> Is it delivering what the user intends, or is it
> trying to do too much behind a thick layer
> of abstraction that makes a lot of assumptions
> about the user's intentions?
Sometimes ( but not often enough to pass muster )
the former, in essence the latter. ( I.e., for *this*
user -- but users of course come in many flavors. )
To sum up : still pretty crude.
- Laval Hunsucker
Breukelen, Nederland
----- Original Message ----
From: Peter Schlumpf <pschlumpf_at_GMAIL.COM>
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Sent: Tue, March 30, 2010 10:12:47 PM
Subject: [NGC4LIB] User interace design and trust
The little faux pas that I committed yesterday by mixing my personal email
with the ngc4lib list sheds a little light on user interface issues. I've
been thinking today why this happened. It was late and I was tired last
night. But I think part of the problem is the Gmail interface hides too
much, and makes it too easy to make such mistakes. Now I am not trusting
it. Is it really doing what I intend? Am I really replying to that person
only, or am I replying to the group as well? The Gmail interface isn't
clear about that. I actually have to take a look at the raw email headers
to verify that what I intended actually happened. And one can only do that
after the fact.
I think this can be applied to catalog interfaces as well. Is it delivering
what the user intends, or is it trying to do too much behind a thick layer
of abstraction that makes a lot of assumptions about the user's intentions?
Trust is a big issue with user interface design.
Peter Schlumpf
http://www.avantilibrarysystems.com
Received on Wed Mar 31 2010 - 15:44:25 EDT