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Subject:RE: Trees, menu commands, and UI design From:Goober <techcommgoober -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 14 May 2002 11:42:16 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Mike. I've seen many different implementations of
the tree structure, both in we-based and traditional
Windows GUI applications. They have their plusses and
minuses. On the plus, the GUI is a bit more intuitive
and it lays out the choices for the user in a very
visible manner. On the minus, many programmers forget
that not all users are mouse-driven, and so forget to
include keyboard shortcuts for the nodes. Also, there
is a different usability issue here with respect to
visually-impaired users. Their reader software may not
interpret the window correctly, though smart
programming that includes a defined tab flow (as in
the Tab key to go from field/node to field/node)
increases tyhe usability for the visually impaired. On
the S&M side (that's sales and marketing...), the tree
approach provides a slicker looking interface, which
can make a sale easier when clients are comparing
similar products. As to what approach to use when
arranging and naming the nodes, I can't say what's
best. It's really dependent on your users and your
product. In some cases it may make sense to mirror
menu options, and on other cases it may make more
sense to break the tree down by task.
Hope this helps!
Goober
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