UI module owner

[Benton, Kevin]

> byron wrote:
> >> http://landfill.bugzilla.org/tabbededitbug/show_bug.cgi?id=1
> >> What problem is this change trying to solve?
> >
> > Bluntly: Bugzilla is ugly.  I'm trying to make it prettier.
> >
> > By splitting the page into tabs it gives us the room to layout the
> > sections in a way that's clear instead of having to squeeze it into
the
> > space that currently exists.
> 
> You realise these two paragraphs are entirely different motivations?
The

I agree.

> first is an argument from aesthetics; the second is an argument from
> usability. Taking the usability argument:
> 
> A web page has an infinite amount of space available; you just keep

>From a technical perspective, I agree.  From a usability perspective, I
disagree completely.  When a page is overly full, it becomes unusable.
If that weren't the case, then we would need sites like Google.

> going down the page. So presumably you have an extra, implicit
> constraint "and keep it all within the size of a single screenful"? If
> so, why is that a constraint?

"A single screen-full" is a relative term depending on the active font
and the size of the window.  I think it's fair to say that it's
difficult to define a "global" clear-cut understanding of "too much"
versus "under-utilized."  IMHO, it's a good thing that the line between
under-utilized and too much is fuzzy because I know I tend to look at
smaller fonts on larger screens than most, though I design for those
that run their browser at the 800x600 frame size with default fonts at
the most typical sizes.  I want the "most critical information"
available in that first screen.  Users that want more than the most
critical information, can scroll down or select tabs depending on the
application.

> - Why is the current layout "unclear"?

I think what Byron is getting at is there are times when it's
appropriate for us to give the user more of a dashboard look at what
they user is interested in.  For example (here at AMD), when the user
first hits Bugzilla, they're typically interested in the results of the
"my bugs" query, along with some kind of information describing new bugs
to that user, and some overall product statistics.

> - Why does a new "clear" layout need more room than an unclear layout?
> That is to say, what makes you think that lack of whitespace
separation
> between the fields is the cause of the unclarity?

While I'm not a big fan of RT, I think they've done a good job of
helping the user see a clear division between the "most commonly used
fields" and others.

> - Why did you choose tabs rather than e.g. collapsible sections, or
> role-based style sheets which hide some of the fields?
> 
> I suggest (although, as I've said in other messages, we'd need some
> metrics) that the tabs would be a major usability decrease, because
> people would be endlessly switching tabs to try and take in an overall
> view of the state of the bug.
> 
> Did you consider the workflows of different types of Bugzilla user
when
> deciding how many tabs to have, and which fields to put on each?

I'm on the fence about this one for the moment.  Tabs would be "less
pretty" but they would work for WAP and browsers that don't support CSS
block:hide;  On the other hand, I believe the majority of users would
rather see the collapsible fields than tabs.  I'm also thinking that
giving the user the ability to re-order fields would be helpful for
those that can.  Then, each user can determine what they need to see
most frequently.  That'd be a major change to the UI, however.

---
Kevin Benton
Perl/Bugzilla Developer/Administrator, Perforce SCM Administrator
AMD - ECSD Software Validation and Tools
 
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