From kde-usability  Mon May 01 23:12:41 2006
From: Celeste Lyn Paul <celeste () kde ! org>
Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 23:12:41 +0000
To: kde-usability
Subject: Re: amaroK usability report
Message-Id: <200605011912.48319.celeste () kde ! org>
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Some of my comments:

1.  'skin' or 'theme' would also be good names to use as well

3. i dont know if this is really an issue.  the bigger issue is if users=20
understand what collection means, if so then its more of a branding issue.

4. this is also a HIG compliance issue

7. also note that the file dialog does have shortcuts to things like home a=
nd=20
favorites and that may be something the developers should look at when they=
=20
redesign this dialog

12. in supplement to your dialog about vertical text: when we read, we=20
basically recognize patters and not individual letters.  its easier for us =
to=20
recognize vertical permutations of text (normal and upside down) however=20
vertical and backwards text is much more difficult.  you may want to sugges=
t=20
them to use large icons with small text, it seems to do well for kontact.

14. menu organization is a big problem for applications.  you may want to=20
suggest some alternate organizations since adoption of the new HIG will=20
probably take time across the environment

16. more HIG stuff

(wow.. this is a thorough report..)

37. a lot of people are in favour of more descriptive buttons to help make=
=20
choices.  where i see a lot of potential for this, it seems as if the dialo=
g=20
messages are getting more complicated because they dont have to fit in to a=
n=20
OK/Cancel decision

i see you are up on your readings, you reference a lot of important papers =
in=20
your report.

its also worth noting that heuristics are often interface peculiarities tha=
t=20
wont be caught by a user test, however they do effect the user on some leve=
l,=20
usually subconciously.  sometimes a user may comment that something doesnt=
=20
look or feel right but wont be able to pick out what is bothering them.

im not sure if i would have graded some of the issues you found the way you=
=20
did, but overall it was a good review with good suggestions for the amaroK=
=20
team.  thanks for your work!

~ Celeste

On Monday 01 May 2006 18:33, Chi Shang Cheng wrote:
> I have conducted a quick heuristic evaluation of amaroK.
>
> Abstract:
> After a short heuristic evaluation of Amarok, a total of 41 usability
> issues were found. Only 8 issues of low severity were found, 11 were mark=
ed
> medium, and the remaining 22 issues considered highly severe.
> Most of the issues were related to design flaws. The application was not
> tested for task-oriented usability. Even though the application functioned
> properly from a technical perspective, attention should be given to a more
> aesthetic user interface design in the future.
>
> I wished MS Word could handle images better... the spacing isn't correct
> here and there, but it's the content that matters. :)
>
> I have tried to upload the report on OpenUsability.org, but it didn't wor=
k.
> Hopefully, the following URL should work:
> http://chishangcheng.googlepages.com/amaroKusabilityreport.pdf
> It should be noted that this evaluation was not thorough. I'm planning to
> do some more usability work on amaroK after 1.4 final release. Hopefully,
> most issues that I have addressed can be fixed in time for 1.4. :)
>
> Comments are welcome!
>
> Chi Shang

=2D-=20
Celeste Lyn Paul
KDE Usability Project
usability.kde.org

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