[wp-hackers] Usability Expert Review

[Gabriel White]

Scott,

See my comments below:

> I like the genreal idea to revamp the admin menu; though I don't know 
> that I like the specific proposal.  Comments might merit their own 
> top-level menu item; but I don't like stuffing so much other stuff into 
> "Configuration"...   Though if a vertical left-side menu were supplied 
> for "Configuration", I might not mind so much.

I think it's important for people who use wordpress regularly (ie not
me) to define this IA. The two most important considerations are

1) Conceptual clarity. Can people find what they want, is it organised
in a logical way?
2) Efficiency. Are the things I use most often visible at the top,
less frequest things less often?

It's a balancing act with these two goals, but if you use those to
guide the decision process, then you'll be fine. Do you have an
alternative proposal for the IA?

> "Make the default 'Configuration' page show an overview of all the 
> administrative functions along with short text descriptions."
> I like this idea quite a bit.

> "Replace the numeric 'level' attribute with a set of descriptive user 
> levels, such as:"
> This is a nice idea, but the proposed user levels look _worse_ than 
> all-numeric levels, I think.  "Manager Level 2" seems too bulky.

The important thing here is to make them meaningful rather than
abstract concepts you need to refer to the manual to remind yourself
what they mean. Again, I'm open to other suggestions.

> "The rest of the items mostly made sense.  I wouldn't have any real 
> problems if they were integrated."

Great to hear!

Cheers,

Gabe