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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
From:       kudling () kde ! org
Date:       2003-01-30 12:39:30
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Hi,

this sort of backs a stripped down "Settings" app with only one level
imho.

"Avoid invisible navigation. 

Most users cannot and will not build elaborate mental maps and will
become lost or tired if expected to do so.

The World Wide Web, for all its pretty screens and fancy buttons, is, in
effect, an invisible navigation space. True, you can always see the
specific page you are on, but you cannot see anything of the vast space
between pages. Once users reach our applications, we must take care to
reduce navigation to a minimum and make that navigation that is left
clear and natural. Present the illusion that users are always in the
same place, with the work brought to them. This not only eliminates the
need for maps and other navigational aids, it offers users a greater
sense of mastery and autonomy.

As with the inherent statelessness of the web (see Track State, above),
our job is not to accept blindly what the architects have given us, but
to add the layers of capability and protection that users want and need.
That the web's navigation is inherently invisible is a challenge, not an
inevitability."


That's the hardest part:

"Applications should attempt to anticipate the user's wants and needs."

and

"Eliminate any element of the application that is not helping. Be
ruthless."

I could take over the part of being ruthless. ;)

Bye
Lenny
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