Re: [Usability] Project Hamster - question on wording

[Dan Brickley <danbri danbri org>]

Toms wrote:
> Hi there!
>
> We are currently implementing a reminder notification thing in
> hamster, here is how it looks:
> http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/187829/still%20working%3F.png
>
> So, basically, after user configurable amount of time, user is
> reminded that hamster thinks that he or she is working on the current
> task.
> User has option to switch to other task, stop tracking current task,
> or just ignore the notification.
>
> I was wondering if the actions and wording sound right - any suggestions?

My first reaction (as a potential user) was 'oh, neat! i'd like that...' 
(re the app in general). Looking at the screenshot, I feel an immediate 
sense of frustration: the computer is asking me a yes/no question, but 
gives no way to directly answer it.

In the screenshot I see...

	Q: 'Are you still working on Hamster?'
	obvious actions: [Switch task], [Stop tracking] and [x]

versus something like [I stopped], [I switched tasks], [Quit watching 
me!], ie. actions that relate more directly to the question asked. I'm 
not proposing those exact words, just noting that there's no way at the 
moment to give a "No!" or "yes" response. "Switch task" is an implicit 
"no".

It would be interesting to know whether these notifications often serve 
as the *trigger* for users to switch tasks, rather than as a passive 
enquiry to see what the user is currently doing. If this is the case, 
the dialog is something like:

computer: Are you still working on Xyz?
me: erm, well I was, until you remind me right now that maybe I ought to 
be doing something else.

At this point, a yes-no question is a little meaningless if it asks what 
the user is doing right now, since the user is contemplating whether to 
switch tasks. I have no idea what better wording would be, but if the 
reminder asks a question, it should be clear whether it is about the 
past or the future. I think that aspect is at the heart of my discomfort 
with the current wording...

Does that make any sense?

cheers,

Dan



--
http://danbri.org/