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Subject:Re: my bad displays habit From:Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com, dvora -at- tech-challenged -dot- com Date:Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:39:08 -0800 (PST)
Specifying the window/feature that is supposed to appear next could be thought of as a fault-isolation measure. Suppose somebody clicks on a button and he has been told the X window is supposed to open, but the Y window opens instead. At this point he has a sign that something went wrong somewhere. I think that would actually be a useful thing in UIs for software where getting things right is *really* important, like the software used to calculate dosages in nuclear medicine treatments.
Of course, it would be best if there is no need to consider specifying what window opens next. In a perfect world the UI and the software would be constructed so there is no need for long sequences with a chain of one window after another. But when will that ever happen?
> From: Deborah Hemstreet <dvora -at- tech-challenged -dot- com>
> Subject: Re: my bad displays habit
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010, 3:55 PM
> Actually, I think some of us would be
> surprised. I still meet people, on a regular basis, who
> aren't sure which button to click on their mouse.
>
> At the end of the day it is going to depend on your
> audience. IF you know you are writing for the under 20s
> group, you can assume they know... for the most part (if
> they aren't brought up in Ethiopia without a computer).
>
> Some people click and get a screen and loose all ability to
> read or think about what they see.
>
> At the end of the day it boils down to: Know Your
> Audience.
>
> While we all agree with this, it is amazing how much we are
> prone to assume, but as my Mom used to say: Assume is
> ass=u+me
>
> Happy Saturday!
>
> Deborah
>
> On 02/26/2010 6:05 PM, Gene Kim-Eng wrote:
> > I wrote user docs like that 25 years ago when half my
> readers were likely to be people who were staring at the
> first GUI they'd ever seen, but is there anyone left today
> who's surprised when clicking on something brings up a
> window, or even contemplates the possibility that they've
> gotten the wrong one?
> >
> > Gene Kim-Eng
> >
> >
>
>
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