[IxDA Discuss] Should reducing number of clicks be of primary concern?

[Jeff Axup]

Coming into the thread a bit late, a few points:

- "user satisfaction" isn't the only goal of good design, and it is highly
fickle and difficult to quantify. Number of clicks is only one way track
efficiency, but it is a useful rule of thumb. Users may say they like the 10
click interface, but they may not be performing their jobs as well if they
get it. Large number of clicks are indicative of interfaces that have IAs
with too many levels.

- novice interfaces typically require more clicks, because users want more
supplementary information and are often happy to sacrifice time for accurate
task completion. Thus whether clicks is an important variable to keep an eye
on in your design depends a lot on who your users are and what the task
requirements are.

-Jeff


On 2/26/07, Joshua Porter <porter at bokardo.com> wrote:
>
> The reason why there was no correlation in our study ( http://
> www.uie.com/articles/three_click_rule/ ) is because there are simply
> too many variables that affect the user experience.
>
> Number of clicks is in a class of other red herrings:
>
> Number of clicks
> Download time
> % Whitespace
> Scrolling
> Content Density
>
> All things being equal, of course fewer/faster/no scrolling/denser is
> better. But all things are *never* equal.
>
> For example...if fewer clicks were *always* better then Amazon's one-
> click would be used by everyone. Why is it not? Well, there is a
> certain percentage of the population who doesn't like to purchase
> without reviewing their order first. So, in theory the one-click
> would be optimal, but all other things aren't equal. In this case the
> other thing that isn't equal is the mood of the purchaser...some
> people want the control of reviewing their order before they place
> it. The problem is, you might not see this crop up until you take
> away the review step by making your system one-click...maybe in
> response to everyone claiming they want a faster checkout...right up
> until the point where you actually give it to them. :)
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Josh
>
>
> On Feb 25, 2007, at 3:02 PM, Henrik Olsen wrote:
>
> > Hi Oliver
> >
> > UIE have made a study that showed that there is no correlation between
> > the number of times uses click and their reported satisfaction with a
> > site.
> >
> > They conclude that "The number of clicks isn't what is important to
> > users, but whether or not they're successful at finding what they're
> > seeking."
> >
> > Here's is my summary of the study:
> > http://www.guuui.com/posting.php?id=1494
> >
> > And here is the UIE article:
> > http://www.uie.com/articles/three_click_rule/
> >
> >
> > On 2/25/07, oliver green <oliverhci at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> We are redesigning an interface with a goal to make it a "zero-trial"
> >> learning experience. Some folks on our team insist that reducing
> >> the number
> >> of clicks must be of utmost importance. I agree that it is an
> >> important
> >> guideline, but not at a cost of confusing the user or the fact
> >> that the user
> >> will get lost while using the interface. Any thoughts on this issue?
> >>
> >> The software being designed is for a public access terminal. Any
> >> pointers
> >> will be appreciated.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Oliver
> >> ________________________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Henrik Olsen
> > www.guuui.com - The interaction designer's coffee break
> > ________________________________________________________________
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>
>
> Joshua Porter
> jporter at uie.com
> Director of Web Development
> User Interface Engineering
> http://www.uie.com
>
> Personal blog:
> http://bokardo.com
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________
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-- 
Best Regards,
Jeff
____________________________________________________________________________
Jeff Axup      Ph.D. Candidate - University of Queensland, Brisbane,
Australia
                   Principal Consultant, Mobile Community Design Consulting

Research:    Mobile Group Research Methods, Social Networks, Group Usability
E-mail:        axup <at> userdesign.com
Blog:           http://mobilecommunitydesign.com
Moblog:       http://memeaddict.blogspot.com
Academic:   http://www.infenv.itee.uq.edu.au
____________________________________________________________________________