[IAEP] [Sugar-devel] Advanced search on ASLO

[Tomeu Vizoso]

On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 08:40, Aleksey Lim <alsroot at member.fsf.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 04:23:54AM +0100, Gary C Martin wrote:
>> On 25 Apr 2009, at 03:46, Josh Williams wrote:
>> > Just wondering if there was a consensus to ditch the advanced search
>> > options? I think it might be a good idea for the sake of simplicity
>> > and
>> > ease of use for kids.
>> >
>> > However, I don't know if it's something some users actually need. I
>> > think at the very least "within categories" should be removed even
>> > if we
>> > do keep the advanced options.
>> >
>> > Any thoughts?
>>
>> I'd never even noticed the advanced search feature until you just
>> mentioned it! FWIW, I'd be happy with just the plain search input box
>> over on the top right (no 'advanced', no 'within'). The simpler the
>> better, given our target audience. Every UI feature you can get away
>> with removing... is one less item of distraction/confusion/
>> maintenance :-)
>
> Don't see any problems to have small button/link to open advanced search
> I guess our users not only kids but also theirs parents :)
>
> Moreover we will have several activity types - activities, various content,
> journal objects and advanced search could be useful in that case.
>
> Another option filter all add-ons by SugarPlatform - only 0.82, 0.84 etc.

I see the reasoning about making things as easy as possible and agree
to some extent. Though:

- users of ASLO are not only kids, but activity developers,
maintainers, educators, etc.

- it's hard for adults to anticipate what a kid is capable of doing.

What we have been following in the Sugar UI design isn't a "let's do a
dumbed down UI" approach, but "low floor and no ceiling". Meaning with
it that we should make the basic functionality as easily accessible as
possible, giving simplicity/clarity a strong value, but also trying
hard to find ways to expose advanced functionality without making the
UI too much more complex.

In this case, I think the Mozilla folks did right by hiding the
advanced search features by default and having the "Advanced tab"
there for people who would need it.

Regards,

Tomeu