Cristian Driga wrote:
> Daniel,
> the way you put it seemed to me at first like marketing was asking for a
> proeminent link on top of others.
>
> Maybe it's just my impression, don't you agree that the site should be a
> balance between what a user needs and in the same time a friendly
> introduction for those who *do not* know what OOo is ? And the latter
> aspect isn't one that fully belongs to Marketing ?
I think that's the wrong mindset entirely, and it leads to flawed design.
The reason we offer an introduction is not because *we* would love to, but
because a significant portion of *visitors* will want it.
Yes, there is a difference.
It's a difference of mindset, and priorities. One of the practical
consequences of this mindset is that the prominence of this information is
in proportion to how it ranks against other needs of the visitor. This is
a very important difference.
I gave the example of websites that remove useful information so they can
devote more time to telling me how much they care about visitors. That's a
good example of where the wrong mindset ("what do I want to tell the
user?") leads.
> One idea:
> How about building an usability survey and link it from the HP for a
> while to get answers from the real visitor ? Just a one week survey
> could give us lots of data simply because in 5 minutes you get more than
> 300 answers if you advertise the survey on the HP well.
I would support that proposal.
> >You feel? What is that feeling based on?
>
> Isn't this the same as your above "I'd expect" ?
My design proposals are not based on feeling, but on studying usability
over a few years (no, I'm not an expert, but I'm not new to the subject
either) as well as what I gather the user needs based on experience at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] plus a little bit of logic in the right mindset (ie. asking
what
the user is looking for instead of what I want to tell hime).
I'd like to point out two different issues that are under discussion here:
1) The right mindset to view website design.
2) How the website should be designed.
My biggest issue is with how (1) has been done around here. The website we
have, and many of the current arguments are not trying to put the visitor
as the first priority. They shift emphasis to "what I want". That includes
links that are useful to the poster, or information which the user wants
to talk about. Instead of looking at what the user actually came here for.
If we just manage to change the mindset, I will be much happier, and
stress a lot less about (2). There are many ways to design the page, and
any that mirrors the correct mindset will be a valuable improvement.
> Same as the new ones who would expect to find out what it is. Isn't it ?
Notice, I didn't say "don't tell users what it is". Look at Matthew's
proposal please. It does spend a fair bit of space on that. Information
about the product has a prominent location on the page. But its prominence
is in proportion to its importance compared to other links.
> >It's infurating when a website removes useful services so they can spend
> >more time telling you how much they care about visitors.
>
> Again, based on what facts ?
Users list.
> Let's put up a poll on the HP for a while
> with a question like:
>
> What did you expect to find on the OpenOffice.org Home Page?
> 1. What is OpenOffice.org
> 2. Documentation
> 3. How to download
> 4. News
> 5. Technical support
> 6. ... etc
I'd like to revise the questioning, but the concept of asking questions is
good.
I would shift the questions to a "what did you want to *do*" style. For
example:
// Survery Start -------------
1) What did you come here for? (check all that apply)
a. Download OOo.
b. Ask a question.
c. Learn how to use the product.
d. Find out what OOo is.
2) On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is "strongly disagree" and
10 is "strongly agree", please rate the following statements:
I found what I was looking for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
What I came for was easy to find 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The links on the page were relevant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
I like how the page looks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We want the home page to be relevant to our visitors. Including
unnecessary links reduces the visibility of more important ones.
Keep this in mind when you answer questions (3) through (6).
3) Please list 4 *most*important* links on the home page:
1. 3.
2. 4.
4) Please list 4 *least*important* links on the home page:
1. 3.
2. 4.
5) Was there any information you felt was missing?
If so, what?
6) Was there any information you felt was unnecessary?
If so, what?
7) Thank you for your time. If you have final comments, please
add them to the box below:
// Survery End -------------
The advantage of this survey is that it makes few assumptions about the
visitor, and yet asks very specific quetions (except for 5-7).
This is what I think we should do:
1) Finish up a design for the page. We have some good ones here.
Even though I disagreed with Jacqueline's I still think it's much
superior than what we have today. I'd rather have *that* than
continue an endless discussion.
2) THEN, provide a survey.
You see, I think that the survey will be A LOT more useful, if we are
starting from a page that already removes the most conspicuous problems
with the current one. And all of the current proposals accomplish that.
> Hope I do not upset anybody with my observations and questions, I see
> too much tension here and I do not fully understand why.
Mostly because the page hasn't changed in 18 months, and after what feels
like an eternity of discussion, we are now going back to the drawing
board. It is an example of why nothing ever gets done around here. And why
no matter what we do, we won't have an effect on the current page. This is
infuriating and makes members less likely to contribute and more likely to
lose hope and become cynical.
Best,
--
Daniel Carrera | There is no urge so great as for one man to
Join OOoAuthors today! | edit another man's work.
http://www.oooauthors.org | -- Mark Twain
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