Contour/Active global context menus

[Marco Martin]

On Wednesday 25 May 2011, Fania Jöck wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> >> suggestions? comments?
> > 
> > imho we should try and maintain precise clarity in each part of the UI. i
> > see no reason to duplicate every possible action in every possible
> > place. that will just lead to, as Sebastian already noted, clutter.
> 
> yes, duplicated actions shouldnt be used, the user can for example open
> a resource by a single touch instead of having that action in a context
> menu. No reason for duplicating learned interaction patterns.
> 
> But what I think would be really nice is to present actions that are
> specifically recommended for that resource: for example for a contact
> resource I get the 3 hottest actions, that are useful right now, as
> "call" because this person called me 2 times this morning, "send E-Mail"
> because I have regular Email communication with that contact and "start
> chat" because this person is online right now. This would be real added
> value for the user. And in my opinion these context menu should change

yep, it does, the question i think was more
* should they be present only in a context menu over the icon?
* should they just be present in a "global" menu?
* both? (as explained in the aaron's answer, i think that in this case, the 
use case of both interactions are valid and different that it would justify 
both to be available)

> dynamically, like the recommendations. Of course, some basic actions
> like "remove from activity" or "delete" might be always required and
> therefore should be listed always.

probably it would make sense.
dynamic entries in a menu have also a problem however, since they disrupt the 
muscular memory (entries moving without the user really knowing why) that's 
why the ms office 2010 dynamic menus are usually regarded as a disaster.
i think if there would be a portion of the menu that always stays the same, 
plus some dynamic, like 3 fixed, 3 dynamic would be a good compromise to not 
be confising and having the value on the other hand.

> > i don't think that this feature needs to Do Everything(tm). in the scope
> > of Plasma Active. it should probably allow the user to do one specific
> > kind of thing.
> > 
> > there isn't enough space, really, to offer a ton of options there and
> > keep it easy to use on a touch screen.  there's also the issue of
> > someone using the interface understanding why that exists and what it is
> > for.
> 
> Yes, thats a very good point. In my last usability testings here the
> people didnt get where the recommendations came from. That might be
> solved, when the user interacts with the system and realizes the link
> between his last calls and the recommendation to add that called person
> to the activity... but this has to be find out with further UI design
> und testing.

yeah, in the ideal "working" system, roughly half of the recommendations would 
probably be linked some way to a resource you already see, either in the 
activity view or in an open application. some would still remain separed from 
any visible resource..

> > 
> > 	Cons:
> > 		Discoverability is questionable
> > 		It means having a "magic" interaction pattern to bring it up
> 
> Well, long touch on a object opens a context menu - is that really magic
> or is it already learned by mobile users?

i can only speak for myself, but until someone made me notice it, i was 
completely convinced that in the meego tablet ui there was no way to close a 
running application (while a close action is available on a menu after a long 
press in the task switcher ui)

> > 
> > it would be nice to add to the above list and figure out which directions
> > we'd like to go based on that. it may also help define more clearly what
> > the different pieces of UI we create are intended to
> > do./mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/active
> 
> for me, the usecase of user behavior is the key to that. If we are
> working with our devices, we are currently searching the files we need,
> open them, work with them, create new ones and save them in a specific
> folder.
> The user of Plasma Active/Contour would work in two ways, I suppose. The
> first one is within the activity: So he chooses the activity he needs
> and wants to extend it by creating new files and documents. Sometimes he
> might want to add new contacts to his current activity. He can either
> just use the "add resource" button of each box. Or he has a look in the
> recommendations overlay, if the system might already got the document,
> he is searching for (well, in an ideal world, where nepomuk gives us
> that information...) That would be more the "structured type of user".

yup, as i said, probably global menu is better for already open resources, 
local one for icons that i see in the workspace, either because already 
associated or because i did a full text search. (remains to me the problem of 
the discoverability of the long press, so that's why i would always like 
both;)

> The other way would be the "Dynamic User": he just opens files, browses
> through different URLs and communication etc. In this flow he wants to
> add that current resource to an activity (doesnt have to be the current
> activity that is open in the background). So here I think some sort of
> SLC-Overlay/bar that is available in every resource I am just working
> with, would be the best solution. Just one touch on the "connect"
> button, choice of activity, and thats it.
> So for me, both ways are correct and can adress both types of
> users/workflows.

+1


-- 
Marco Martin