Scott Berkun on Discoverability

Prepared by Mithat Konar

2011–11–22

Scott Berkun on Discoverability

• Adapted from
  • Berkun, Scott. “#26 – The myth of discoverability « Scott Berkun.” Scott Berkun. http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/26-the-myth-of-discoverability/ (accessed November 20, 2011).
• For
  • COME 336 :: Interface Design for SW Engineersers

Discoverability

• Discoverability: the ability for a user of a design to locate something that they need, in order to complete a certain task.
• Widely accepted that discoverability increases usability.

How to make something discoverable

• Size. Big targets are easier targets.
• Order. Left to right, top to bottom (consider culture!)
• Form. Color, font, shape, shadow, composition, and other graphic design constructions.
• Expectation & Flow. Put things into forms or patterns that are in some way familiar to people. (Metaphors can be helpful here as well.)
• Consistency. Use what users already know about where to find things, or teach them new ways that are constant.

The traps

• Some developers/marketers feel everything in an interface should be discoverable.
  • Typically not possible because of technological limitations.
  • Treating everything the same essentially eliminates discoverability.
• Some developers/marketers feel their favorite thing should be discoverable.
• Not everything can be discoverable.

The traps

What to make discoverable

• So what do you make discoverable?
  • You must prioritize
    • Based on user needs (Spolsy’s user model¹)
    • Not on developer needs/interests/convenience (Spolsky’s program model²)
    • Not on branding (the marketing model)
  • Harder than it sounds

What to make discoverable

• Golden Rule of priorotization: popularity squared times frequency
  1. Things most people do, most often.
  2. Things most people do, somewhat often.
  3. Things some people do, most often.
  4. Things some people do, somewhat often.
  5. Things few people do, most often.
  6. Things few people do, somewhat often.

What to make discoverable

• Exceptions to the Golden Rule:
  • Startup tasks: done almost never, but needs to be done once
  • Emergency tools: e.g., car horns, pilot “eject” button
  • Complex systems: require more complex considerations
  • Diverse user groups: different roles may require different prioritizations

What to make discoverable

• Often discoverability is implemented only via homepages and/or menus and tool bars.
• But context is very important.
  • Straws at the ticket counter versus at the snack bar
• Progressive discoverability: choosing how and when to make commands or items discoverable (based on context).

Discoverability and user choice

• Does prioritizing discoverability eliminate user choice?
  • Yes
  • No
• Yes: by prioritizing commands, you directly or indirectly limit what the user will do.
• No: is this really a bad thing?
  • Analysis paralysis: being unable to do anything because there are too many choices
  • Roads limit choices, don’t they?

Is discoverability the most important thing?

• Discoverability is an important link in the chain.
  • If you can’t find it, you can’t use it.
• Discoverability does not guarantee success.
  • User can discover but not know how to use
  • User can discover but be able to use (disabled controls)
  • Discoverable but too hard to use

Endnotes

¹Spolsky, Joel. “User Interface Design For Programmers - Joel on Software.” Joel on Software. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/fog0000000249.html (accessed November 10, 2011).

Image sources

Microsoft Word 2003: http://www.brothersoft.com/winfax-pro-macro-for-word-xp-2000-2003-86981.html.