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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: KDE Usability Articles slowly starting
From:       Frans Englich <frans.englich () telia ! com>
Date:       2004-08-02 18:17:51
Message-ID: 200408021817.51596.frans.englich () telia ! com
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On Monday 02 August 2004 03:33, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> On Sunday 01 August 2004 09:22, Frans Englich wrote:
> > The two first articles are up.
>
> i've read them both, and will let them digest tonight ... at which point
> i'll try and respond lucidly.
>
> though i must say i think we're missing a KUA0: What Usability Means and
> Does Not Mean ;-) this is partly covered by #8 (what's 2-6, btw?) but not
> very clearly nor comprehensively.

The question is if we need to cover what usability is, and how such an article 
would help us. kua8 I wrote with the experience of kde-usability discussions 
as background(it does not try to outline what usability /is/, but how 
to /discuss/ usability issues), and with the purpose to help this list -- it's 
clear what role it will play.

As the article on ok-cancel.com outlines, it's easily happend we (poorly) 
reinvents the wheel -- the wikipedia on "usability" is pretty good, for 
example.

For what 2-6 is and the KUA project in general, see the original 
announcement(read the TOC file, but don't bother about the actual articles):

http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-usability&m=108939865814380&w=2

> besides the usual "feature requests are 
> not usability discusions", 

You mean like "feature wishes goes through bugzilla?" Yes, good idea.

> i think a distinction needs to be made between 
> "microusability" issues (colours, sizes, widget placement, individual
> layouts) and "macrousability" issues (c.f. the kcontrol rewrite). both are
> important, but they have (or at least shoud have) different parameters for
> discussion and action

I'm not quite following you, but it sounds like it should be additions to 
KUA8.

I would like to emphasize that the KUAs should be pragmatic, useful and 
relevant -- attached is a rewrite of the Purpose section.


			Frans

["new_purpose.diff" (text/x-diff)]

Index: kua1.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/kde/www/areas/usability/kua/kua1.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.1
diff -u -3 -p -r1.1 kua1.xml
--- kua1.xml	1 Aug 2004 00:53:59 -0000	1.1
+++ kua1.xml	2 Aug 2004 18:06:08 -0000
@@ -19,19 +19,22 @@
     
     <sect2>
         <title>Purpose</title>
-        <para>KDE Usability Articles(KUA) exist to promote KDE's
-            usability by filling the gap usability guidelines can not. 
-            KUAs may discuss any subject, small or big in shallow or deep
-            form, as long as it concerns KDE and usability. A KUA must
-            dictate a usability development approach or guideline for
-            KDE. It is not a forum for in general discussing usability
-            issues, although the KUA may be applicable in cases outside
-            KDE. Thus, a KUA is a resource of knowledge in the usability field,
-            tailored for KDE.<phrase/>
-            Interface Guidelines dictates designs by convention while a
-            KUA learns and builds general knowledge, making it easier to
-            do good decisions in the general case.
+        
+        <para>
+            The KDE Usability Articles project is a documentation platform
+            to the help of organizational and development problems on the
+            usability 
+            front. With no intentions to reinvent current achievements in the
+            human-computer interaction field, the mission is to provide easily
+            understood, highly relevant and pragmatic material tailored for
+            the specific problems KDE and open source has with 
+            usability development.
+            In addition, the KDE Usability Articles also act as a
+            standardization 
+            platform, covering the areas the KDE User Interface Guidelines
+            cannot.
         </para>
+        
     </sect2>
     
     <sect2>


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