Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
In a multiple screen touch world (as we can see in Jeff H.demo )there are no sliders, or they exist but they don%u2019t have the format that we know, the sliding movement it's vital, but the slider as we know it will be something of the past. Thank you for the mouse wheel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Really? What about using sliders to set threshold values for filtering data on the fly? For example, I quite like how Kayak.com does this with different criteria for airline flights, e.g. - departure time, layover time, price, etc. on the bottom-left: http://www.kayak.com/s/flights.jsp? searchid=iRza_w8B4cB5pz_sZJvo&completed=true On Nov 5, 2007, at 7:28 AM, Jon Baker wrote: > Hi, > > I think sliders are good for selecting approximate values, where > there is clear (immediate) feedback as the slider is used. They work > well for volume controls or zoom controls which is where they are > commonly used. From my experience they are not partcularly useful for > precision selecting of a value. With a volume control there is audio > feedback and the user is rarely in the position of thinking I want > exactly 33dB, rather thay want appoximately the correct volume that > is not defening, but can still be heard. With the zoom, the user > generally wants to zoom to the point that what they are zooming is > large enough for their needs. They are rarely thinking I need to zoom > this to 300%. > > If precise entry of a number is needed then use something else. For > rating systems I think the selectable stars work well. As to thumb up > thumb down controls. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 > > > > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
>>Actually Roberts right - all the social networking stuff I designed goes unused and I've learned a lot since then. The sliders get lost because there is a lot of real estate given to the ads that populate the page (business decision). In lieu of sliders, if you used a Clock-like interface for timings, users may be more likely to use it. The response is amazingly fast. If the filters of narrowing results were laid out at the top horizontally, users would be more likely to use them. Also adding color to highlight some very valuable information on these pages would increase readability; e.g. Stops and Airlines results are important enough to validate different background colors. Also the Airports control is somewhere between between sliders. It could be a different color too so it stand out - but not very sure what purpose it serves. Great idea; but didn't work too well for me Toronto to Vancouver. Google ads are great but I find that in this case they drive the user to pages/sites in direct competition with the results I am looking at. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Hi, I think sliders are good for selecting approximate values, where there is clear (immediate) feedback as the slider is used. They work well for volume controls or zoom controls which is where they are commonly used. From my experience they are not partcularly useful for precision selecting of a value. With a volume control there is audio feedback and the user is rarely in the position of thinking I want exactly 33dB, rather thay want appoximately the correct volume that is not defening, but can still be heard. With the zoom, the user generally wants to zoom to the point that what they are zooming is large enough for their needs. They are rarely thinking I need to zoom this to 300%. If precise entry of a number is needed then use something else. For rating systems I think the selectable stars work well. As to thumb up thumb down controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Oops, it appears I only sent my post to Robert, instead of the group. cheers, /k -- Forwarded message -- From: Kam Stewart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Nov 1, 2007 5:32 PM Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls To: "Robert Hoekman, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I have to agree with Robert on the placement of the affordance in relationship to the primary content being the largest factor to whether users see and use the sliders. I was looking for them on kayak and almost missed them. On the other hand, I did an application for Apple, that used sliders at the base of the main content, to page through it, and it was very warmly received. page 2 of 10 |--o| I hope you like (and can read) my ASCI mock up. As the user dragged the slider the page number updated and page contents refreshed. (It may have also had next previous arrows at the outsides I don't recall) The point being it was clear, obvious and easy to manipulate. It also reinforces user location within the content. The one other touch that it had, and scipt.aculo.us has available, is the thumb snapped to page indexes instead of being continuous. This helped a lot when the number of pages in different content blocks changed. /Kam -- /Kam *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Hi think that sliders definitely have their place. I don't think they scale well, though, More than 10 stops and things get messy. I believe that sliders work best with scales within the same values. Adjusting prices, screen resolution, etc... For what Tim proposes I believe that a 5 star control (with half stars maybe) like google videos or windows media player works best. >From my experience it's harder for users to classify things within a 10 point scale. 5 works best in my opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
I dug about a bit after posting and came across Kayak and some other sites. A few of them seem to have implemented sliders fairly successfully and I agree that Kayak's tools feel pretty useful. Yahoo is also experimenting with them in their new Mindset search tool (http://mindset.research.yahoo.com/) and ShopSmart (http://shopping.yahoo.com/smartsort/) and Amazon with their Diamond Search tool (mentioned by Robert H above). I'm not yet convinced that Mindset makes much sense - how do I know where in the scale between 'shopping' and 'research' I need to be? I guess the results are going to be key as always. But in most of these cases the job of the slider is pretty advanced. All I'm asking users to do is rate a product between one and ten which I _hope_ is a much simpler task. (I'm reassured by Barbara's findings that sliders were easily set.) The sliders I'm proposing make up a significant portion of the page so hopefully they'll be seen. As well as having numbers on a graduated scale, I'm planning on presenting the user with an updating number representing their vote. I think this a requirement. Is there anything else that you consider a must-have? I just have a feeling that it's more satisfactory to use a slider than poke about at radio controls or drop-downs. Many thanks for comments so far! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
> > Our user testing has shown something similar to what Robert H. > mentions... most users did not interact with sliders on the page on > their own. A few didn't notice them. The ones who did understood > their relationship to the data but did not interact with them. On the flipside, however, the Amazon Diamond Search interface ( http://tinyurl.com/2aw9um) is chock full of sliders, and they definitely get used. In that case, they're the main show - not a sidebar of filtering options, but the primary interface that must be used to get the info you want. Users still complain about the dexterity required to set the sliders correctly, though - particularly while using the Price slider. -r- *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Our user testing has shown something similar to what Robert H. mentions... most users did not interact with sliders on the page on their own. A few didn't notice them. The ones who did understood their relationship to the data but did not interact with them. Our implementation was similar to Kayak's--a few sliders mixed with other controls. When mixed with other interactive bits, the sliders seemed to scan as a reporting element only--not an interactive one. Not to hijack the thread, but (IMHO) Kayak's design is a big bucket of hey-look-what-web2.0-can-do with a teaspoon of users-should-be-able-to-use-this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22044 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Common guys - cut me some slack :-) Actually Roberts right - all the social networking stuff I designed goes unused and I've learned alot since then. will evans user experience architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] 617.281.1281 On Nov 1, 2007, at 6:24 PM, "Mike Scarpiello" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Strange - I think Kayak is great. > > On 11/1/07, Robert Hoekman, Jr. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> For reference, do a search on the www.kayak.com site. They do a >> great job >>> >>> with sliders. >>> >> >> >> Just don't implement them in a set of sidebar filters like Kayak >> does. >> Many people either never notice it, see it but ignore it, or only >> adjust >> only one or two options. Most of what Kayak offers goes unused or >> unnoticed. >> >> >> -r- >> > > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Strange - I think Kayak is great. On 11/1/07, Robert Hoekman, Jr. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > For reference, do a search on the www.kayak.com site. They do a great job > > > > with sliders. > > > > > Just don't implement them in a set of sidebar filters like Kayak does. > Many people either never notice it, see it but ignore it, or only adjust > only one or two options. Most of what Kayak offers goes unused or unnoticed. > > > -r- > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
> > For reference, do a search on the www.kayak.com site. They do a great job > with sliders. > Just don't implement them in a set of sidebar filters like Kayak does. Many people either never notice it, see it but ignore it, or only adjust only one or two options. Most of what Kayak offers goes unused or unnoticed. -r- *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Well thank you very much - I tried to do a good job. Glad you like it :-) will evans user experience architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] 617.281.1281 On Nov 1, 2007, at 3:08 PM, "Mike Scarpiello" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > For reference, do a search on the www.kayak.com site. They do a > great job > with sliders. > > On 11/1/07, Tim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> Hello, >> >> I wonder, does anyone know of / carried out / read any research into >> users' >> familiarity and ability with slider controls? >> >> This sort of thing for example: >> http://wiki.script.aculo.us/scriptaculous/show/SliderDemo (although I >> don't >> particularly like their implementation of them). >> >> My feeling is, as long as it looks a lot like a slider and that the >> control >> affords horizontal movement there enough real, physical sliders in >> the >> world >> that people would have an understanding of how they work? >> >> They feature in the Energy Saver in System Preferences in OS X for >> example >> so guess at least a few people know how they work... >> >> I'm trying to put together a rating tool, users rate a product on a >> scale >> of >> 1 to 10, and it seems to me that a slider fits the bill perfectly. >> >> Clearly there needs to be graceful degradation for clients without >> javascript but aside from that, does anyone have any comments? >> >> Thanks in advance, >> Tim >> >> *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* >> February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA >> Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ >> >> >> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! >> To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe >> List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines >> List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help >> > > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
On 11/1/07, Tim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I wonder, does anyone know of / carried out / read any research into users' > familiarity and ability with slider controls? > > I'm trying to put together a rating tool, users rate a product on a scale of > 1 to 10, and it seems to me that a slider fits the bill perfectly. We ran a study recently in which there was a slider and a list of checkboxes on a single (mobile phone) screen. Initial focus was on the slider. Findings include: - everybody easily set the slider - some people couldn't move focus off the slider - once users were thinking about the checkboxes, they didn't notice that their actions were affecting the slider Obviously the mobile context is different than the desktop. -- Barbara Ballard [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1-785-838-3003 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
i can't link to direct experience with this type of control for web interfaces. they've existed ever since AJAX caught on and i've only seen them implemented properly in very limited circumstances. a few social networking sites use(d) them in lieu of spin controls or normal drop down elements to do things such as select age ranges or distance proximity. it was quirky for the most part. personally speaking, i've found these type of controls work best as volume controls or as 'sizers' - e.g. to control the physical scale of an element and as a way to allow a user to specify a scale rating as in a survey since these controls have a min and max value and can be graduated. people know how to use them since Windows and OS X both have analogs, though they are more frequently encountered in OS X than than are in older versions of Windows. just make sure that the 'knob' used to control the slider is easy to manipulate. On 11/1/07, Tim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello, > > I wonder, does anyone know of / carried out / read any research into > users' > familiarity and ability with slider controls? > > This sort of thing for example: > http://wiki.script.aculo.us/scriptaculous/show/SliderDemo (although I > don't > particularly like their implementation of them). > > My feeling is, as long as it looks a lot like a slider and that the > control > affords horizontal movement there enough real, physical sliders in the > world > that people would have an understanding of how they work? > > They feature in the Energy Saver in System Preferences in OS X for example > so guess at least a few people know how they work... > > I'm trying to put together a rating tool, users rate a product on a scale > of > 1 to 10, and it seems to me that a slider fits the bill perfectly. > > Clearly there needs to be graceful degradation for clients without > javascript but aside from that, does anyone have any comments? > > Thanks in advance, > Tim > > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help > -- -- www.flyingyogi.com -- *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
For reference, do a search on the www.kayak.com site. They do a great job with sliders. On 11/1/07, Tim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello, > > I wonder, does anyone know of / carried out / read any research into > users' > familiarity and ability with slider controls? > > This sort of thing for example: > http://wiki.script.aculo.us/scriptaculous/show/SliderDemo (although I > don't > particularly like their implementation of them). > > My feeling is, as long as it looks a lot like a slider and that the > control > affords horizontal movement there enough real, physical sliders in the > world > that people would have an understanding of how they work? > > They feature in the Energy Saver in System Preferences in OS X for example > so guess at least a few people know how they work... > > I'm trying to put together a rating tool, users rate a product on a scale > of > 1 to 10, and it seems to me that a slider fits the bill perfectly. > > Clearly there needs to be graceful degradation for clients without > javascript but aside from that, does anyone have any comments? > > Thanks in advance, > Tim > > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Users ability with slider controls
Hello, I wonder, does anyone know of / carried out / read any research into users' familiarity and ability with slider controls? This sort of thing for example: http://wiki.script.aculo.us/scriptaculous/show/SliderDemo (although I don't particularly like their implementation of them). My feeling is, as long as it looks a lot like a slider and that the control affords horizontal movement there enough real, physical sliders in the world that people would have an understanding of how they work? They feature in the Energy Saver in System Preferences in OS X for example so guess at least a few people know how they work... I'm trying to put together a rating tool, users rate a product on a scale of 1 to 10, and it seems to me that a slider fits the bill perfectly. Clearly there needs to be graceful degradation for clients without javascript but aside from that, does anyone have any comments? Thanks in advance, Tim *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
