User Preferences UX

Based on our experience and research, it is clear that no single design will meet the needs of all users. There is an incredible diversity of experience levels, comfort with technology, ability, age, and other factors that influence the design of user interfaces for preference discovery.

To this end, we envision an ecosystem of preference editing user interfaces and tools available to users, each with a particular strength or approach.

Tools

Activity Spaces

Activity Spaces do not directly correspond with tools, but below is a rough mapping of spaces as defined in the GLOSSARY WORKSPACE with the tools from the Description Of Work.

1. First discovery (is an area for future funding that deals with a users first use of technology)
2. Explore with an option to store (Exploration Tool being designed and developed within Preferences for Global Access)
   • Dinosaurs an early design
   • Electrons a deliverable for PGA
   • Cats a simplified example
   • <<placeholder for designs of the transition from 2 to 3>>
3. Choose for the moment (and not store) - (docked panel with settings (PCP as some understand it))
   • see Iteration2 below
   • <<Cats>> a placeholder for a simplified example
   • <<placeholder for the latest of the overall vision post-iteration2>>
4. Adjust Preferences and Save (PCP to others, or mini-PMT)
   • see Iteration2 below
   • <<Cats>> a placeholder for a simplified example
   • <<a placeholder for Tool 4 w/ no 5>>
   • <<placeholder for the latest of the overall vision post-iteration2>>
5. Manage stored preferences (PMT to many)
   • see Iteration2 below
   • <<a placeholder for Tool 5 w/ no 4>>

Iteration 2

A description of the Iteration2 description.

• 3 Choose for the moment (and not store)
  • See Adjusters and Frames below
• 4 Adjust Preferences and Save (PCP to others, or mini-PMT)
  • Frames spaces are labeled
  • Adjusters
• 5 Manage stored preferences (PMT to many)
  • Frames spaces are labeled.

Overview of Tools

• A Preferences Management Tool (PMT): A Full Editor, which gives users the ability to see and edit all of their preferences for any device, application, or context. This interface will be optimized for larger screens and more focused, less frequent usage.
• A Personal Control Panel (PCP) The Quick Editor, which provides users with an easy means to adjust their needs and settings on the fly and in context of the content they are currently working with.
• A tool to provide feedback to the matchmaker(s).
• First-Time-Discovery Tools.
• Exploration Tools.
• NEW ORGANIZATION OF PREFERENCE TOOLS.

Another tool being developed and designed within the US Department of Education funded, Preferences for Global Access project:

• The Discovery Tool, which is the primary focus of the PGA prototyping effort. The Discovery Tool provides users with a safe means to explore, discover, and experiment with the range of preferences, alternatives, and adaptations available to them.

Discussions about these tools, and about other tools that contain user interfaces for end users, can take place on the public GPII UX mailing list. This mailing list has a public archive.

Working Pages and Important Links

Use Cases

• More Fluid use cases (including Danny, Anne, Julia)
• Preference tools use cases vignettes for PMT, PCP, and Discovery Tool (Please contribute!)
• Fluid design team use cases (including Sam, Marnie, Sophie, etc.)
• Use Cases and Implementations.

Tool Functions

• NEW ORGANIZATION OF PREFERENCE TOOLS
• PCPs, PMTs, etc
• Preference Design Tools Questions
• Preferences Management Ecosystem Features and Functionality
• the discussion thread from May 2013.
• Settings/presents for the PCP and UI Options:
  • Primary Schema for UIO preferences (older version: Schema for UIO preferences).
  • PCP - JSON format for presets (e-mail to GPII Architecture mailing list, 26 June 2013).
• PCP mockups for paper prototype testing.

Installation and setup

• Running the PMT & PCP on Windows and Linux with a local web server.

Other links

• Localisation.
• PMT PCP Manual Test Plan.
• Preferences Editors Scenario (page started in preparation of the Cloud4all Second Pilot Phase).
• April 2014 Cloud4All Design TO DO (PMT & PCP).
• PCP and PMT Status Messages.
• PrefsEditor to prefsServer communication.

Research

One of the challenges concerning these tools is that (except for developers and designers) users rarely change their settings. See:

• Wendy E. Mackay: "Triggers and Barriers to Customizing Software". CHI '91 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: ACM, 1991. P. 153-1.
• McGrenere, J., Baecker, R.M., Booth, K.S., "An evaluation of a multiple interface design solution for bloated software". CHI '02 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Pages 164-170.
• Jared Spool: "Do users change their settings?" User Interface Engineering (blog), September 14th, 2011.

Meetings

The design team has regular meetings that are open for anyone to attend.