[TYPO3-hci] Another approach

[Christopher]

JoH wrote:
> Since most of the threads in this list contain lots of complaints
> about current TYPO3 and the ways things can be done with it,
> I will try another approach.
> 
> Based on some thoughts of Alex Heizer, that might have been undetected
> by some of the readers, since they have been just a part of the "mambo"
> thread
> I would like to invite you to tell us, what you really like about TYPO3.
> 
> Here's a quote of his posting:
> 
> 
>>1. TYPO3 has one of the best interfaces, in terms of usability. Yes,
>>there is a lot of stuff there to confuse new editors if an admin
>>doesn't restrict what they see, but that is because of the depth of
>>features TYPO3 has. Like anything else, the more stuff you have, the
>>more space you need to store it if you want easy access to it when
>>you need it. Since someone with less than a month of computer
>>experience (a complete novice in all aspects of the word) is able to
>>not only learn how to edit their site in 30 minutes of training over
>>MSN Messenger, but is able to intuit how to do things he hasn't been
>>shown the next day on his own, this is an indication that for someone
>>interacting with the interface with no preconceptions the interface
>>is intuitive and well-designed. So any UI difficulties may be assumed
>>to be a result of preconceptions on the part of the user (see point
>>3, below). The UI needs to facilitate tasks, and a big button with a
>>little drawing on it may not be intuitive just because it's big and
>>in the middle of the page. There are hundreds of poorly-designed
>>icons floating around out there, but when I have told editors "click
>>on the pencil to edit an existing record", they have gone straight
>>for the pencil icon each time.
> 
> 
> Have you ever made similar experiences?
> What do your clients say about TYPO3? Do they like it?
> And if yes: What exactly is it they like about TYPO3?
> 
> What are your Top 10 features you would never want to miss?
> What made you choose TYPO3 as a tool - besides the fact that it came for
> free ;-) - and why didn't you choose another CMS?
> 
> IMHO it is better to improve the good stuff than to remove the stuff you
> regard as bad.
> a) because others might not have the same opinion but they can't use
> features anymore if they are kicked
> b) because the overall quality will rise when we start making better what is
> already regarded to be good
> Improving successful features will eliminate the rest automatically by
> natural selection.
> 
> It's up to you now ...

I hope I don't get too badly flamed, but...

I _love_ the frameset.

And in my experience, it's very easy for editors to learn and adapt to.

Ok, so it doesn't necessarily need to be a frameset, but if it were to 
be replaced in any way, I'd want the replacement to behave the same way 
(i.e. only refresh portions at a time).

The Modules > Page Tree > Work Area paradigm is a nice implementation of 
the 'drill down' approach to information architecture; you start at most 
global level by selecting a module based on the type of work you'd like 
to do; then you move a little right and choose the location you'd like 
to work in; finally, you move over to the rightmost frame to do the 
actual work.

I can think of numerous ways to improve the frameset, but I think the 
basic concept is sound and well-implemented.

-Christopher