Hi - Here are the reponses I received from the question I posted last week
asking for ideas for alternative tree UIs.
Thanks to all who reponded!
Kay Corry Aubrey
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Hi,
I have found working with trees in a mindmap format to be helpful. On my
(Windows XP) desktop I use Freemind http://freemind.sourceforge.net and
recently started using comapping http://ww.comapping.com online. Being able
to see labels located in close proximity to one another (a facet-area) works
for me as a way to quickly scan elements of a collection and get a feel for
relationships.
Regards,
Michael Everitt
Informativity
-----Original Message-----
From: ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kay Corry Aubrey
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 9:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Alternate navigation structures for a tree
Hi - I am wondering if people can suggest alternative Uis to a tree
structure as a primary navigation method. The product has rich and deep
functionality. It uses an Explorer-style tree for product navigation, and
this presents a number of obstacles for users.
For one, they need to know the precise node to click to find their stuff,
they can't see what is under the node and some of the information lies 4-5
levels down. Because everything is presented on the same plane so there is
no indication on where to start. Using a tree in this context presents many
other types of problems, though the tree's organization is very well thought
out and seems appropriate to the domain.
We are going to offer multiple ways of navigating the product, search, by
task, etc. However, it would be cool to also translate the existing tree
into other navigational formats that are less overwhelming, offers more
guidance, and can show users the range of choices they have for their task.
We will likely segment the taxonomy into facets.
Can people point me to examples on the web that are successful in presenting
a complex taxonomy in a very simple UI that might spark ideas? Please send
your responses to me - I will collect and summarize.
Thanks -
Kay
Kay Corry Aubrey
Usability Resources Inc
End user research and interaction design for software
www.UsabilityResources.net 781-275-3020
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Hello Kay,
I'm dealing with the same problem, and I'd love to hear what responses
you get. A big question is of course how much information is contained
in each node, and how much of it you always want to display.
One (space-consuming) visualization that I think you could use to
traverse a tree of 4-5 levels is presented in a series of articles for
the weblog "Boxes and Arrows":
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/the-challenge-of
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/introduction-to-the
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/building-block
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/connectors-for
(more articles upcoming, I believe)
These articles talk about creating a multi-level portal-style (or
'dashboard') GUI based on the idea of containers within containers. A
container in this context is (in descending order of size): a Web site,
a Web site section, a page, a large box on a page (such as a content
area or a sidebar area), and a small box on a page (something the size
of one weblog entry or news article, for example). Containers share
common controls, such as 'print', 'search' or 'send by e-mail'.
It occurred to me that you could use these various containers to
represent the different levels of a hierarchical tree, offering a way of
navigating through the hierarchy that is both familiar and natural to
users. Also, typically, the deepest nodes in a tree contain the most
information, which this model provides for.
The problem is that this visualization can take up a lot of space, which
may force you to place the contents of a node into a separate browser
window, or otherwise force you to separate the navigation from the
content. As I said, it really depends on the amount of information
contained in each node.
Hope this helps,
Mathijs Panhuijsen
-----Original Message-----
From: ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kay Corry Aubrey
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 18:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Alternate navigation structures for a tree
Hi - I am wondering if people can suggest alternative Uis to a tree
structure as a primary navigation method. The product has rich and deep
functionality. It uses an Explorer-style tree for product navigation,
and
this presents a number of obstacles for users.
For one, they need to know the precise node to click to find their
stuff,
they can't see what is under the node and some of the information lies
4-5
levels down. Because everything is presented on the same plane so there
is
no indication on where to start. Using a tree in this context presents
many
other types of problems, though the tree's organization is very well
thought
out and seems appropriate to the domain.
We are going to offer multiple ways of navigating the product, search,
by
task, etc. However, it would be cool to also translate the existing tree
into other navigational formats that are less overwhelming, offers more
guidance, and can show users the range of choices they have for their
task.
We will likely segment the taxonomy into facets.
Can people point me to examples on the web that are successful in
presenting
a complex taxonomy in a very simple UI that might spark ideas? Please
send
your responses to me - I will collect and summarize.
Thanks -
Kay
Kay Corry Aubrey
Usability Resources Inc
End user research and interaction design for software
www.UsabilityResources.net
781-275-3020
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