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Instrumented GIMP To Identify Usability Flaws

Posted by kdawson on from the phoning-home-in-a-good-cause dept.

Mike writes "New users of the GIMP often become frustrated at the application's unwieldy user interface. Now Prof. Michael Terry and a group of researchers at the University of Waterloo have created ingimp, a modified version of the GIMP that collects real-time usability data in order to help the GIMP developers find and fix its usability problems. Terry recently gave a lecture about ingimp and the data it collects. During each session, ingimp records events such as document creation, window manipulation, and tool use. A log of these events is sent to the ingimp server for analysis. The project hopes to answer questions such as 'What is the typical monitor resolution of a GIMP user?' and 'Is the GIMP used primarily for photo editing or drawing?'"

2 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The main usability flaw I find by Threni · · Score: 0, Troll

    > is in getting others to use the program because of its name.

    No, the main problem is that it's a piece of shit to use. I'm sure you get used to it eventually, just like using the mouse with the wrong hand. I've tried Gimp on a few occasions (when other I used other PCs, or before I determined to never again use any software illegally) and I always found it completely counter-intuitive. For me, at least, it's well worth the money to use a cheap alternative (Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro). I can just do without the hassle. I'm sure the quality of the effects/processing/tools are fine, but I don't understand why the developers don't take a step back, look at what's been happening to the rest of the market and start again on the UI.

  2. eliminating self-selection bias by r00t · · Score: 0, Troll

    Because involvement in human-subjects research is voluntary, there will always be a self-selection bias. Hmmm. How about making it non-voluntary?

    First, pick a random person. I suggest paying somebody with access to a government database. This will ensure that you don't miss babies, incarcerated people, people without phone numbers, etc.

    Second, go get them. You could have a couple of your larger graduate students just shove the human subject into a van and hold them down. Another option is to threaten the subject with a shotgun.

    Third, sit the subject down in front of the gimp and make them do stuff. Getting people to actually use the gimp will often require the shotgun. Observe any discomfort, panic, frustration, or anger that the subjects experience while using the gimp.