tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post7392970328719450894..comments2022-12-15T20:47:08.015-08:00Comments on Looks Good Works Well: Pattern: Refining SearchBill Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12024727845077253669noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-91267923671246996212008-08-08T12:24:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:24:00.000-07:00I'd like to hear opinions on controls for selectin...I'd like to hear opinions on controls for selecting values:<BR/>1) Kayak.com - check box to display the category<BR/>2) Sears.com (appliances - get to "top freezer refrigerators" and the faceted search appears) - check box to narrow by the category<BR/>A subtle difference...<BR/>3) Roost.com (property types) - like Sears, but with an additional "View all" checkboxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-76199617272044163242008-05-19T05:03:00.000-07:002008-05-19T05:03:00.000-07:00Another example of refining search here:www.omio.c...Another example of refining search here:<BR/>www.omio.com/deals<BR/><BR/>I think it actually obeys every one of Bill's recommendations, although it does have several sets of filters (so maybe it doesn't <I>quite</I> fulfil 'Keep the context')Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-11163800262137038782008-03-29T21:01:00.000-07:002008-03-29T21:01:00.000-07:00Mark & Gilgongo,Both excellent comments about slid...Mark & Gilgongo,<BR/><BR/>Both excellent comments about sliders. <BR/><BR/>I agree that wherever possible a straightforward drop down or simple text input works well.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if others have some data that disputes the fact that users prefer text or drop downs over sliders.Bill Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12024727845077253669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-31253277701448622802008-03-23T18:56:00.000-07:002008-03-23T18:56:00.000-07:00looks like your videos have been knocked off youtu...looks like your videos have been knocked off youtube.Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18075968083522627991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-15804609747061849972008-03-08T12:22:00.000-08:002008-03-08T12:22:00.000-08:00Hi - nice post - thanks for taking the time to wri...Hi - nice post - thanks for taking the time to write it!<BR/><BR/>One thing about sliders: I observed user tests last year in which people were shown Kayak and given a task in which they could use the sliders. Very few understood them, and those that did use them later said they preferred drop-downs with ranges in them (we showed them another travel site for this purpose).<BR/><BR/>Of course, user research can be misleading, but over 10 days with 38 people, professionally facilitated, I decided not to implement sliders until they are better understood.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-71329362367572569822008-02-29T10:58:00.000-08:002008-02-29T10:58:00.000-08:00A couple of very important issues are missed here ...A couple of very important issues are missed here regarding sliders.<BR/><BR/>1 The range that the slider manipulates can radically change depending upon other interdependent classifications. For instance...if you pick a six bedroom house vs no choice of bedroom, the scale that the price slider covers changes radically. The difference is important to manage and should in fact lead you to find an alternative if the variance is too great.<BR/><BR/>2 The one arm slider is often the result of misperceptions and an assumed perspective in the use cases considered. That I am looking for a 2 bedroom house, in no way implies that I would also be interested in an 8 bedroom house. Including user controls for both ends of the spectrum is helpful. While I appreciate the business rational of the up sell, it hardly contributes positively to the user experience.Mark Schraadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14055884761050194454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-21492249448753879852008-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:002008-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:00No problem with your disagreement.Maybe you did no...No problem with your disagreement.<BR/><BR/>Maybe you did not catch what I meant. When you specifically have filtering criteria and the results are in close proximity you can easily know the user is changing criteria. So you can wait for inactivity to decide when to re-filter. This is not a technically hard solution. We solved this on the yahoo teachers product as well as a number of other products I have observed around the web.<BR/><BR/>This is the same approach as live search, live suggest and various forms of in page editing. A submit button is not "always needed."<BR/><BR/>I did not say that a submit button is not needed. I often preach about it being needed as a familiar construct to bridge new idioms (like in page editing) and old idioms (forms, ala flickr title editing).<BR/><BR/>I said that if you can get a timely response and the filters are such that they are easy to change then it makes sense to forego the submit button.<BR/><BR/>My examples stand. Compare how laborious it is to change the filters in ebay vs roost.<BR/><BR/>Again, one size does not fit all. You will find counter examples that won't match this recommendation.<BR/><BR/>Also, I don't think you caught that this is working on real sites: Kayak.com, farechase.yahoo.com, roost.com and beta.teachers.yahoo.com (although you need a login for it since it is in private beta).<BR/><BR/>NEVER, design a poor experience because you worry about performance. Do the due diligence of testing for performance if it could be an issue... but choose the best design for the user then modify for reality.<BR/><BR/>Another thing to consider... I mentioned the one-at-a-time anti-pattern. That is specifically due to the plague of latency so I am well aware of latency issues and how they can change an interface.<BR/><BR/>Latency has to be considered...<BR/><BR/>The wonderful All the Web from Yahoo! search that never made it to full live production combined live suggest & live search into a dynamic UI that did not wait on a submit button. It was responsive -- however there were scaling problems. The same was true with Microsoft's Live Search (original had scroll bars that dynamically loaded more results) but it hammered the servers.<BR/><BR/>It is really a trade off. Kayak & Roost feel that this interface is so integral they are willing to pay for extra servers and the architecture to support it to create this wonderful experience. Not every situation would this be true (all the web, live search, etc.)Bill Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12024727845077253669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11599526.post-17737630712853455062008-02-26T21:10:00.000-08:002008-02-26T21:10:00.000-08:00Wow, I really disagree. Doing anything on a form w...Wow, I really disagree. Doing anything on a form without the user getting to decide when to submit breaks the basic model of how the web works. <BR/><BR/>While your simple guidelines would fix most of the problems associated with real time filtering (wait after click being the most grievous) they aren't without technical issues. Latency plague even the best web-apps built be the world's best: Google. It's going to affect yours.<BR/><BR/>Nice post!<BR/><BR/>(long time lurker)Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614547821474854228noreply@blogger.com