[LAD] User eXperience in Linux Audio

Harry van Haaren harryhaaren at gmail.com
Thu Apr 23 12:06:29 UTC 2015


Hi *,

Some good points, and interesting points of view. @Thijs van Severen:
I completed various UX / UI modules during my undergrad - that,
together with the most obvious lacks (IMO) of Linux Audio UX is what
prompted my composing of that exact list.

> Tracey Hytry wrote:
> a brief splash screen gives me <snip> feedback
> if the program is not working correctly <snip> debug it

Yes - both very good points. The latter (crashing on open) is
particularly important, because if no splash exists, users expect the
app is broken.


> Fons wrote:
> Using a splash screen to fix that is at best a bandaid

Agreed, it is not the ideal situation, but it is much improved over no
indication of feedback. Although a power-user probably won't care much
for a splash screen, to novice users it does provide "visibility of
system status", #1 from Nielsens UX heuristics.


> Paul Davis wrote:
(about the GUI Lock feature) - nice touch, and certainly something to
be concidered for any "live use" software - noted as important. No
synth or DAW should bomb out on Ctrl^Q during recording / playback,
perhaps even with a confirm dialog when


RE Dial Interaction:
@Vytautas Jančauskas - For on stage use, I concider anything except
"slider" style interaction with dials completely useless. I propose to
any project using "radial interaction" style widgets to switch to
"slider style" interaction.

If moving 4px can cause a value jump by 50%, it is not safe to
interact with that dial during a performance. Gain knobs are common
offenders here - particuarly in Distortion / FX plugins. "Slider"
style interaction has no disadvantage in the on-stage usecase, hence
any OpenAV software (and AVTK) have the slider style interaction.

> Thorsten
>> RE Blender UI:
Its very complex yes - its also pretty cool in the features it
provides. Hotkeys to hide and show parts of the UI are a nice touch
for power users, and a lot of work and thinking has been put into the
UI. I'm a fan - but I'm a long term Blender user, so I can't
objectively comment on how UX freindly it is for novices..

>> Re Radial Dials:
Is there a disadvantage to "slider" style interaction here? Set a
middle rate of change, and allow the user to use various hotkeys to
increase / decrease it? This avoids the "4px 50% jump" issue, which is
IMO catastrophic for live-use.

Cheers, -Harry

-- 

http://www.openavproductions.com


More information about the Linux-audio-dev mailing list