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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Mini usability study
From:       Thomas Zander <TZander () factotummedia ! nl>
Date:       2004-09-28 15:46:23
Message-ID: 20040928154623.GA6161 () factotummedia ! nl
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On Tue, Sep 28, 2004 at 01:18:36PM +0200, Maurizio Colucci wrote:
> >>- "What are these virtual desktops? I don't understand! They are all the 
> >>same!" (he thought he would have found alternate interfaces.)
> >>   
> >>
> >
> >FIrst of all; why was he confused?  In a normal case I would think a user
> >does not even have to know its there.
> > 
> >
> I don't follow you here. Virtual desktops are the first thing a windows 
> user notices, because they don't exist under windows.

That is not my experience; the only way a user will be aware of them is that
there are 4 'displays' in his kicker.  Most users ignore the things they don't
recognice or understand.  I rarely seen an simple Windows user explore and
actually get a problem with functionality he never seen before, but does not
need for the problem at hand.

> He clicks them, 
> they all look the same: of course he is puzzled. Their usefulness is 
> only clear after months of usage (at least for me).

Ah;  a user test most of the time focuses on getting jobs done;  ask the user
to print a certain email.  Stuff like that.
I'm getting the impression you let the user explore and comment on what he
sees.  Is that about right?
The question for usability is not 'is it immidiately obvious'; it
more like: 'is it hindering productivity when unused, and will it be usefull
when recognized'.
So I'm guessing that this is not really a problem per see..

> >>- he was very annoyed by not finding how to read the free space on the 
> >>disks.
> >>   
> >>
> >
> >Why did he need to know?  Was this a habit of the user
> >
> The first thing you do when you install linux is try to see how it opens 
> your existing documents/pics/movies. You have first to locate them. He 
> couldn't.

That does not explain why he needed to know the free space...

From my experience users only look at diskspace when a dialog makes them
aware the disk is full;  or (when they have had this problem often) 
when copying something large to the disk.
If your user needed it for another purpose; I'm interrested why that was.


> >,  or an assignment
> >of yours?
> >I'm not aware that full-disks are need-to-know info nowadays; please 
> >correct me if I'm wrong.
> >
> Windows users develop a disk-centric way of thinking; they are well 
> aware of their disks, and of what it is on each disk. This user had a 
> central disk, and two removable hard disk racks, one of which was of his 
> daughter. The central disk contained stuff that was needed by both him 
> and his daughter.

...

> he is the kind of person that 
> has never used a search functionality in his life. He used his first pc 
> when about 40 years old; he grew up scanning paper pages with his eyes, 
> and he continues to do so.

Hehe; not really your typical user :)
But interresting points non the less!

-- 
Thomas Zander

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