unity-design team mailing list archive

[Jan-Christoph Borchardt <inquata@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

2010/5/13 Diego Moya <turingt@xxxxxxxxx>:
> 2010/5/13 Martín Soto:
>> Granted, we have often seen products that failed at automating something,
>> but this doesn't mean the solution is to implement override buttons all over
>> the place.
>
> I agree with the "all over the place" part, but IMO you MUST have an
> override (a "manual safety switch") for all complex functions that try
> to automate user goals (even if it's not expected to be used in normal
> usage and is somewhat hidden), because this kind of complex
> automations include a bit of "guessing" what the user intended to do.

At the moment, the manual safety switch isn’t the problem because it
is already implemented in form of the global sound slider. It is the
automation that we must have.


On 13 May 2010 17:19, Alex Launi <alex.launi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 2010/5/13 Martín Soto <donsoto@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Interestingly enough, user-centered design is a lot about "I know exactly
>> what's best for you", although not in the arrogant way you're trying to make
>> it sound. It's about working hard to understand what people really require
>> in order to perform a particular task (this is often not what they think
>> they require!) and about providing exactly that to them
>
> ^^ Everyone on this list read that phrase an internalize it. That is the
> single most important statement made on this list, ever.
> Nicely said, Martin.

+ 2, from me and Jakob: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html

»[…] basic rules of usability:
    * Watch what people actually do.
    * Do not believe what people say they do.
    * Definitely don't believe what people predict they may do in the future.«