Hi Mimi,
Thank you for your quick reply.
In the short-term, we've decided that the current design is good
enough given that the above work items are more work.
I totally agree that the current design is good for the time being. I am
also happy to hear that the idea of extending this design has been
considered already.
As for the design philosophy of 'not making choices for the user', I
think that's a very general statement that has merit, but would be
dangerous to apply everywhere. After all, what is design other than
making smart choices for users, choices that either most users aren't
interested in making; or choices that users aren't equipped to make.
I feel the same way in a sense that good design is one of the best
strategies to enhance the user experience. The essence of 'not making
choices for the user' philosophy is to make the default settings meet
the requirements of the majority but not to prevent making changes from
those who want and are equipped to do them. Like all philosophies, when
taken to extremes the result is not what was originally wanted. I am
aware of the problems in designing an user interface that is able to
meet the requirements of a heterogeneous user population. Some designers
prefers the so called one button user interface, where the user is
unable to do anything wrong as there is only one button to press,
whereas others prefer to go to the other extreme with powerful but also
very complex user interfaces (cough cough, GNU emacs). I think that we
agree that the real art and challenge in this business it to balance the
two extremes so that users do not feel overwhelmed by the user interface
but still are able to use it for the tasks that the software was
designed for.
Of course, what I'm describing is the 80% case. So I'm not opposed to
an adjustable splitter in principle, it's just something that needs to
come in a package with a couple of other UI elements.
This is just an idea and like all ideas it requires thought before
implementation. An alternative solution to the problem that I ran into
would be to use tool tips to show the full collection name when it is
not able to fit the sidebar. And I am sure that other solutions can be
found when given some though.
Cheers,
Markku
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