Subject: Re: approval ands pre-approvals -> under WG page ?

From: Dave Crocker <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2012 09:46:57 -0700

On 6/29/2012 3:54 PM, Dave Thaler wrote:
> I agree that hiding it under "submit a draft" is not really discoverable.  I note
> that one path where it is discoverable is fromhttp://www.ietf.org  :
> "WG Chairs' Page" -> "IETF Internet-Draft Submission Status" -> "Approvals"

One of the challenges in using the IETF pages is distinguishing among 
roles vs. objects vs. activities.  User interface design typically tries 
to be consistent about this.

The top-level entries on ietf.org are for objects, such as Working 
Groups and Internet Drafts, whereas  down a level the co-located 
Datatracker is an object, yet Search and Submit are functions.   And "WG 
Chairs" is a role, but WG Charters is about objects.

That sort of variability of construct usage reduces predictability in 
usability. It makes it more difficult to know where something is likely 
to be.

In other words, coherent UI design improves usability and ought to 
reduce the guessing game this thread has cited.

Popular approaches to UI design, these days, are Activity-based design 
and Task-based design.  They anticipate usage /sequences/.  "Submit a 
draft" is a nice example of this.

d/
-- 
  Dave Crocker
  Brandenburg InternetWorking
  bbiw.net

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From: "Worley, Dale R (Dale)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2012 14:32:31 -0400

> draft" is a nice example of this.

Submitting a draft that needs approval is an interestingly treacherous
"activity".  From a global perspective, putting the initial upload and
the approval together makes sense -- they're part of the same activity,
aren't they?  But any single user does only one of these actions.

It seems to me that the object-based idea "Internet drafts" is a less
confusing bucket into which to put all these actions.

Dale