In project#3, the feature we designed allows users to redesign the layout of their YouTube homepage by themselves. Users could manage the video show up in their homepage by adding/deleting and then drag modules of different video categories around. In this way, users can make their ideal homepage which servers their own interests. As this feature might be new to most of the users, we added simple instructions and images to help users to understand how this feature works. To use this feature, users will follow the instructions we provide to do to the "User-design" page. Also, as we mention the word "drag" in the instruction and show an image of dragging a module, after users reach the "User-design" page, they will probably start to do the drag and move modules around.
The contraction between users' mental model and programmers' implementation model might be the undo button when users did something wrong while dragging the module. Our original idea is to display two buttons on the user-design page. One is "Save" button to save the changes, the other is the "Reset" button which bring users back to the initial layout and start from zero. However, as mentioned in the book, programmers would love to provide users with all the choice they can have, so the programmers might add "Undo" button next to "Save" and "Reset". In this case, users will probably be confused by the meaning of "Reset" and "Undo".
The user's mental model and programmers' implementation model are meant to evaluate the same thing. It isn't that the programmers just want to add more features. The mental model is how a user perceives their interaction. An implementation model are the specific actions that the application can make and what triggers those actions.
ReplyDelete