uP2 Groups Manager Heuristic Analysis

Observation 1: Lack of any "call to action" is the main problem with this view because it violates the recognition rather than recall heuristic. This screen shows a navigation tool (tree) but with an empty content area. Most applications, online or otherwise, will present some form of content, even at the root view, because users are content oriented rather than navigation oriented.

Recommendation 1: If no meaningful content is available or appropriate, often times navigation will simply be repeated in some subtly different way in the content area. Since most users are accustom to navigating content anyway, thanks to Google and Yahoo, this approach presents the user with a meaningful "call to action" in a central part of the screen.

Observation 2: Another violation has to do with consistency and standards. While arrows have some conventionality to them, folders have more. Also, folders might be more appropriate since they are used in other uPortal UI's and in general are more meaningful in communicating categories.

Recommendation 2: Swap arrows for a more conventional folder icon in the tree.

Observation 3: The search tool appears to be unnecessarily complicated and therefore violates the Aesthetic and minimalist design principle. The secondary selector option that specifies "whose name - contains, etc..." can likely be handled transparently by the system.

Recommendation 3: Lose that selector option. Perhaps lose the main selector (channel, group, person, etc.) also.

Observation 1: Poorly written and presented error messages fail to help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors .

Recommendation 1: Analyze all error messages and write them in a language that users (including but not limited to administrators) will understand.

Observation 2: Because the text in the error message is so small and uses no visual qeues to help it stand out, it violates the Visibility of system status principle.

Recommendation 2: Explore ways to emphasis the error message.

Observation 1: There is no match between system and the real world in the language used here. Overall it's very confusing.

Recommendation 1: Re-word to something similar to "Search only within current selection."