[mythtv] MythTV Usability Report

[Isaac Richards]

On Monday 09 January 2006 00:39, f-myth-users at media.mit.edu wrote:
>     Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 00:04:16 -0500
>     From: Isaac Richards <ijr at case.edu>
>
>     On Sunday 08 January 2006 23:56, f-myth-users at media.mit.edu wrote:
>     > If MythTV had fewer usability issues, it would probably decrease mail
>     > volume on the -users list at least, and also lead to a lot less
>     > wasted time by newbies trying to set it up and/or use it, and less
>     > time by more-experienced users trying to help them.
>     >
>     > But improving MythTV usability is currently a giant Catch-22.  Why?
>
>     Because nobody's bothered to produce a _usable_ list of usability
> issues.
>
> What, exactly, would such a list look like?
>
> (a) What form would it take?
> (b) One big list, or lots of little lists?

Small bits, or one at a time.  Making sure, of course, that the problem is 
myth, not, say, knoppmyth like the vast majority of your list was.

> (c) In Trac?  In mail?  On a website?  In beetles battling in bottles?

Trac's for bugs and patches.  mail or wiki would be preferable, I'd think.

> (d) Based on what release?  Latest-this-minute?  Within the last
>     month?  Stable?

Reasonably recent SVN, or a stable release if one was released recently.  I 
would expect anyone spending time on something like this to at least _check_ 
current SVN to see if the issues they're discussing still exist, as well.

> (e) Would code be -required- when discussing usability?  Would design
>     be sufficient?  Would complaining "this confuses x users" be
>     sufficient?  Would complaining "this confuses me, and I don't
>     know if it confuses others" be sufficient?

No code required, but it sure helps.  Suggested fixes at a bare minimum.  GUI 
mockups would be good.  A list of complaints by itself is useless.

> (f) If someone -did- produce such a list, would any of it be -used-,
>     if the person who produced it wasn't also the person to implement
>     each and every piece of it?  And if the person who produced it
>     -did- produce patches for each and every piece of it, would they be
>     accepted without lots of additional arguing and debate?

Depends on the individual items, of course.

Isaac