And you intend to understand your target audience's needs without including it in the discussion?
Marc Lajoie ps. Where's your science that says that users resist changing their work-flow based "more [on] ... fear of change and the unknown"? Isn't it possible their preferences are not completely invalid? pps. I have to go to sleep, so will be abandoning this discussion soon. On Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 11:25 PM, Mitja Pagon <mitja.pa...@inueni.com>wrote: > There is absolutely nothing wrong with full-screen writing software from > design perspective, actually they make a lot of sense in that particular > case (backed by science), it's just that that doesn't make full-screen an > optimal case for every application. > > I suspect that you are somewhat misinterpreting what interaction/user > experience (even industrial) design is, it's not about forcing designers own > views upon users, that called bad design and it's sadly omnipresent, it's > rather about understanding your target audiences needs and providing an > optimal interface for those needs. > > Users existing habits and work-flow are a common obstacle to adoption of > new interfaces, but that has more to do with the fear of change and the > unknown and it doesn't imply that said interface is bad. MS Office ribbon > interface is a good example of that, lot's existing users complained, but > new users and users who got beyond that initial fear, were actually very > pleased with the experience (a similar example in the field of programing > languages is VB.NET at the time it was released). > > Cheers, > Mitja > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marc Lajoie" <manorap...@gmail.com> > To: "Lee Hyde" <anub...@gmail.com> > Cc: ayatana@lists.launchpad.net > Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 3:37:11 PM > Subject: Re: [Ayatana] Design problems in general > > I am a writer. I write fiction using my computer, which for me is a > creative tool. > My workflow is maybe chaotic, sometimes illogical, but it works for me. An > interface that is not flexible enough to adapt to my creative workflow is a > system I will not use. I am not about to change the way I create my art at > the insistence of a machine. > This is the sort of thing a designer can't hope to understand without some > input from the end-user. Ubuntu is supposed to be for human beings, and > human beings are not always logical; This is not a bug but a feature. > A perfect example is the fullscreen text-editors that are popular among > writers. Interface designers, I suspect, are baffled at why any user would > want to hide the entire interface (including information-giving pieces of > interface that in no way cover or interfere with the writing space). But to > me, and to many writers, having an aesthetically pleasing writing > environment is inspiring. It is not the most logical, efficient possible > layout, granted. But it's pretty, and pretty makes me happy--and being happy > helps me write. > > Marc Lajoie > > On Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:59 PM, Lee Hyde <anub...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> On 16/03/11 13:01, Thorsten Wilms wrote: >> > If you are not under too tight constraints, the questionshouldn't be >> > how something is being done, not even how users would like to do it, but >> > rather: how should they do it? >> >> I thoroughly disagree with this assessment of UI/X design for the >> following reasons: >> >> 1. It flies in the face of Ubuntu's "Linux for Humans" motto >> >> 2. There is a risk of over-intellectualising UI/X design >> >> As I see it (and do correct me if I'm wrong) there is a lack of data >> to support the 'how it should be done' philosophy. How does one >> arrive at a conclusion of 'how it should be done'? Have there been >> any mouse tracking or eye tracking studies on the subject? If so did >> any of them cover the ease with which end-users adapted to UI >> changes such as the adoption of left-alignment of window controls or >> UI changes resulting from switching operating systems? Is there any >> data concerning uptake of packages and/or settings to subvert >> changes to the UI/X (beyond the mere existence of such packages)? >> Without such data I fail to see how one could arrive at a conclusive >> decision regards a UI/X redesign. >> >> It would be nice to have some form of opt-in anonymous data >> gathering package (census?) for precisely this kind of data >> gathering. Something similar to Mozilla's Test Pilot and LabKit >> add-ons which could be used to enrol users (which their prior >> knowledge and ultimate control) in new UI/X studies and >> prototype/proof-of-concept UI/X designs. Whether you'd get enough >> participants to make it worth the developers efforts I don't though, >> although I would certainly participate in any studies and many >> prototypes on offer. >> >> There is of course a place for artistic license, but not at the cost >> flexibility or at the risk of dictating how the end-user must use >> their computer. For example, would it really be so terrible to offer >> the end user options such as positioning of the Unity panel (bottom >> or top), or positioning of the Unity dock/springboard? Would it be >> terrible to consider the users upgrade path when designing (or >> rather setting up) the interface. A lifelong windows user might >> prefer a bottom-aligned panel and right-aligned window controls to >> smooth the transition whilst a MacOSX user might prefer precisely >> the opposite. >> >> On 16/03/11 13:01, Thorsten Wilms wrote: >> > Sometimes the problem may be certain users stubbornness rather than >> > anything else, especially if you design for the long term. So the answer >> > may have to be wrapped up in a strategy to "sell" it. >> >> It's not always simply a case of user stubbornness. >> >> Speaking from personal experience, the decision to enforce >> left-alignment of window controls in Unity will have a negative >> impact on my own work flow. Due to circumstances beyond my control I >> have little choice but to dual-boot both Ubuntu and Windows. I work >> within a laboratory environment wherein many proprietary control and >> data analysis software is reliant on a Windows platform (often >> legacy). Hence I fund myself having to dual-boot or VM into Windows >> frequently, to translate and/or manipulate data gathered via >> laboratory equipment. This is a very jarring experience, and the >> shift to and fro left-aligned window controls certainly impacts on >> my efficiency. >> >> Of course the above use case is a rather nice scenario, but I am >> sure than numerous office worker suffer from similarly strict >> (although for different reasons entirely) IT provisioning that >> forces them to use Windows in the workplace. Some thought ought to >> be given to the 'forced to dual-boot' community, as I'm sure it's a >> sizeable one. The consistency of user experience should be a goal, >> not only within Ubuntu itself, but throughout the users experience. >> The Windows platform is unlikely to offer a left-aligned mode, and >> so it falls to Ubuntu/Unity to offer an (optional) right-aligned >> mode lest risk vexing their 'forced to dual-boot' user base. As >> things stand, I will have to forgo Unity in favour of gnome-panel >> until this particular issue is addressed (assuming it ever will be) >> but if push comes to shove I will have little choice but to default >> to Windows (laboratory equipment manufacturers are unlikely to >> provision Linux based software any time soon) and I can see myself >> using Ubuntu less and less (which is a shame, as I far prefer it to >> Windows). >> >> -- >> >> "The second basic thesis is that intellectual freedom is essential >> to human society — freedom to obtain and distribute information, >> freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate and freedom from >> pressure by officialdom and prejudices. Such a trinity of freedom of >> thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass >> myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, >> can be transformed into bloody dictatorship. Freedom of thought is >> the only guarantee of the feasibility of a scientific democratic >> approach to politics, economics and culture." >> >> -- Andrei Sakharov, The New York Times (July 22nd, 1968) >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ayatana >> Post to : ayatana@lists.launchpad.net >> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ayatana >> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ayatana > Post to : ayatana@lists.launchpad.net > Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ayatana > More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >
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