[IxDA Discuss] Should closing a window save changes? "Intuitive" vs "Expected"

[Andrew Maben]

On Apr 3, 2007, at 7:45 AM, Darryll DeCoster wrote:

> I recently added a Mac to my mass of computers, and honestly it is  
> very
> counter intuitive to not have to click a save or apply button on  
> changes.
> That's not say I think it's wrong...

I'd suggest that the term "counter intuitive" might be misapplied  
here, where I think what you are actually saying is that this isn't  
the behavior you have become used to in this context - an habitual  
Mac user might well be equally nonplussed faced with the Windows  
solution (in fact I'm still more than a little perplexed by the "OK",  
"Cancel", "Apply" triad..)

A truly intuitive interface element (if not an unattainable grail),  
is surely one that can be more or less instantly understood by a  
computer neophyte?

It may seem a small quibble, but in a world where designers have to  
deal with "just make it intuitive" or "it's not intuitive enough"  
etc. I've found it useful to distinguish: in the former case what is  
usually meant is "just make it behave as I expect" which then needs  
to be gently translated into "make it behave as far as possible  
according to users' expectations" which can then become an attainable  
and measurable goal.

Andrew

http://www.andrewmaben.com
andrew at andrewmaben.com

"In a well designed user interface, the user should not need  
instructions."