Summary
As software develops over time the complexity increases with all the newly added features. The acquired complexity over time could be beneficial for experts yet it presents issues for beginner end users. When thinking of developing off the shelf software for end users, developers must consider the different technical backgrounds their end users have and try to have the interface accessible for all potential users. To resolve this difficulty in Adobe Photoshop, the authors present DiscoverySpace, a prototype extension panel that suggests task-level action macros to apply to photographs based on visual features. The extension is meant to help new Adobe Photoshop users by making suggestions once the user starts a task (opens a picture), uses simple human language in search, shows previews of what a suggestion does (before and after), offer faceted browsing to make searching a better experience, and show suggestions that are relevant to the users’ current task which also alerts him to new or unknown possibilities. The authors investigate the effectiveness of the extension by running a study and comparing two groups, one was using the extension, and the other did not. They find that action suggestions might help new users from losing confidence in their abilities, help them accomplish their tasks, and discover new features.
Reflection
As an on-and-off Adobe Photoshop user, I was interested in this paper and this extension. I thought it would be nice to have those suggestions as a reminder when I use the software after months of not using it. Since I am more focused on Adobe Lightroom when it comes to editing photos, it is easy for me to confuse the panels and actions available in both softwares. I was somewhat surprised that the users who had the extension were still answering that they couldn’t figure something out 50% of the time. Even though there was a drop of 30% from users who were not using the extension, it still raises the question: where is the problem? Was it the software? Extension lacks some details? Or was it just the fact that users need time to become familiar with the interface?
I also was puzzled when I saw that the authors used random sampling when it comes to suggesting actions to the user. I feel like editing photos is a process and depending on the photo there are actions that should be taken before others. Maybe using that functionality would be specifically for learning about the interface or the result of each action. Else, I don’t think it was the best functionality to propose.
I don’t know if I agree with the authors with how they measure the performance confidence in their survey. Using technology has always made us feel more confident. I trust a calculator more than doing simple math in my head real quick. I felt that this wasn’t a fair comparison measure.
Discussion
- Would you use this extension if you had Adobe Photoshop? Why? Or Why not?
- What would you change about this extension? Why?
- Can you think of other extensions that you use on a regular basis that are useful in terms of learning about some software or platform?
