I understand that this proposal might be difficult to implement in the Logos development model but believe the rewards would outweigh the costs - rewards especially in reputation and customer satisfaction. In going through the various components of Logos, I have found several useful features that I did not know about and did not use. I have also seen through the years, several potentially useful features tried and dropped because they weren't used. I believe there are several reasons users don't use potentially useful features:
- User don't know about the feature and there are not enough forum regulars using the feature to direct users to it as a solution. Morris Proctor's regular blog entry is the current "solution" for this problem. An example: the use of scroll-bar wear marks to show search results.
- Users know about the feature but don't know how to use it. The current Academic blog's Sense of the Day is an example of creatively addressing this problem re: BSL.
- Users know about the feature, tried it and found the implementation to be difficult to fit into their workflow or to almost but not quite meet their needs. This is the case my proposal addresses.
I suggest that Logos revisits new features about six months after implementation and features not being used (as seen in the statistical data) on a resources available basis and treat it as if the feature was in alpha testing i.e.:
- specifically ask users what they like/dislike about the feature or why they do not use the feature, whichever is applicable
- correct known bugs in the feature and add minor feature enhancements that are on the Logos to do list.
- if the reason it is not used is knowledge of the feature and its use, organize a blog campaign to teach users how to use it
- if the reason it is not used is design based, modify the feature as you would in alpha testing to make it more useful
- if the reason it is not used is "I never need to do that", review what function the feature was designed to handle - is it a legitimate need of a small percentage of users? does the feature actually serve the intended function? or is it a matter of education so that users see the connection between their need and the Logos solution.
Without a regular feedback loop we are stuck with a number of features that are underutilized and/or don't meet the users' needs/expectations. We are also left with a number of small bugs/design inconsistencies/usability flaws that leave the users' with a sense of an overly complex or buggy system. A complex system doesn't seem complex when you regularly utilize most of it. An intuitive interface is intuitive only to the degree it is predictable. This is a straightforward suggestion that could resolve many user concerns and enhance Logos' stature.
