Re: [Ayatana] Ubuntu User Experience Guidelines

[Allan Caeg <allancaeg@xxxxxxxxx>]

That's correct! :)

Actions are manifestations of principles and principles are
manifestations of values. A more extensive study could be done to
confirm this but a quick reference to the dictionary and my knowledge as
a Psychology major affirms the idea.

Your proposed principles made me think that it could help if we have two
presentations of the UX principles: for the user and the developer. It
is the developer's job to empathize with the user so the developer has
to understand the two presentations of the principles but the user
doesn't necessarily have to understand the developer's principles. A
component of UX is the perception of the product. As an Ubuntu user, my
perception of the OS is affected by what I read about it. Its code of
conduct and "the Ubuntu promise" helped me form my perceptions of the
OS.

Perhaps, a helpful tool to generate ideas on what to include in the list
of UX principles would be surveying in the UbuntuForums. I will ask
people on UF how they perceive Ubuntu then tell you their feedback :)

Best regards,
Allan Caeg
https://launchpad.net/~wersdaluv
http://twitter.com/wersdaluv

On Wed, 2009-09-30 at 17:32 +0100, Charline Poirier wrote:
> Great ideas!
> 
> Your message made me think that there is a very close link between 
> values and principles. Values should be at the source of our principles 
> and principles should be formulated in a way that is actionable and 
> tangible for designers. For example, it is difficult for designers to 
> design to warmth (which expression and use differ significantly in 
> various cultures), but they certainly can design to collaboration which 
> you mentioned in the next sentence. Collaboration has the advantage of 
> being behavioral and so there are specific actions that can be taken to 
> facilitate it, like bring people together and provide them tools.
> 
> In addition to the basic heuristic usability principles such as 
> consistency, feedback, etc. Ubuntu should have some distinctive 
> principles that support its own identity: Linux for human beings.
> 
> Some of the principles could be:
> 
> Interconnection
> 
>  From the user's perspective, interconnection means a seamless 
> experience of the activities they engage in to achieve an end goal.
> 
>  From the designer's perspective, it could mean: make the interaction 
> between various applications connected to each other and to the whole.
> 
> 
> Collaboration
> 
>  From the user's perspective: Easy access to sharing and communication 
> tools.
> 
>  From the designer's perspective: make communication and collaboration 
> tools immediately visible and accessible. Emphasize such tools over others.
> 
> 
> User control
> 
>  From the user's perspective: focus on my goals, don't be in my way and 
> don't distract me, use my language, let me make decisions and don't give 
> me fake choices.
> 
>  From the designer's perspective: never be wasteful, if something 
> doesn't add anything, don't put it in. Make the structure of the system 
> anticipate user actions and respond to user lead.
> 
> 
> This llist is by no means exhaustive...
> 
> 
> C.
> Charline Poirier
> User Research Programme Lead
> Canonical
> 
> Charline.poirier@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Tel: +44 207 630 2491
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Allan Caeg wrote:
> > Borrowing heavily from the format and content of Google's UX principles
> > ( http://www.google.com/corporate/ux.html ), below is my proposed draft
> > of the Ubuntu UX Guidelines. Before reading it, please keep in mind that
> > this (very) rough draft is based exclusively on my experiences with
> > Ubuntu (the OS), and the community so I am encouraging everyone to
> > contribute what is fit.
> > ____________
> >
> > The Ubuntu User Experience is usable, beautiful, simple, consistent,
> > customizeable and warm.
> >
> >
> > 1. Linux for Human Beings
> > The Ubuntu community brings to the world a GNU/Linux operating system
> > that is meant to be used by human beings. Ubuntu is aimed at being
> > usable to everyone regardless of age, culture, or race. With a team that
> > focuses on usability and a group of translators for localization, it is
> > designed to be easy and pleasurable to use for everyone out of the box.
> >
> >
> > 2. "Pretty is a feature"
> > The need for beauty is self-explanatory. Ubuntu's artists believe that
> > beauty is an important factor that improves the user's experience.
> >
> >
> > 3. Keeping it simple
> > Despite aiming to build a complete operating system out of the box,
> > people behind Ubuntu are keeping things as simple as possible. The whole
> > system that is fit in a CD is trimmed of bloat that would simply be
> > obtrusive to the user experience.
> >
> >
> > 4. Guided by consistent standards
> > The open source world has a very wide variety of options. As a GNU/Linux
> > distribution, the Ubuntu team handpicked a collection of applications
> > that would create a consistent experience. By default, Ubuntu includes
> > application that follow the same standards. Thanks to the GNOME project,
> > the Ubuntu desktop has applications that use the GTK+ toolkit or that
> > adapt to its look and feel. 
> >
> >
> > 4. Free in every sense
> > Ubuntu is a Free (and Libre) Open Source Software. Other than being free
> > of charge for the user to own and use, it can be modified and
> > redistributed. The default desktop may follow consistent standards, but
> > Ubuntu can be customized very easily to fit the needs of its users. It
> > may come with default applications and configurations, but it is also
> > designed to be tweaked very easily to satisfy different needs. The
> > Ubuntu community recognizes and promotes individualism./
> >
> >
> > 5. Humanity Towards Others
> > Probably, the most important user experience feature of Ubuntu is its
> > warmth. The Ubuntu desktop encourages its user to collaborate with the
> > community by asking for help and contributing. Other than the sense of
> > community, Ubuntu's warmth is displayed by its artwork. Unlike most
> > operating systems, Ubuntu's look and feel is not the traditional
> > "kitchenware." People behind Ubuntu aim to let the user feel that the
> > computer is not foreign to the human being.
> > ______________
> >
> > Again, this is a very rough draft. I would love to hear your feedback :)
> >
> >
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> 
>