User Delight

Draft Discussion Results 

Synthesis and sense making will be happening for the next few weeks during the U-Camp (previously "planning") meetings

User Delight How we get there
Less is More, simple and less complex
Consistent interaction across tool
Return to web-based paradigm reconstituted
Predictable navigation
(back button, reload button -- iframe)
Course aware interface (understand course context and activities)
 
Stateful, dynamic (desktop-like) authoring environment (web 2.0)
3.0 effort well resourced, focus on coherent subset of course tools
Simplicity
 
Matches user mental models
 
Right tool for the job (different tools for different contexts)
 
  Clear trusted and influential usability leadership within Sakai
  Make user experience front and center in community
  Make usability and accessibility part of the review process
  UI team needs to prove self by concrete examples
  Bring UI (design and research) into requirements process
  Not walk out of room without taking to next step
Customization by faculty but not to detrimant of the student
 
User has some independent empowerment (don't always need programmer)
example: rich text editor on front page of course site
Consistency of tools  
Search across all tools within course site
 
The Digg ability within Sakai  
Tracking student usage of course site for instructors (or maintainers?)
 
Recommend feature (amazon) Example: recommended path for student based on what they have read or done
Prioritizing based on frequency of request
  Capturing student feedback
  How to translate input to design (how-to template)
support people can support  
Intuitive, application is transparent  
System needs to be activity and context-based rather than tool based (some debate, need balance)
 
Consistency across and intuitive workflows
 
Ways to integrate external tools  
  Entire community that feels proud
Student experience  
  User experience at global level
  Education to community about design
  Extend education to larger group
  Support for fostering new ideas, how to get things done in Sakai
  Foster shared ownership & investment of tools
  Better balance on new functionality and making existing better
  Better understanding user needs and sharing w/ comm
  Better support documentation and customization
Intuitive with minimal extra stuff Understand user needs, basic requirement is meet user expectations, goal is to exceed
  Both developers and designers need to understand, involve developers early in the process, watch user testing, involve user support & users
  Share successful case studies
  Additional input from external sources, competetive analysis, whitepapers, input from academics
  Hall of fame and hall of shame
Bread crumbs  

Next Steps

  • Module in programmers cafe about accessibiity and design - Colin lead
  • Sakaiproject.org fix?
  • Tackle simple tool, donate design resource - what needs to be done? (req)
  • Ask board to initiate 3.0 envisioning, user research, leading to design
  • Examples of good tools, engage instructional designer for example of good courses (show piece)
  • Shared understanding of where Sakai is - Group for a comprehensive Evaluation to understand where we are - heuristic, user testing, research. So can prioritize.
  • Group will chunk this for sharing with rest of community
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  1. Dec 05, 2006

    Wytze Koopal says:

    An addition to the Digg example: uploading Resources should be as easy as upload...

    An addition to the Digg example: uploading Resources should be as easy as uploading photos through the Flickr Uploadr programme (this is a tiny, but very well designed desktop application).
    On a little sidenote: this ease of use is also present in the educational arena to some extent. I would like to point to two examples: www.elgg.net (from the UK) and www.lemill.net (from Finland). Shall we ask them to present their user delight at the Amsterdam Conference?

    1. Dec 12, 2006

      Daphne Ogle says:

      Great idea Wytze! These look like interesting sites. The visual design is clea...

      Great idea Wytze!

      These look like interesting sites. The visual design is clean. Without understanding how they are used I didn't a real sense of the overall user experience. I'd be interested in some of your insight as to their ease of use.

  2. Dec 19, 2006

    Wytze Koopal says:

    I am not a 'heavy' user of these tool/sites whatsoever. I just wanted to point o...

    I am not a 'heavy' user of these tool/sites whatsoever. I just wanted to point out that they have started of from the beginning of their endeavours with the user in mind and the current possibilities (tagging, social networking etc). I especially like LeMill, because it is simple, simple, and again simple. Check out http://lemill.net/content/overview-of-lemill for more info about the project.