Heuristic Evaluation Report for GNOME Files
The following report presents the findings of a heuristic evaluation conducted on GNOME(45) Files, the default file manager for the GNOME desktop environment. The evaluation was based on Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design, with a focus on identifying usability issues and providing recommendations for improvement.
Identified Issues:
Lack of contextual tooltips:
Scenario: Sarah is a new user who has recently installed Fedora on her laptop. She's excited to explore the GNOME desktop environment and start organizing her files using GNOME Files, the default file manager. However, as she opens GNOME Files for the first time, she finds herself overwhelmed by the interface and unsure of how to get started.
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Issue: In my initial evaluation, I mentioned that GNOME Files lacked a help system or tooltips. Upon further exploration, I discovered a help section within the application. However, for a new user like Sarah, navigating directly to the help section might not be intuitive. To bridge this gap and empower new users like Sarah, GNOME Files could benefit from implementing onboarding tooltips. These context-sensitive tooltips would appear when Sarah hovers over specific interface elements, providing brief explanations about their functionality. This immediate guidance would equip Sarah with the knowledge to begin organizing her files confidently without needing to delve into the help section right away.
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Violated Heuristics: Violates Nielsen's heuristic of "Help and documentation" by not providing sufficient guidance for users to understand and navigate the application effectively.
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Impact: New users may struggle to understand the functionality of GNOME Files, leading to frustration and decreased usability.
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Recommendation: While GNOME Files does include a help section, it may not be immediately discoverable for new users like Sarah. To further enhance their initial experience, consider implementing onboarding tooltips. These context-sensitive pop-ups would appear as Sarah interacts with the interface, offering brief explanations of key functionalities.
Scenario: As a new user of Fedora's GNOME desktop environment, Emily is eager to organize her files using GNOME Files. She decides to move a large folder of photos from one directory to another. However, after initiating the file move operation, Emily notices that there is no immediate indication that the process has started. She clicks on the folder multiple times, expecting to see some visual feedback, but nothing appears. Eventually, a progress bar appears in a location that doesn't align with Emily's expectations, causing confusion about the status of the file move operation.
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Issue: Emily's confusion arises from the delayed appearance of the progress bar during file operations and its placement in an unexpected location. This discrepancy between Emily's mental model of where the progress indicator should appear and its actual placement in GNOME Files hinders her ability to monitor the status of ongoing operations effectively.
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Violated Heuristics: Violates Nielsen's Heuristic of "Visibility of System Status" by not providing clear feedback on ongoing file operations.
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Impact: The hidden progress bar and lack of immediate feedback during file operations significantly impact Emily's user experience. As a new user, she expects clear visual cues to confirm that her actions have been recognized by the application. Without these cues, she feels uncertain and unsure if her file move operation is progressing as expected. The subtle appearance of the progress bar fails to capture her attention, leaving her feeling disconnected from the application's feedback mechanism.
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Recommendation: Enhance the visibility of the progress bar during file operations to ensure it is prominently displayed and aligns with users' mental model.
The evaluation of GNOME Files highlighted few usability issues, such as lack of readily available guidance for new users and the placement of the progress bar during file operations. However, GNOME Files generally adheres well to usability principles, with clear error prevention mechanisms and a minimalist interface. Implementing onboarding tooltips would significantly enhance the initial experience for new users like Sarah. Additionally, a more prominent and timely progress indicator would improve user understanding of ongoing tasks.
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