My ideal for UX or UI is that a new user, understanding the domain and what the application is supposed to do at the most abstract level, should be able to immediately use it without any training or explanation.
Discoverability is an underrated feature in software. I like how in Microsoft Word (off the top of my head), all shortcuts are displayed when you go to the file menu.
Redundancy is also an underrated design feature. In Word, if you want to copy/paste, there are at least 3 ways (I'm sure I'm missing some obscure way).
- menu->edit->copy
- right click->context menu->copy
- ctrl-c
And it's a great way of transitioning users from new mode to expert mode. A hotkey is just about useless if you don't know it exists, whereas the menu is slow. So, beginner users start using the menu, then transition as they memorize the particular hotkeys for this software as they become expert users. Somebody put thought into this design.
Also taking this opportunity to shamelessly plug the nested tooltips in Crusader Kings III. As far as learning context in-situ without breaking flow, it is amazing, though sadly not generalizable to all applications. Seriously, whoever designed that needs another raise; I have yet to see a minor UI component receive any mention at all, let alone praise, save this one.
One way to handle that is through multiple user modes. A simple case is how MS office shifted UI many times, but the keyboard shortcuts remained the same and accumulated to some extent. The key sequences are still there to navigate menus that disappeared before ribbons, or even before MS bought out the originating product. Key combos are a common thing experienced users learn almost unintentionally to speed up a workflow, but it doesn't harm the discoverability for new users or of new features.
Yes, although key combos is no magic bullet. Personally, I prefer having an "advanced" UI option that you can select when the introductory UI becomes irritating or restrictive.
Redundancy is also an underrated design feature. In Word, if you want to copy/paste, there are at least 3 ways (I'm sure I'm missing some obscure way).
- menu->edit->copy
- right click->context menu->copy
- ctrl-c
And it's a great way of transitioning users from new mode to expert mode. A hotkey is just about useless if you don't know it exists, whereas the menu is slow. So, beginner users start using the menu, then transition as they memorize the particular hotkeys for this software as they become expert users. Somebody put thought into this design.
Also taking this opportunity to shamelessly plug the nested tooltips in Crusader Kings III. As far as learning context in-situ without breaking flow, it is amazing, though sadly not generalizable to all applications. Seriously, whoever designed that needs another raise; I have yet to see a minor UI component receive any mention at all, let alone praise, save this one.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/comments/102gtm8/nest...