Weekly Response 10

Arms Ch. 8: Usability and interface design

Aspects of usability: interface design, functional design, data and metadata, computer systems and networks. These are built on the conceptual model.

Interface design: appearance on the screen and manipulation by the user

Functional design: functions available to the user

Data and metadata: provided by the library

Computer systems and networks: necessary to make everything work.

Desktop metaphor: pioneered by the amazing Apple, it is most common now: a graphical interface that mimics the idea of an actual desk with folders, files and documents on it.

Browser function: retrieve a file from a web server and render it on the computer.

Digital libraries must accept that browsers are how users access the DL.

Digital Library Design for Usability

Interface Usability: Learnability, efficiency, memorability, and errors.

Organizational Usability: accessibility, compatibility, integratibility into work places, and social-organizational expertise.

Take home message: Know your community. Make the DL software to serve them.

Evaluation of Digital Libraries

Digital library designers and digital library users are at war!

Evaluation of digital libraries is not widespread because they are very complex, it is too early in their development to evaluate them, nobody cares, there isn't enough money, and evaluation is not part of the culture. Hence, it is difficult for DL designers to realize that the users are angry. This is unfortunate, because libraries of any sort are supposed to cater to patrons. Without happy patrons, the DL will not be used. If it is not used, then funding will dry up. Make your users/patrons happy!

Designing User Interfaces

Usability goals:
1. Appropriate to user needs.
2. Must be reliable in function.
3. Must be standardized to ease learning.
4. Must complete projects on time and within budget.

Thoughts: This article lays out many of the ideas mentioned before, but in a more generalized sense. One of the ideas they talk about is standardization and compatibility. The more standardized a program is, and the more compatible it is between other programs and versions, the more successful it will be. Think Microsoft, Windows and the Office suite. It's success was a function of the compatibility and standardization of all of those things. What surprises me so much about Vista and the new Office 2007 suite is how much they abandoned that premise. Office is barely compatible with its previous versions, and they completely revamped everything so it is new and not standardized. No wonder no one likes it! Perhaps Windows should learn from its own lessons.