first 
place.

Contrast this now with KDE's Control Center, where the first thing you see is 
a tree-view at the left with no initial icons in the center pane. Presenting 
a tree-navigational view is typical of the way developers think, categories 
and subcategories. Users when presented with this panel find it hard to 
navigate since they have to think what major category their intended task 
belongs to, and this is where confusion sets in (like, where's the mouse 
settings? Does mouse settings belongs to Personalization category? System 
category?). So a user is delayed because he is unecessarily forced to think 
of the category that his task belongs (tree-view effect), instead of giving 
him immediate visual information (displaying the icon) and access to it. The 
user is not very concerned with categories (only developers). The user also 
does the extra work of wading through every branch in the tree to find where 
the controls are.

It is also far easier to recognize than to recall. Plus, it's more easier to 
remember visual cues instead of words. Putting these two together is even 
better. (Icons over text).

So the Windows Control Panel uses our greater ability of recognition (seeing 
the icons and text immediately) and provides immediate access to it (no 
wading through the tree structure).

KDE Control Center tree view has icons and text, yes, but it forces you to 
unecessarily think of categories (tree-vew display) before you get to your 
desired task. And that is bad for usability.

I suggest that we reorganized the KControl. Instead of the unhelpful startup 
page of KControl ("Welcome to the KDE Control Center, a central place to 
configure...). The startup page should contain icons of "commonly and 
frequently" used controls, like mouse settings, font settings, network 
settings, sound settings, background settings, desktop settings, etc...(much 
like in Windows Control Panel). However, we retain the tree list view in the 
left for flexibility.

Lycoris has an excellent and very user-friendly tree-view categories in their 
version of KControl. These are neatly arranged with the commonly-used 
settings at the top down to the least commonly-used.

Tree views on the left PLUS a startup page of icons  for "commonly-used" 
settings in the center will be better. The icons in the center will provide 
immediate access without forcing the user to think of categories. The tree 
view at the left, if done like Lycoris' hierarchy, will likewise provide 
another way to access these controls. In that manner, power-users and newbies 
will feel comfortable with both approaches.

Regards,
Michael
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