Open Source Applications Foundation

[Design] Article by Jared Spool - User personalities, Core apps and Ring apps

Ilan Volow Wed, 15 Jan 2003 02:07:47 -0500


On Tue, 14 Jan 2003 10:13:57 -0800
Nitin Borwankar <nitin@borwankar.com> wrote:

> 
> The following article by Jared Spool  is about personalities a user 
> exhibit have when using familiar vs. unfamiliar apps.
> He discusses especially Core Applications (the main apps a user uses, 
> and with respect to which he/she is a power user)
> and Ring Applications (those that a user needs to use but is not
> willing to spend too much time learning - just wanting to get the job
> done). In the context of Chandler this might translate into Core
> Features and Ring Features and the definition may be relative to
> different classes of users.
> 
> http://www.uie.com/Articles/multiple_personalities.htm
> 
> -- 
> 76.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.
> 
> Nitin Borwankar
> nitin@borwankar.com
> 
> 
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> 
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> 

I found the article interesting, however the thing that kept me
wondering was what the differences between the mechanic's diagnostic
machine and his desktop PC were. Was the diagnostic machine far more
fault-tolerant than the desktop PC? Did it have some way of fully
recovering from something bad happening? The mechanic spends an equal
amount of time with each system and has owned both systems for roughly
the same span of time, yet the mechanic is afraid of the desktop PC
getting screwed up while he has no fear of the diagnostic equipment. I'd
bet a case of Guinness that the diagnostic equipment is a far safer
environment that promotes exploration like writing macros and/or
tweaking things while the desktop PC sofware punishes the normal joe for
such transgressions.
 
A while ago I found an interesting bit on Jakob Nielsen's web site
called "The Paradox of the Active User" that discusses users taking
advantage of features. Nielsen also links to a really interesting paper
(which I'm also providing the link for) that explores the subject in
great depth. Both links are something to keep in mind when designing the
next generation of personal communication software. 

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/activeuserparadox.html
http://www.cs.vt.edu/~rosson/papers/paradox.pdf

--Ilan

-- 
My choice after I quit film school was either to be a script writer for
porno flicks or a linux UI designer. And to tell you the truth, there's
hardly any difference.