Great report Flynn, I'm wondering why there are no reactions from the Team.
On Sun, Mar 24, 2019, 08:09 Flynn Liu via gimp-gui-list < gimp-gui-list@gnome.org> wrote: > Hello, GIMP developers: > > In January 2018, I conducted a user test on GIMP v2.8, as part of a class > project. User testing is the process of having representative users from > your user personas do a task designed by the interviewer. The interviewer > then records breakdowns, situations in which the test participant is able > to follow a sequence of steps toward the final goal, but got stuck at some > point, failing to complete the task. > > I wrote a lot in the original report, but that was not a good way of > communicating. In this email, I will summarize the report. > > I interviewed 5 people. Two of them are part-time photographers who have > 60k+ followers on social media. The other three are STEM students who > occasionally edit images for class projects. I will name them A, B, C, D, > E, respectively. > > Task: consider the photo of a paper cup stack. Select the cup stack and > turn it black-and-white. A rough selection is ok. > > ==================== > Issue 1: sub-windows > ==================== > > All test participants expressed their confusion regarding the sub-windows > in GIMP v2.8. One of them wondered if they belonged to different programs. > Despite this, all participants started doing the task without changing the > default window layout. At the end, I asked each of them to find an existing > option that “turns everything into one window,” but nobody found it. > Participant A looked into the preferences dialog, did not find the option, > and started browsing all the menubar items. He even opened the “window” > menu, but did not recognize the option. > > > Does the user think of the right thing at the right time (conceptual > model)? > > No. participant C does not understand the default window layout. > Yes. When instructed, participants want to adjust a program state to > accommodate their preferences. > > > Is the action visible? > > Yes. You can see it in the “window” menu. > > > Does the user recognize the action, even if the label is on screen? > > No. All test participants fail to discover this action. They expect this > action to be in “preferences.” > > > Will the user understand the feedback? > > Yes, I believe participants will know the action works as they expect, but > they prefer to have “single-window mode” activated by default. > > > Analysis – why does the breakdown happen? > > Quoting my textbook [1], default values: > - are the initial state of the program. > - are the best values, reflecting the most common use cases you observe. > (Users don’t need to change them.) > Many users don’t change them. > > Being completely new to the software, participants did not change the > default values. Default values did not reflect their expectation. > > > Propose a solution! > > GIMP should be in single-window mode “by default.” > > > Quote your participants! > > - “Don’t have two windows. Use one window for the whole program.” > - “When you open the software, you want to focus on the software. You > don’t want to see gaps everywhere.” > > ================================ > Issue 2: accepting invalid input > ================================ > > When finding the pen tool, participants D and E first looked at the brush > and texture panel, though it is not required for the task. In GIMP, it is > important to define a selection before using the brush and texture panel. > The panel is active when a path is in the process of being drawn. A > participant interacted with the panel without a well-defined region, but > this action did not change anything in the image, or change the property of > the tool. > > > Does the user think of the right thing at the right time? > > No. The panel lacks a clear title. The participant thinks the panel is > some kind of filter. > > > Does the user understand the feedback? > > No. The panel shows an option is selected, but the option does not make > sense in the current mode. The user expects a grayed-out panel. > > > Analysis – why does the breakdown happen? > > No signifier: the panel (or tab) lacks a title. > No constraint: GIMP accepts input that does not make sense in the current > mode. > > > Propose a solution! > > Give each tab a visible title, in addition to the hover text. You can say: > brush, texture, gradient. > Gray out options that do not make sense in the current mode. When a path > is still being drawn, gray out the brush, texture and gradient panels. > > ================================== > Issue 3: deviation from convention > ================================== > > * By convention, I mean the previous knowledge which the user has acquired > by using other similar software. > > Participant D could not close the path to form an area. She clicked on the > first vertex, but the path did not close. She then dragged the vertices, > hoping to make them “stick” together, but the path did not close. Getting > stuck, she was given a hint to right-click. Following the hint, she > converted the path to a closed region. > > > Does the user think of the right thing at the right time? > > Yes. She wants to turn a closed loop into a region. > > > Is the action visible? > > Yes. The action to make a closed region is in the “tool options.” > > > Does the user recognize the action, even if the label is on screen? > > No. The participant tried to close the region by double-clicking and > dragging the vertices, later got stuck and asked for a hint. > > > Does the user understand the feedback? > > Yes. > > > Analysis – why does the breakdown happen? > > The participant uses what she learned somewhere else. The action of > clicking on the first vertex, or bringing two vertices closer, can be used > to close a path in other programs, such as Inkscape and Photoshop. > > > Propose a solution! > > - Show a “four-side arrow” when the cursor hovers on a vertex. > - Leverage what the user has previously learned! Implement a double-click > handler that closes the loop, since dragging on an existing vertex moves it. > - Make two vertices “stick” together when they are brought close. > > ================================= > Issue 4: lacking error prevention > ================================= > > Participant A makes high-quality selection, but GIMP removes his region > when he clicks on tool to see what it says. > > > Propose a solution! > > - When appropriate, show a confirmation dialog before deleting the user’s > selection. > - When another tool kicks in, delete the selection only after the user > clicks on the canvas with the tool. > > > Quote your participants! > > (Pre-interview) “When I have 300 photos, I don’t have 300 hours to edit > them. I apply filters and move on. Sometimes I use pre-recorded settings.” > > ================================================== > Issue 5: non-descriptive names and lack of presets > ================================================== > > Participant C cannot tell the difference between “invert” and “value > invert,” until he reads the tooltip text. He cannot understand what > “colorize” and “colorify” mean until he opens the dialog. > > “Colorize” controls the hue, saturation and brightness. He could have > achieve the black-and-white effect by turning down the saturation, but he > adjusted the hue first, and he was not satisfied with the result. He > expanded the dropdown for presets, but there wasn’t any preset. > > > Propose a solution! > > Rephrase the options. For value invert, how about “brightness invert,” as > said in the tooltip description. > Value invert ==> Brightness invert > Colorize ==> Hue, Saturation, Brightness > Colorify ==> Colored-glass > > Don’t leave out the presets. You can start with making simple presets, > like “desaturate”. > > ========== > References > ========== > > [1] Ko, A. (n.d.). “How to design user interfaces” < > https://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/books/design-methods/how-to-design-user-interfaces.html > < > https://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/books/design-methods/how-to-design-user-interfaces.html > >> > > > Best regards, > > Flynn Liu > _______________________________________________ > gimp-gui-list mailing list > gimp-gui-list@gnome.org > https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gimp-gui-list >
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