I actually think Unity is great and every single Ubuntu novice I have shown it to picks it up in no time.
I don't know about the metrics you propose, I think user experience takes in more variables than those. I'm a power user by the way and usually make use of 9 view ports (compiz desktops) . I think Unity comes into its own when you learn the keyboard shortcuts. But newbies who stick to the mouse find it very easy.

Canonical do a lot of user testing but it's obvious that they're trying to create a user interface that can work for everyone, everywhere, on all devices. That's a mammoth ask and I reckon they're doing something that not even Apple can do elegantly.

On Oct 19, 2011 4:11 PM, "Andrew Thornton" <secretelf77@gmail.com> wrote:

                  OK. If I am a software developer then Elvis still lives. So maybe this is all reinventing the wheel. I don't know.

                  Anyway. I find Unity in ubuntu very counter-intuitive. It feels weird.

                  Yet it is meant to be the latest thing/fad/trend to make me happy. No evidence. No measurements. No tests. I am just meant to be a "happy" Unity user. So, what about this:

                  1. the distance the mouse travels across the screen to use a GUI
                  2. the number of mouseclicks.
                  3. the clock time taken to do task x.

                 1 + 2 + 3 = user figure for a GUI. The lower the score the better.

                 All you guys here who make software. Do you do any measurements like this to arrive at the usability of software such as a GUI or anything else? Or is it just Macbeth Witches style chuck in eyes of newt, frog legs, pigs' blood and basil into the cauldron and hope for the best?

                Andrew

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