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January 28, 2003
Waste fifteen seconds now!
A review of Jef Raskin'sTHE text editor suggests its benefits might include time-saving:
"Raskin claims that using LEAP in place of the right-hand scroll bar can save four seconds per action. Using LEAP can also save time over the find command because it performs the search without waiting for a separate dialog box. If used regularly, LEAP could add up to an enormous time savings over the course of a digital day."
Ah yes, Usability Benefit #32, saving a few seconds. This kind of thing seems perfectly logical, and multiplied over dozens of hard-working employees implies Big Savings Fast! But I've started to have the same reaction I have to, say, the "gateway drug" theory. Sure it makes a kind of sense, but it doesn't really hold up in most people's experience.
I mean, I spend many four-second chunks of my day staring out the windown wondering if it's too early for lunch, or wondering where my left sock went, or fiddling with the crumbs that fall to the bottom of the toaster. If I had these back through some miracle of technology, I'd only spend them doing something equally unproductive. Saving me and all my fellow co-workers two or three seconds a day gives me (and my employer) nothing, nothing valuable.
Posted by Andrew at January 28, 2003 12:00 PM
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Solutions:
1) Move to a windowless office, or add curtains and sew them shut.
2) Look at your left foot. If your sock is not there, it's time to buy new socks.
3) You could spend your whole life examining crumbs in the collection tray underneath the toaster. Or, you can do as I have done. Remove the crumb collection tray. Tear it off if necessary. Then suspend your toaster four feet over your kitchen sink using 16 strand climbing rope. Affix a plastic freezer bag to the bottom of the toaster. Buy a hand vacuum, such as a Dirt Devil. Cut a hole in the bottom of the freezer bag and attach the vacuum hose to the hole. Use duct tape to seal everything up tight. Strip the plug on the vacuum chord and wire it to the same circuit as your garbage disposal (get a disposal installed if ya don't have one. Have the installer wire the vacuum while he's at it). Then, every time you turn on the disposal you suck the toaster crumbs away and you really don't have to think about it anymore. However, if you're like me, you'll find yourself spending a lot of time examining the vacuum canister for toaster crumbs. You solve that issue by hiring a maid to come by once a day to empty the vacuum while you're at work.
Posted by: Rotwang at January 30, 2003 10:42 AM
I think a more worthy goal than saving time is to save clicks - in other words, remove unnecessary interaction.
Our goal should be to help users focus on their tasks without unnecessary distraction from the interface - in other words, help them reach a 'flow' state where they can really absorb themselves in their work. The interface should recede into the background.
Saving clicks is a definite benefit because it removes unnecessary interruptions. I think the most valuable benefit we could bring users is to remove all those unnecessary dialogue boxes such as, "did you really really want to do that?"
Sherlock ;0)
Posted by: sherlock_yoda at January 31, 2003 03:03 AM