Forum OpenACS CMS: Response to Status of comtemplation on CMS module

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Posted by Michael Feldstein on
Brian, it's been a few weeks since I looked at it, but here are a few global issues based on what I remember:

First of all, the idea behind the current interface is to stick all the functionality out in the open, even if particular users can't access some of it. It would be enormously helpful if you would just show the features that the person can used, based on his/her role.

Going a step further, try to organize the interface around tasks rather than around features. What do I need to do, for example, if I am an editor? How can you set up the interface so that I can do all my editing tasks in as few clicks as possible? Right now, (based on the News demo, anyway), users have to jump all around the system just to perform basic tasks.

And finally, kill the folders metaphor. The things that you have in the "folders" are too abstract; users don't think of them as documents or items. It's OK to use a multi-level menu, but you should style it after a multi-level web site menu, rather than a file system. You just confuse users under the current system.

I'll try to go back and give CMS a second look in the next week or two--*if* I'm confident that somebody is going to do something with the comments I submit.