On April 22, 2002 11:17 am, Thomas Zander wrote:
> > So the question becomes:  What sense is a graphical environment that's
> > only truly configurable with text tools?
>
> The reverse poses a more interesting question; what good is configurability
> when the sheer amount of options leads to uses not finding the config
> options they want?

yet neither of these questions presents answers. i think everyone agrees that 
overconfigurability is bad for usability and that underconfigurability is bad 
for users. i think most people agree that somewhere in between you get enough 
configurability, but that those options can be well presented or poorly 
presented.

therefore the answer to both of your questions is, IMO:

 o only configure that which needs to be 
 o carefully present the configuration possibilities to the user

a well laid out config dialog with a dozen features can seem far less scary to 
a user than a poorly worded, poorly laid out one with just a few features.

as to "only configure that which needs to be", these are some of the things i 
try to keep in mind when considering configurability:

Pro-configurability:
 o is it a non-critical feature (e.g. you can use the software w/out it) that 
noticeably and negatively effects performance?
 o can it interfere with justifiable modes of operation (usually other than 
the one the author employs ;)?
 o are there large numbers of users (not just vocal users, but average users 
you ask) on both sides regarding the utility of the feature?
 o can it create problems with other customizable features?

Anti-configurability:
 o is one way of doing it not really any worse/better than the other way?
 o is configuring this option tightly bound to the configuration of another 
option?
 o is it explainable/demonstrable what the option actually does / doesn't do?
 o is it only a matter of "pixel preferences", e.g. she says "i like it 10 
pixels wide" and he says "but i prefer it 11 pixels wide", and therefore such 
a detail that it really doesn't warrant configurability?
 o does having the option on/off or "this way" vs "that way" not affect in any 
way the performance or utility of the application?

0.02

-- 
Aaron Seigo


