I think the algorithm used to estimate the remaining time is at least as important as the user interface for presenting progress. This largely depends on the tasks, and there can be some tasks (especially those that involve network activity or have multiple stages) that do not progress linearly. If I had to design such an algorithm, I would err on the side of caution: if you provide a time that is a bit longer than accurate, the risk is that the system may be initially perceived as slow but you can let the user go and they will be happy when they come back. Whereas if the system looks frozen and it says "1 minute remaining" for 5 minutes :) I think it will be perceived as more slow & frustrating.
By the way, the progress bar that Mac OS X shows while booting (just before the log-in window) is totally fake. It does not measure anything, it just keeps record of how long the booting process took last time & rolls completely linearly for the same amount of time. I doubt many people know this or would have suspected it. If you can find a reliable way to estimate the duration of your task, maybe you can do something like this. Regards, Alex On Nov 26, 2007 8:34 PM, Julie Stanford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello, > > I was wondering if people had thoughts on the best practices for a progress > bar for file upload. I'm having a discussion with a client and don't have a > strong position on this issue as yet. I think the most important question to > answer is "How much time is remaining?" (i.e. should I hang out and wait or > go get a coffee?) > > After that, I am wondering which of the following should be displayed -- > here's a list of options on the table and there could be more: > > Visual info: > - Animation showing things being copied > - Progress bar showing visually how much is done > > Text info: > - X min remaining > - X of Y KB > - X% complete > - X of Y min complete > > - Other stuff I missed? > > What do you think should be shown? > > Julie > > ________________________________ > Julie Stanford > Principal, Sliced Bread Design > 650-969-0400 / 800-969-0434 x706 > > > ________________________________________________________________ > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
